Custom Tools from Alibaba

NegativeK said:
What's the import/shipping situation?

I was looking at Alibaba for some plastic containers recently; dealing with customs and the different ways it's handled (no, I don't want or know how to pick things up from a port) put me off.
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MrWhoopee said:
I just placed the order, everything was handled from their end. From what I can tell their were no customs duties nor even inspections. Invoice only listed product, shipping and U.S. sales tax. Fedex delivers to my door with no additonal charges. On my orders from Aliexpress, I get notified when it has cleared customs on this end (along with far too many progress notifications), but there has been no evidence the package has been opened.
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As I noted on a different thread on one of the forums, I have never had any duty or handling fees on any of the tools/tooling I have purchased from Canada, China (eBay & Ali), UK, Germany, Russia (five years ago via eBay for electronic components) or Australia.

However, plastic tubes that contain tooling are probably classed as "tooling," and empty plastic containers probably fall under a different classification. To be certain, you can wade through the Harmonized Tariff Codes or call a local customs broker and ask them (it's been a while, but the ones I talked to when Moving stuff in & out of the U.S. back in the 90's were more than happy to answer simple questions since there was a chance I would use their services if needed (which they were in several instances and I did).
 
MrWhoopee said:
They're here!
Very securely packed in boxes wrapped with tape, some sort of fabric and lots more tape.
It may take a while to find the prize in the package.

View attachment 508782
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Every time I get a shipment packed that way I can’t help but think how much they look like bundles of white powder on the “Police Procedural” TV shows :)
 
@MrWhoopee

Craig,

Thanks for being a bit of a "guinea pig" on this one and forging the path.

I bet this info will come in very useful for others with good ideas and prototypes, but no cost-effective, on-shore options.

It is very generous of you to openly share this info!

Thanks,
Brian
 
ChazzC said:
When was the last time you got anything extra from a supplier, much less than when they shipped something early?


Not only a great name, but it’s registered!


If they were clear/translucent I’d take some off your hands (even though I label everything, it’s nice to be able to see what’s inside).

Even blue and with labels, someone will buy them from you: these things sell for crazy prices in small quantities.

View attachment 508570

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I use colors in the shop now to identify different things.
Fasteners use yellow.
electronics red
....
Then I just have to look for the label that has what I want.
Got tired of looking at every box.

No I don't need those boxes. They are probably HDPE and can be melted.
 
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