Getting out of Fedex fees for international packages

[Wyvrn]

In case you guys didn't know, you don't have to pay Fedex's "advancement fee" for international customs clearance.

The reason they charge this is because they pay your tax/customs fees at the border to keep your package moving quickly, then collect from you later by sending a bill. However if you have a Fedex account with a credit card attached (which is free to set up), Fedex will charge your credit card the tax/customs as soon as the package crosses the border, and they won't charge any advancement fee.

So if you ordered something like this:
Fedex would normally charge you taxes and fees like this:

But they would waive the Advancement fee (and the tax on the advancement fee) if you have an account with them. That saves you nearly half the bill, and all that's left is the government tax/customs.

This is how it works for shipments from the US to Canada where Fedex are actually the ones to bring the package to your door. Things will probably be at least a little different in your country, be sure to call Fedex and ask for the specifics.

IMPORTANT: In order for this to work, Fedex needs to know the taxes should be charged to your account. Ideally BD would have a box where you could enter it and they would put it with the rest of the recipient information on their invoice. For now though, you have to request that BD write it on your shipment through the "Customer notes" section of the order form. For example, here's what I put:

Please indicate on external packaging/invoice my Fedex account number #XXX-XXX-XXX Fedex waives the fee they charge recipients for customs brokerage if you do this. Thank you!

Sometimes the shipping dragons will forget to write it, or Fedex won't notice and they'll still send you a bill anyway. Fedex is pretty reasonable though, if you call them and ask for the invoice to be billed to your account instead, they should be happy to correct it, and they will take off the advancement fee too.

So yeah, it's as simple as that! Hopefully BD integrates recipient Fedex account numbers into their invoice printing system soon, but you don't have to wait. Get out their now and start saving some money! And be sure to write back with your experiences.

[Tarukaja]

This deserves a sticky on the top of the forum, I think. But for now, a bump XD Thanks a lot for this info! I need to figure out how exactly to sign up with Fedex first though

[Wyvrn]

I set up an account by calling their 1-800-GO-FEDEX number. I remember it being pretty quick and easy.

Here's the thing though, I got another package from BD, and Fedex once again sent me the paper bill. I called them up and they were able to void the bill and charge it to my account as well as waive the advancement fee. This is the third time I've had to ask them to do this though, and it's really frustrating.

I asked the Fedex employee why this would keep happening, and he told me that BD has to input the recipient's account number as the destination for customs/import fees when they purchase the shipping label. This is the only reliable way to get them to charge your account instead of send you a paper bill. That means it's all the more important for this to be integrated into BD's fulfillment system ASAP, just writing your account number on the package doesn't cut it.

Since then I made another order from BD with a request that reads

When purchasing the shipping from Fedex, please indicate the customs fees should be billed to my Fedex account #338-993-331. If you don't do this, I get slapped with an extra "Advancement Fee" because they have to send me a paper bill. Thank you!

This order has been shipped out, I'll see how it goes when this one crosses the border.

Meanwhile I'll try to get some staff attention on this issue. I know they spend a lot of time negotiating for the best shipping rates for their customers, some of that effort should really be put to solving this issue!

[IDP]

THANK YOU!!!

[Sasyn]

This seems handy. I may look into whether this is possible for UK users also. Thanks!

[Audax]

Hey everyone!

I've stickied this topic as requests for this are coming in a little more often than they used to. If you'd like us to note your FedEx account number on your order, please send in a ticket and we can work with you to do so. ^_^

Thank you!

[jeeny789]

I really like your way of expressing the opinion and sharing the information.

[GreyWarden]

Hmm... It might be different for Australians..

We dont get customs fees on anything (I may be wrong on "anything") under a $1000 value.
I've never ever been hit by fees.

I'll post if I do get billed

[snozzleblot]

I notice that for the last order I placed, FedEx Ground was no longer an option (only International Economy/Priority).

For non-Ground shipments, they always ask for the money at the door, rather than billing later, which I guess is nice (don't have to pay the advancement fee).

However, they seem to charge more with the express deliveries... Ah well, ships quicker so I guess it's worth it.

[Tarukaja]

I notice that for the last order I placed, FedEx Ground was no longer an option (only International Economy/Priority).

For non-Ground shipments, they always ask for the money at the door, rather than billing later, which I guess is nice (don't have to pay the advancement fee).

However, they seem to charge more with the express deliveries... Ah well, ships quicker so I guess it's worth it.

Wait, so the last order I chose ground for and got 2-day was because BD stopped offering the cheaper option? Ffs I can't be home to sign (and hand out my fedex acct number even when I sent it in with my order) which is why I always chose that and was wondering why my last order got bumped to 2-day. Guess it wasn't as a nice gesture, and I may be back to bothering my US friend for future orders again :\

[snozzleblot]

I notice that for the last order I placed, FedEx Ground was no longer an option (only International Economy/Priority).

For non-Ground shipments, they always ask for the money at the door, rather than billing later, which I guess is nice (don't have to pay the advancement fee).

However, they seem to charge more with the express deliveries... Ah well, ships quicker so I guess it's worth it.

Wait, so the last order I chose ground for and got 2-day was because BD stopped offering the cheaper option? Ffs I can't be home to sign (and hand out my fedex acct number even when I sent it in with my order) which is why I always chose that and was wondering why my last order got bumped to 2-day. Guess it wasn't as a nice gesture, and I may be back to bothering my US friend for future orders again :\

Actually, looking at my customs slip, they do in fact still charge the $10 advancement fee on the duty (well, $11.30 including HST on said fee), but they make you pay everything up front instead of mailing you an invoice a month later.

So, I can't tell whether it's better or worse. I guess you don't need to worry about forgetting to pay it (and having a collector called on you), but on the other hand FedEx is basically holding our dicks ransom, which isn't cool.

Ah well, faster shipping by default is nice, in any case.

[GreyWarden]

A month later and I havent been billed by customs or FedEx.

I live in Australia and I believe it is safe to say we do not get billed if the package does NOT exceed $1,000 in value.
Do correct me, if you are Australian, and have been billed. Preferably the bill being issued within this year. Im fairly certain that the excess of $1,000 was only implemented 5 years ago

[Huskie]

Ahhh...Didn't work for me in Italy.
When FedEx courier arrived at my door told me i couldn't pay through my FedEx account. I'll try writing FedEx about it and see what they tell me.

[Rustic_King]

I have had a few parcels from the states (but none handled by FedEX I think) and have never had any issues with customs charges. Here in NZ most (if not all) international parcels are delivered by a joint DHL/NZ post service. Fingers crossed my mare gets here safe and sound with no extra costs.

[AkaiKitsune]

I'm a little concerned with ordering anything from BD with this current system. I'm in the UK, and would have to have any orders shipped to my parents' house, as my current residence doesn't have any way to hold parcels that have to be signed for, nor will they be able to ship anything straight to me.

Last time, I used USPS International which was great. My order just got held at the depot and I had to pay ~£20 to fetch it, really simple.

Now obviously, I don't really want my parents to foot any bill unannounced, nor do I want to tell them why I've ordered something expensive from America, let alone what it is. I am assuming that the FedEx account trick may not work, as is apparent with some countries.

Am I screwed here?

[Cyanna]

I had a nasty shock when I got in today.

Let's start a few weeks back when my first BD order was delivered (a week late thanks to a fedex cock-up but I'll let that slide for now). I got my package, signed for it and merrily went on my way. I had heard something about fedex fees before but it slipped my mind and no one said anything to me.

Fast forward to today and I come home to a letter (which I had to translate as I'm English and living in Sweden for a year) saying I had a 443.25 sek charge AND a 60 sek charge for not paying it before the expiry date (that's about £43 total!). I received no letters, emails, texts or ANYTHING about the charge before today so how on earth was I supposed to know I had to pay it?

I'll admit I'm rather pissed off right now.
Is there something I've missed? Is there some website I need to visit or number I need to ring to find out these things?
And is the same going to happen with my second package from BD (which gets here in 2 days)?!


Can someone please tell me what I did wrong? :(

[kingsley]

Fast forward to today and I come home to a letter (which I had to translate as I'm English and living in Sweden for a year) saying I had a 443.25 sek charge AND a 60 sek charge for not paying it before the expiry date (that's about £43 total!). I received no letters, emails, texts or ANYTHING about the charge before today so how on earth was I supposed to know I had to pay it?

I would think if they didn't send you any notification of the charge you could probably contact them and at least get the additional charge removed.

kinda worries me though, I've never run into fees with any deliveries including the ones from BD... hope nothing sneaks up on me

[threarah]

Fast forward to today and I come home to a letter (which I had to translate as I'm English and living in Sweden for a year) saying I had a 443.25 sek charge AND a 60 sek charge for not paying it before the expiry date (that's about £43 total!). I received no letters, emails, texts or ANYTHING about the charge before today so how on earth was I supposed to know I had to pay it.

I'm worrying about that with my last order. It's been over a week, two weeks and I still haven't received any letters regarding customs charges which I know I should be getting because I've ordered from America before. Unless they're sending these letters to BD instead of me. Honestly why can't they just attach them to the package?

[Chibity]

Here from Canada and I didn't get any customs charges on my last order either. Is there some sort of policy change that we're unaware of...? Every single time I've ordered from BD in the past, I've had customs to pay, and I'm just really unsure about why it didn't happen this time...

[Tachyon1]

Since my first order from BD, I never had charges via FedEX (I chose Fedex International Priority which I think is the fastest one BD is using for shipping) coming into Canada.

I actually had them ask to charge whatever fee/taxes/etc to my FedEX account but nothing was ever charged.

The only time where something was actually charged to my FedEX account was stuff overseas, specifically from LoveHoney. It is a UK based sex toy e-tailer.