Hi!
I'm trying to find a place to order supplies. But one difficulty after another pops up.
The first problem, that is constant, is the problem of living in a NON-EU country and customs. I can either order for like nothing INCLUDED the shipping price, seriously nothing, or I have to ask the suppliers to write a low value on the parcel etc, etc. There are several ways to make sure the parcels goes thru customs. To pay doble VAT (the country of the supplier and my country), VAT on the shipping + custom fees and the shipping cost itself, is not an option. One of the suppliers I found for fragrance oils, refused to do that and told that they send parcels to Norway all the time, and nobody have problems with customs. Well, 100% of my parcels have been stopped in the past if I forgot to mail and ask to make sure they can send it as gift, commercial sample, low value etc. I can not take that risk. The supplier would not know if the customer's parcels get stopped in customs.
Had to find another supplier. I was lucky enough to find one that both had fragrance oils that I want, and all the other supplies as well. Not bad prices either. But, because I have learned the hard way, I try to remember to read everything with little writing first. So I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and found the delivery information. Affordable delivery, EXCEPT for Norway and Switzerland. 49 euro in shipping, flat rate up to 30 kilo. Cheap if you order 30 kilo. But that was not my plan.
The worst was their explanation to more than double the shipping rate (compared to Sweden, our neighbours). They claim: "For these countries extra document and clearance fees are charged".
First of all, I have to pay the clearance fee for customs, not them, if the parcel is over the limit amount. Second, the document fee is plain rude! Do you know what they do? They take the VAT, 20-something percent and put straight in their pockets. They EARN money by exporting to us. Because, I have to pay their VAT. But they don't have to pay it. So, I should really pay their prices without VAT. But that never happens (not that I have asked that supplier specifically, but I have asked others before). So they charge the customers a VAT that they don't have to pay to their state. And on top of that, they feel free to more than double the shipping price! So of course I'm not gonna order from Soapqueen.eu (or .nl). Maybe that is the document fee, the work they will have to do to prove that they have exported to NON-EU countries, so that they can keep the VAT themselves?
The shipping prices in general are sooo different from supplier to supplier, even though they use the same transportation methods. Many have unreasonable shipping prices. And shipping varies from country to country. Our closest countries are those who have the highest shipping prices. To send something from Finland to Norway or USA, that is about the same price. Even Norway and Finland are neighbours.
I find it hard to find suppliers in Europe. First, you have to make sure to not order from many suppliers, because of shipping. Then you should find max 2 suppliers that together has more or less everything you need, and both of those have to have relatively reasonable shipping prices. Those two suppliers must have webpages that you can sort of navigate. A lot of countries will be totally int the dark, since you even can't find what "soapmaking supplies" or somthing like that is in their language, like polish or slovakian. Google translate does not help at all, I have tried that. Then, when you finally find suppliers, you struggle to make sure it goes thru customs. Then start the whole process again, often a few times, since it failes in one or the other way one or many places.
I do envy you in USA that have everything in one single country. I do also envy the EU countries. The suppliers sometimes don't make it easy for us Non-EU-citizens. And our governments definately do all what they can to stop us from buying from abroad, at least they do in this country. Just imagine if you were forced to find everything you need in the state of Alabama only. And if you would need something from others states, you had a limit of $42 INCLUDED the shipping price. Impossible? Yes, sure! And that is exactly the reality for us norwegians. What they really do, the government, is forcing us to buy from China instead. The chinese automatically makes sure every parcel goes thru customs, regardless the value, an they ship for a low price or free. It is the easiest country to order from, by far. But I don't want chinese supplies in my soaps. I'm not too sure about the quality or that it does not contain toxic stuff.
And can you imagine, that Ebay has become one of the worst places ever? Now, they have decided that every parcel to Norway should go thru customs (Ebay don't send the parcels, the sellers do), so they add VAT and fees automatically. Then it is a struggle to get that removed. The sellers really have a lot of work if they want to sell to us. They often do, so they try to get it removed by fixing this and that. But it is a lot of struggle, every time, so Ebay is a place I can't use more than in emergency situations.
I easily can get both lye and oils at the grocery store, and our tap water is the cleanest water in the world (where I live). And I have a mould. So I have everything I need for unscented, uncoloured soaps. But that's not very inspiring. So I just have to keep on looking all over Europe to find my maximum two suppliers.
I'm just frustrated because Soapqueen, where I found everything I would need, had a ridiculous policy. And because a fragrance oil supplier that I hoped to order from told me they could not do what I wanted. They had a good reason, though. But that sort is more the norm than the exception for us out in the cold, outside EU.
(I can't blaim anyone for us not being inside EU. I voted myself NO to EU, and I would vote the same again). :-D
I'm trying to find a place to order supplies. But one difficulty after another pops up.
The first problem, that is constant, is the problem of living in a NON-EU country and customs. I can either order for like nothing INCLUDED the shipping price, seriously nothing, or I have to ask the suppliers to write a low value on the parcel etc, etc. There are several ways to make sure the parcels goes thru customs. To pay doble VAT (the country of the supplier and my country), VAT on the shipping + custom fees and the shipping cost itself, is not an option. One of the suppliers I found for fragrance oils, refused to do that and told that they send parcels to Norway all the time, and nobody have problems with customs. Well, 100% of my parcels have been stopped in the past if I forgot to mail and ask to make sure they can send it as gift, commercial sample, low value etc. I can not take that risk. The supplier would not know if the customer's parcels get stopped in customs.
Had to find another supplier. I was lucky enough to find one that both had fragrance oils that I want, and all the other supplies as well. Not bad prices either. But, because I have learned the hard way, I try to remember to read everything with little writing first. So I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and found the delivery information. Affordable delivery, EXCEPT for Norway and Switzerland. 49 euro in shipping, flat rate up to 30 kilo. Cheap if you order 30 kilo. But that was not my plan.
The worst was their explanation to more than double the shipping rate (compared to Sweden, our neighbours). They claim: "For these countries extra document and clearance fees are charged".
First of all, I have to pay the clearance fee for customs, not them, if the parcel is over the limit amount. Second, the document fee is plain rude! Do you know what they do? They take the VAT, 20-something percent and put straight in their pockets. They EARN money by exporting to us. Because, I have to pay their VAT. But they don't have to pay it. So, I should really pay their prices without VAT. But that never happens (not that I have asked that supplier specifically, but I have asked others before). So they charge the customers a VAT that they don't have to pay to their state. And on top of that, they feel free to more than double the shipping price! So of course I'm not gonna order from Soapqueen.eu (or .nl). Maybe that is the document fee, the work they will have to do to prove that they have exported to NON-EU countries, so that they can keep the VAT themselves?
The shipping prices in general are sooo different from supplier to supplier, even though they use the same transportation methods. Many have unreasonable shipping prices. And shipping varies from country to country. Our closest countries are those who have the highest shipping prices. To send something from Finland to Norway or USA, that is about the same price. Even Norway and Finland are neighbours.
I find it hard to find suppliers in Europe. First, you have to make sure to not order from many suppliers, because of shipping. Then you should find max 2 suppliers that together has more or less everything you need, and both of those have to have relatively reasonable shipping prices. Those two suppliers must have webpages that you can sort of navigate. A lot of countries will be totally int the dark, since you even can't find what "soapmaking supplies" or somthing like that is in their language, like polish or slovakian. Google translate does not help at all, I have tried that. Then, when you finally find suppliers, you struggle to make sure it goes thru customs. Then start the whole process again, often a few times, since it failes in one or the other way one or many places.
I do envy you in USA that have everything in one single country. I do also envy the EU countries. The suppliers sometimes don't make it easy for us Non-EU-citizens. And our governments definately do all what they can to stop us from buying from abroad, at least they do in this country. Just imagine if you were forced to find everything you need in the state of Alabama only. And if you would need something from others states, you had a limit of $42 INCLUDED the shipping price. Impossible? Yes, sure! And that is exactly the reality for us norwegians. What they really do, the government, is forcing us to buy from China instead. The chinese automatically makes sure every parcel goes thru customs, regardless the value, an they ship for a low price or free. It is the easiest country to order from, by far. But I don't want chinese supplies in my soaps. I'm not too sure about the quality or that it does not contain toxic stuff.
And can you imagine, that Ebay has become one of the worst places ever? Now, they have decided that every parcel to Norway should go thru customs (Ebay don't send the parcels, the sellers do), so they add VAT and fees automatically. Then it is a struggle to get that removed. The sellers really have a lot of work if they want to sell to us. They often do, so they try to get it removed by fixing this and that. But it is a lot of struggle, every time, so Ebay is a place I can't use more than in emergency situations.
I easily can get both lye and oils at the grocery store, and our tap water is the cleanest water in the world (where I live). And I have a mould. So I have everything I need for unscented, uncoloured soaps. But that's not very inspiring. So I just have to keep on looking all over Europe to find my maximum two suppliers.
I'm just frustrated because Soapqueen, where I found everything I would need, had a ridiculous policy. And because a fragrance oil supplier that I hoped to order from told me they could not do what I wanted. They had a good reason, though. But that sort is more the norm than the exception for us out in the cold, outside EU.
(I can't blaim anyone for us not being inside EU. I voted myself NO to EU, and I would vote the same again). :-D
