Two weeks ago I posted a letter from Aramex Shop and Ship saying that due to customs regulations they will be charging 5% customs fee on all shipments not including a KD1 handling charge and a KD1 government stamp. From what I understood this was going to apply to all shipping companies but today I received a package via DHL Borderlinx and to my surprise there was no charge. According to the DHL employee they’re not charging 5% customs on shipments. But does that make DHL cheaper? I’m not sure.
The problem (the only problem actually) with DHL’s Borderlinx is they charge based on volumetric weight. What this means is if a small box weighs 1KG and a large box weighs 1KG, the large box is going to be more expensive than the small box even though they’re the same weight. In my case my package weighed around 2KG but the volumetric weight was around 5.35KG. If I had shipped it with Aramex they would have charged me for the 2KG but with DHL I had to pay more than double the actual weight. On the other hand unlike Aramex, with DHL you don’t pay the 8% New York State tax and you also don’t pay the 5% Kuwait customs tax so which comes out a better deal?
Item cost: $187 (KD51)
Actual Weight: 2.2KG
Volumetric Weight: 5.35KG
Aramex Shop and Ship
8% NY tax: $15 (KD4.1)
Shipping cost to Kuwait: KD13.75
Kuwait customs: KD6*
Approx time from US to Kuwait: 8 days**
Total shipping cost = KD23.85
DHL Borderlinx
No NY Tax
Shipping cost to Kuwait: $110.60 (KD30.8)
No Kuwait Customs
Time from US to Kuwait: 4 days
Total shipping cost = KD30.8
So even with the new 5% customs fee Aramex is charging and even with the NY State tax they still somehow end up cheaper than DHL. This mostly has to do with the fact that DHL charges on volumetric weight. If they charged on actual weight than they’d be considerably cheaper. On the other hand DHL is practically twice as fast as Aramex so that alone could be worth the extra cost for many people.
My conclusion
Large (not necessarily heavy) packages ship to Aramex
Small or regular sized packages ship to DHL
So basically I’m still going to be flip flopping between the two companies for now.
*Calculated using their customs calculator
**Based on a different shipment just received from Aramex
17 replies on “DHL isn’t charging 5% customs”
On the other hand DHL is practically twice as fast as DHL ( ????)
and faster than Aramex 🙂
i need to get a proof reader!
I agree, I actually started doing just that, anything that is not time sensitive I’m sending it to Aramex and anything that I want in my hands sooner then it goes to DHL. They might be more expensive but they are more reliable.
MyUS all the way!
Thanks for the update mark, I guess I know where my nexus 7 is going.
u buying it from Google Play? I wanna get one but don’t have a US CC.
My most recent shipment from Aramex:
The item cost 11$ (KD 3 approx).
Charge to ship : KD 3.15
Customs charges : KD 3.650
So I paid more than double (almost KD 7) the price of the thing I got (well it might be worth it; it’s a collectable Darth Vader action figure).
Although the shipment only took 2 days to arrive… took 4 days to clear customs.
I have used Aramex twice, first and last time!
I go with price… I just got two macbook pros with Retina displays… each one cost me $108 for shipping. But, I saved about $200 from tax. So, more expensive stuff goes DHL, cheap ones go to Aramex.
Also don’t forget DHL will consolidate shipments for you. So I wait till two or three small items collect in my box and then to ship them at once.
DHL will not deliver the package to your home if you’re using borderlinx service ***
No they won’t but they’re open 24 hours
That was long time back.
Their timings now 7am-12am during the week and 9am-7pm during the weekend.
When did that happen? Around 2 months back they were 24 hours… I think
I ordered SmartWatch, which cost 115$ via MyUSA and they choosed DHL. Besides, the cost of shipment DHL asked for 5KD and many unreasonable papers as invoice requesting the 5KD…. claiming its for custom duty. Just a notice before this order I ordered two keyboards Razers, which both cost nearly 150$, and they only asked for 2KD for custom duty.
I believe they just doing their best to get any extra money….regardless if its DHL or Aramex they’re all the same.
hi. if my parcel is coming from uk, and we use dhl. do i have to collect it at their office or will they deliver it at the address that i’ll provide? (the office where i work)i really had a bad experience with kuwait post so there is no way im going back there.
thanks for this post though. very informative 😉