Lumintop must specify shipping as $10, or whatever. If not, customs estimate at a much higher value!
I was taxed according to the specified amount on the package (it was a UT02).
When it’s under €22.— there’s no tax in NL.
The UT02 was just €2.47 over that… :person_facepalming:
And it’s not the tax that hurt, but the admin costs…
I think a value of $10 on the GT packages, even when split in 2 packages (like they said they would) is not credible though.
I only have what they told me, there is no reason for them to lie about it so I assume it to be correct. Particularly when they have lost a lot of money dealing with these returned packages.
I asked about switching the shipping type but did not hear back on that point. This is why I generally have to keep messages to 1 or 2 points at a time or the others get lost.
Sadly the value for the UK is having to be increased to even allow them to be delivered. They have raised the price each time they try to ship it but it still gets refused apparently. I asked for more details but have not heard anything yet.
All they said was that the last value they tried was $55 for it was still refused. Setting a low value doesn’t do any good if the light can’t even be delivered. They are trying to keep it as low as possible though at their own expense of getting them returned multiple times.
Some other sad news about shipping costs. I should preface this with some more information. The goal with this GB when it started was for the first 555 lights to be just slightly above cost (we had hoped the cost would be $100 and they would make $10 each light) and for the remaining lights to have a reasonable profit margin for them so that they would want to work with us again in the future.
Well after the various issues they have had, they are now officially loosing money on the first 555 and looking at making very little if anything on the remaining lights.
The reflectors have ended up costing more then they budgeted due to the several factors and the big thing is shipping costs are much higher then the estimated.
Technically since most of the orders so far are the first 555, they have actually lost money as a whole thus far is what I am getting. The remaining lights will be what allows them to break even and turn any kind of profit.
The fact they have kept going without complaint to this point is impressive all things considered.
So now to the sad news, there will need to be added shipping costs to several countries that are just too expensive to ship this big light to. Here is an excerpt from the email I got:
For those in these countries Neal should be in contact with you about the shipping and if not, you can contact him about it.
If you do not want to pay the extra Fee you are entitled to a full refund as well.
While this is sad to hear I also can not blame them for it, they are doing the best they can with a bad situation. The last thing we need is for them to loose money on this project and then never want to work with us again. They are by the best flashlight manufacture I have worked with to date for this kind of thing.
Texas_Ace thank you for informing! How do I know how much I need to pay extra for shipping? Write to you in PM? Or Neal? But he does not answer.
They said it is around $40 for most of them, some a little more. I think they might just go with a flat $40 for everyone but they didn’t tell me for sure.
Neal is who will be in charge of these payments, I am not sure how he plans to handle it as I have not heard back from him about it yet.
I assume the best place to start would be to send him a PM with a title like “where to send extra shipping payment” or something like that. I know he has contacted some members already about it, just not all of them.
Thanks Texas, I understantd all of this :+1:
So brazil os not one in expensive country? They have a sure about this?
And at best we will get our flashlights not earlier than early March, right? After all, already half of the factories in China on vacation …
That I do not know, the quote I posted was all they told me, the ect. at the end seems to imply that other countries are included but they did not say which ones they are.
I think the plan is for Neal to contact those that are effected directly, so he should get in contact with you if you are affected.
This is unknown at this point. They said that if the full shipment of reflectors shows up and is of good quality they hope to get most of the existing orders taken care of before going on vacation.
That said they will not finish all of them so some will have to wait until march for sure, we just don’t know how many.
Thanks, I will try my first pm for him 
This is no surprise to me. Lumintop did not use registered mail because it was too expensive for them, if you look at the extremely low price for the GT + shipping. It’s sad their culture made them stay quiet and let the members with registered mail wait without knowing what is really the problem. My advice, take DHL and hope for the best. For those who really don’t want DHL, send Neal a mail. Does Neal have the DHL list? Lumintop has still my great sympathies for their intentions to want the best for the BLF members. I wish communication could be more open, we are not only customers but also partners who are willing to help and try to find solutions for problems.
I laughed so hard, i don’t remember if i actually said it on the forum but when they first said DHL worldwide for 111$ i said no chance that it will work for me. As it turns out it did not, fail.
So lets say i want refund, first i will not get the total $117 because of paypal fees and s*it, 2nd is i will lose money on currency conversion … so i will be in total loss of about ~15$
And if i decide that i actually want the light i will need to pay additional money.
I really have mixed feelings right now, i want the light but no way i could afford paying additional 40$ or so, kinda disappointing…
for my experience with PayPal, you should not lose anything with the refund, no PayPal commission in case of refund and with the same exchange rate applied at the time of payment.
Are these extra costs only for registered ship. Or also for DHL?
I can afford to pay another $ 40, although it’s unpleasant.
But, probably, I have a conservative understanding of the business.
I think that a deal is a deal. And when a company can not fulfill what they promised - it’s a loss of reputation in business.
I really respect the work of GT-Team. It’s a hard work.
And I understand how unpleasant it is to tell us such sad news.
Anyway, I want this flashlight, but this will be my last flashlight of Lumintop.
And you know, the problem is not in price.
I patiently waited and went to this topic only in order to track the news.
The problem is that in the Lumintop company’s management no one has found the time
to explain to such a large number of buyers what is happening and how things are going.
Once again: I respect and appreciate the work of the GT-Team, I am grateful for the huge amount of work done.
But I can not understand the manufacturer’s policy in any way.
At this point it should still be soon enough to send a refund, which as said should not cause you to loose anything as it simply reverses the transaction.
Sorry to say, but this is starting to be a joke!…. 40usd extra for those in remote contrys??
People have already paid for the GT, and “in the last minute” they (Lumintop) add an extra fee of 40usd??? HELLO!
This is not a nice move, and it`s certainly not a professional way of doing buisness……
IMHO………