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Hi Matt,

I've had this happen lately for goods that I order from the US to Europe. They seem to have become much more strict about this than they used to.

Take care,

Geert

You have to be thankful you had only 30 bucks to pay, I ordered my Pod X3Live from the states lat summers because it was really cheaper there... all and all including taxes and the almost one month delay in the Spanish customs I ended up paying 20 Euros more than the list price in Thomman...
Tricks like declaring as gift and similar are also not working anymore (when buying from ebay for instance).

From UK to continental Europe is quite expensive to my taste, but taking into account the time they take and the almost unexistant customs problems, I believe is a good deal after all.

Buying from the UK is a good deal at the moment for EU people... I haven´t see any post here related to shipping of the Pico (other thank this of course) my experience with this was extremely good as I ordered mine ona sunday afternoon and I was already playing the next friday morning ... the process was very well documented and fluid with the sales department and I recommend 100% if someone is thinking on buying from the Eigenlabs webpage to do it... Customer service starts from the dispatch of the goods and the Eigenguys know that...

Carlos

I also was charged 30.00$ by UPS as a cod or they would not release the instrument to me. I also thought that part of the fee I paid for the Pico was a delivery charge.
Barry

You guys should make customers aware of this on the website, because it is not obvious.

The pico may be $30 but the Alpha was $308 which was a surprise to me.

I feel for you poor US Eigenharp owners.

I experienced the wrath of customs charges when I lived in Paris. I'd ordered an Electrix Repeater from the US, and scraped together every penny I could find to pay for the unit... It was then impounded by customs, and was only released to me after I'd paid about £200 (I forget exactly how much).... It took about a month if I remember before I could get my hands on the unit.

Anything going to the US from Europe or vice-versa will be charged import duty...

Anyway - I have an excuse to bump a thread and say hi. I received my Pico today, and tomorrow, I should be receiving my mac mini from Apple.... I can't wait to start playing with it :)

Thanks for the welcome barnone, and yes, I am in total agreement with you. Non EEC customers should be aware that there may be import taxes on items purchased from the UK.

Just a note on my experience here in the US, in Berkeley, CA. UPS didn't charge me any customs charges. Guess I got a visit from the customs fairy :-)

Is there any way to PREPAY the custom charges?

Tony

Hi

We're talking to UPS at the moment about being able to deduct these local taxes at source, when you order, for US customers in the same way we do for VAT with European purchasers. Unfortunately its quite complicated as each US state seems to have a different regime, unlike the EU. We'll probably introduce this when we bring in US dollar pricing (which has its own hassles as we then have to manage exchange rate fluctuations), but we have to regionalise the whole website for that, which is a fair bit of work. It will happen, just not overnight....

John

I'm in California, and they (oops!) charged me 61.34 pounds sterling for VAT, and warned me that UPS might demand $30 US upon delivery, and that the VAT would be refunded to my credit card. Well, I haven't gotten my bank statement yet, but from daily balance monitoring, I know they did the VAT refund. And UPS delivered, signature required, while I was off at Calculus class (mom signed). If they send a bill, I'll gladly pay it.

Honestly, after spending $350 for a bass guitar, and finding it too hard on my (53 yo) hands, this instrument is AWESOME by comparison! You barely touch it, and sounds begin to emanate. I played trumpet from age 8 to 16, and LOVE an instrument I can modulate with my breath, or play like a piano keyboard (with NO "WRONG" NOTES!). Both the Clarinet and Cello voices are just like a real instrument: as a rookie, I'm making all kinds of awful squeaks just like any other beginner. But as I begin to practice, it is sounding more and more like I know what I'm doing. Before long, I'll be able to play cello and bass guitar and clarinet and.... The potential creative products are astronomical in breadth and depth.

This is awesome! The packaging it comes in serves as a custom shock-proof traveling case, documents tucked neatly in the lid, including everything you need besides your trusty iMac or MacBook. Barely a week into ownership, I'm looking at the Tau and thinking about rationalizing the purchase.

In 1972, I paid $414.75 for the HP-45 calculator. It came with a leather case, a Quick Reference that tucked neatly into a pocket, and it was small enough to wear on a belt or slip into a shirt pocket. It, and the HP-35, started a revolution. Of course, today, you can get more functions than those oldies for less than $15. But they set the standard FOR THEIR TIME. The Eigenharp Pico has that same level of quality! I opened the box, looked at the contents, smelled that wonderful new electronic gear smell, and I was just as stunned as when I was sixteen years old: every detail has been thought through; there is not only none better, there is nothing close!

When I ordered my Pico, the Tau had not yet been announced. It's just as well. I want to whet my taste with the Pico, and somehow work the Tau into my budget for 2010. This is going to be a very good year, I can tell. The Pico is a great investment in myself.