I got a text from UPS this evening that required me to click enough things that I was slightly convinced it was a scam for the longest time.
Turns out that a book I ordered through Kickstarter — at this point I am not naming-and-shaming because I’m going to assume honest mistake or software glitch — was shipped into Belgium with a reported value of $0.01.
Just in case someone was trying to outsmart the system, here’s a bonus fact for you: Customs officials aren’t stupid.
No one is spending $10-$20 + $10-20 in what should have been submitted as VAT charges just for a $0.01 item.
And that’s the story of how I had to use my phone to try and edit a screenshot of the reward and likely pay a +€20 customs up-charge1 because no way they actually paid the VAT if they declared it for a penny [if they did, they drastically underpaid].
Anyhow, we’ll see what the next step is.
I’ll let the person who came up with the project know the exact specifics, no doubt.
- To clarify, I’ll have to pay the VAT on the book and THEN a €20 processing fee, which together will likely come close to equaling the cost of the book once you factor in the shipping I already paid. ↩︎