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Evans Cycles … never ever again !

Elvis

Cruising
Apr 6, 2007
44
7
I noticed that Evans Cycles was consistently cheaper than other online competitors, so decided to give them a try by ordering a high-end long sleeve jersey.

Without being perfect, checking-out and registration process were smooth. Shipping cost was reasonable and delivery blistering fast in 3 days with DHL tracking on top of that.

First surprise : upon delivery, the courier requested 2,980 JPY
Import Duty : 1,100 JPY
Consumption Tax : 800 JPY
Payment Deferment : 1,080 JPY


I have never been charged with custom fee for items of this price. I have only been charged for goods at a much higher price, and even so not at this ridiculous rate. I am suspecting that it is because of the shipping method.

Second surprise : the jersey was in its original package with all labels, but it was dusty with long hairs on the "sticky" internal fleece. Worst, the chest pocket was defective and unusable.

Customer Service handled the case promptly, professionally and fairly. After negotiation, I was offered a gift coupon of a substantial amount that I accepted.

I did not intend to order from Evans again after my first negative experience, but was willing to give them a second chance since I had a coupon. After all, it may have been just bad luck. So I ordered a high-end jacket and again it was delivered extremely quickly in 2 days.

Bang … third surprise : the courier requested 2,980 JPY again on delivery.

Now it's clear that it's not simply bad luck. I arrived in Japan last autumn and had to build a winter cycling wardrobe. The fact that I have been hit twice in a row by Evans and never by competitors is further beyond a mere coincidence.

Morality of the story : I don't recommend ordering from Evans Cycle, unless there is a crazy discount on an expensive item that would cover the ridiculous import fee. Or in the case of a big order where the duty fee stays fixed, and only the consumption tax is variable. But personally I would not dare to try … again :confused:
 
You are complaining about Evans because Japanese customs slapped a tax on your goods that you didn't pay any VAT on in the EU ? I don't understand how you can blame Evans for this. I've ordered things from various online stores including Evans, wiggle, starbike, fairwheels bikes and Merlin. It seems like a lottery as to whether you pay duty or not (although if you are buying an expensive item , say, over ¥100,000 , you will be pretty much guaranteed to pay duty). In my experience, it's not just Evans goods that I pay high amounts of duty on.
Regarding the hair on the jersey, that's a different matter and sounds like they resolved it to your satisfaction ;)
 
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Sorry I don't share your outrage. Could you buy the same item in Japan cheaper than you paid after the extra ¥2,980? If yes then I guess you are right to get angry but I suspect the saving to you was more than the tax you paid. Lesson learnt, budget the extra 3000 yen and if you don't get hit, bonus! good luck.
 
More of a DHL problem than Evans....
Those crooks add the 1080 yen as a fee for them doing their job.
Post office post is best for getting away with taxes due and fees.
 
Whenever the DHL tracking says they've handed it off to a local delivery company I breathe a sigh of relief!

Evans have sent me things that were very lucky to still be in what was left of the packaging more than once and charged me for things that were not in stock and would not be stocked again but every time I have dealt with customer services it's been sorted out without any fuss. They are a bit shoddy around the edges but it is better than paying the exorbitant domestic prices.
 
I have to agree with the other posts about not sharing your outrage. Whenever anything over 10,000 yen comes my way via DHL, it is a crap shoot as to whether I will get hit with additional charges. So I either build that into my cost, or order elsewhere that does not use DHL if I can find it.

I will still order from Wiggle, Evans, Rapha and other overseas stores because so much stuff here is overpriced. But I say that and you can find some good deals here as well.
 
I had a similar issue with a defect product. I had to pay DHL twice, but after contacting the customer service, they reimbursed the second import tax & fees in full.
 
Depends on the courier I think. I recently did 2 orders for winter apparel - one with Rapha, one with La Passione. Both arrived within minutes of each other. Rapha was Saigawa I think, via FedEx Ithink. No duty. La Passione was Yamato, via UPS. Duty charged at the door. Both packages around 15,000 yen in value, clothes only.
 
Although I am happy every time my order is delivered without additional charges (i.e. at least 95% of the times before experiencing Evans), I have absolutely no objection to pay consumption tax as long as it is proportional to the local rate. I was not expecting to pay almost 3 times the effective Japanese tax rate and I believe that it is legitimate to be surprised.

I am neither outraged, angry nor blaming anybody. At most, I am disappointed. In fact, I am the only one to be blamed in this story and I find it rather amusing since I probably ended up paying more thinking that I would save few thousands yens ordering from another online shop :ashamed:

I tried to negotiate with Evans to ship the replacement item without commercial value as a replacement and/or repair, but they refused. I also tried to negotiate the compensation to be refunded to my credit card instead of a gift card, but they also refused. I am not complaining about Customer Service who did their best to find a compromise. But at the end of the day, I received a jersey with a decorative pocket and a gift card to be spent at Evans again.

I burnt myself once and had to try it again before finally understanding that Evans is definitely not for me. At this rate, I would have more chance playing lottery ;). I simply wanted to advise the community to think twice before ordering a pair of socks at Evans Cycles. There is a pattern to follow or you may end up paying 100% duty !
 
Depends on the courier I think. I recently did 2 orders for winter apparel - one with Rapha, one with La Passione. Both arrived within minutes of each other. Rapha was Saigawa I think, via FedEx Ithink. No duty. La Passione was Yamato, via UPS. Duty charged at the door. Both packages around 15,000 yen in value, clothes only.
Rapha includes the duty in the price already. They have a system set up that means you never have to pay any duty when it is sent to you. It's the same price as if you bought the product in the shop in Tokyo.
 
@Elvis You paid a tariff on imported clothing (plus DHL handling fee), not a consumption tax. All clothing imported into Japan is supposed to be tarriffed (10% I think, much higher for leather items) but a lot of stuff slips by the notice of the tariff guys as you can gather.
 
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