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Whoever decided to shift shipping to DHL from Mail Innovations International did not think this through in terms of the impact on Canadian/International customers.
I’d posted previously that I was surprised when I noticed that my Adventure Path shipping costs going from $12.20 to $20.05.
Before the shift to DHL, I used to pay about $40 CDN per AP through Mail Innovations including shipping. With DHL, this month the bill was over $53 CDN. Now with import duties/customs clearance I’m paying over $75 CDN for this single Adventure Path volume.
I’ve been an AP subscriber since the start (AP #1). I’ve never had customs charges for any of my previous 220 volumes through Mail Innovations unless I’d also added other product to my order – and in those cases, the duties were fair and proportional. Here I’m being asked to pay $22.44 CAD in duty for a product I was charged $20.99 USD for.
Is there anything Paizo can do here? Otherwise my plan is to call DHL and reject the shipment. In that case, I would ask Paizo to find some other way to send me my physical AP volume without having to pay duty – and perhaps also throw me some gold for the frustration.
Alternately, fix Remaster Oracle (or allow PFS players to play their pre-Remaster Oracles again) and all would be forgiven :)
Community & Social Media Specialist
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Hey there, rokeca! In the long term, international shipping is something we're still working through. We know it's not ideal for a lot of people, and we want to make it so, but it's taking us some time. In the short term, you can reach out to Customer Service at customer.service@paizo.com to see if there's anything they do about this specific shipment!
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Hey there, rokeca! In the long term, international shipping is something we're still working through. We know it's not ideal for a lot of people, and we want to make it so, but it's taking us some time. In the short term, you can reach out to Customer Service at customer.service@paizo.com to see if there's anything they do about this specific shipment!
Thank you Maya - I'm reaching via email to customer service!
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Yeah, that's one reason I never really liked DHL. I expected to start paying customs with all the *shake arms around* stuff happenings, but DHL's fees of ~20$ on top of the customs hurts a LOT. Previous shipping methods were "only" tacking ~10$ fees... still a lot for small shipments, but still better.
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Hey there, rokeca! In the long term, international shipping is something we're still working through. We know it's not ideal for a lot of people, and we want to make it so, but it's taking us some time. In the short term, you can reach out to Customer Service at customer.service@paizo.com to see if there's anything they do about this specific shipment!Thank you Maya - I'm reaching via email to customer service!
This Canadian paid this fee -- and I will pay to get the final softcover volume in the AP line.
I have been a subscriber to the product line since Issue #1. The final softcover issue will be the end of my subscription with Paizo for all of its products.
It is clear that they don't care about us. Okay. Two can play that game. With increasing costs and sky-high shipping that seems to never stop?
I no longer care enough, either.
I'm out.
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Hey there, rokeca! In the long term, international shipping is something we're still working through. We know it's not ideal for a lot of people, and we want to make it so, but it's taking us some time. In the short term, you can reach out to Customer Service at customer.service@paizo.com to see if there's anything they do about this specific shipment!
To be clear, the charge is not a "duty" it's a charge for HST a "fee" for the privilege of DHL paying that HST for you.
That's where the extra ~$20 comes from.
Yeah, no. I am out.
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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This Canadian paid this fee -- and I will pay to get the final softcover volume in the AP line.
I have been a subscriber to the product line since Issue #1. The final softcover issue will be the end of my subscription with Paizo for all of its products.
It is clear that they don't care about us. Okay. Two can play that game. With increasing costs and sky-high shipping that seems to never stop?
I no longer care enough, either.
I'm out.
We absolutely respect your decision to not want to pay this cost, but please do not confuse this cost for lack of care! As I've stated above, it's something we're actively working on, and the shipping climate in general right now is very difficult for small companies. We care very much about our community, which is why we're so sorry that this cost doesn't work for you while simultaneously respecting your decision. We'll never chastise you for just doing what's needed for you.
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We absolutely respect your decision to not want to pay this cost, but please do not confuse this cost for lack of care! As I've stated above, it's something we're actively working on, and the shipping climate in general right now is very difficult for small companies. We care very much about our community, which is why we're so sorry that this cost doesn't work for you while simultaneously respecting your decision. We'll never chastise you for just doing what's needed for you.
Hi Maya - I have no doubt the intent of care is there. I also have great empathy for the challenges small business are facing in this current environment. However, as Canadians, there are reasons why we may be questioning the extent of that care commitment. The shift to DHL from Mail Innovations took place without notification. We were not informed that shipping charges would increase. We were not informed that now we would be required to pay duties and brokerage fees almost equal to the cost of the actual product.
There's been a failure to communicate that does not make us feel like valued customers. I genuinely appreciate the efforts you are making. However, I also don't think anyone has apologized for the frustration and harm this has caused to our relationship/how we feel about Paizo.
Also - a quick follow up. I sent an email to Customer Service yesterday, but aside from an automated ticket email, I have not received a response. I was sent a 'last reminder' notice from DHL this morning and must now decide whether to decline shipment or pay the brokerage fees which I did not sign on for.
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I must agree. There is no doubt to me that Paizo wants and care about a good relationship with customers, but fees I did not sign up for and was not made aware ofmake me reconsider if a subscription is financially viable. At this rate, it may actually be cheaper to buy PDFs separately and just buy direct from my FLGS. But that decreases my chance of getting hardbacks at all.
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Hey there, rokeca! In the long term, international shipping is something we're still working through. We know it's not ideal for a lot of people, and we want to make it so, but it's taking us some time. In the short term, you can reach out to Customer Service at customer.service@paizo.com to see if there's anything they do about this specific shipment!
@Maya - an update on my end. I still haven't heard from Customer Service. Like Steel Wind, I have elected to pay the duty so that I can have my complete set of APs. But I have to be honest, I don't feel good about it for all the reasons I've mentioned above, I have made the duty/brokerage payment because I am making a leap of faith that Paizo will do something to make this right once the chaos from the store changeover settles down.
I do have a request here. There have been a couple posts here of a time sensitive nature around customs and duty issues where you've recommended reaching out to Customer Service. But when Customer Service doesn't respond before the clock runs out, it makes the customer experience worse instead of better. Would it be possible in the future for you to flag these time-sensitive issues with Customer Service so they can be triaged when there is a matter of urgency?
I am also still hoping for some sort of apology/recognition of the impact this has had on Canadian (and potentially other international) customers. I recognize this has been an extremely busy time for the Paizo team, but I have to be frank that this has been a painful experience, and not up to the standards I've come to expect from Paizo.
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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Noted on all this feedback here! I'm forwarding it to our whole team for their consideration.
I'm genuinely sorry that this has been such a painful experience for you, especially since it wasn't what we intended at all. I'll also personally reach out to Customer Service to devise a plan for time sensitive issues like this. It's hard for us as such a small team, but I can see that you are all in good faith here. You want to support us, and we want to support you.
What was the intended outcome/goal here? That's the part that hasn't been clear to me.
So I cannot claim to know what was Paizo’s mind, but I do have some positives from this shipment. A big one for me was the ability to track my order. I’ve very rarely gotten that with PAIZO shipments and it was huge. Also, that has to be the fastest I’ve ever gotten my books.
I will also note that I did not pay any tariffs on top of DHL’s customs - the application of tariffs to my orders has been inconsistent, so I don’t know if the custom covered that - if it did, I’m fine with that. I paid $19 in tariffs for just Crypt of Runes, so $25 for Draconic Codex and Into the Apocalypse Archive is bearable. If next time this turns out to be in addition to tariffs or continues after tariffs end - that’s a very different story.
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I have no horse in this race, but I do genuinely hope Paizo can figure out something with shipping to Canada in general. It's the biggest thing that keeps me from doing subscriptions, the cost of shipping here is crazy.
I'd love to be able to support Paizo for those books I can't get from my FLGS, or when I have to wait on it to arrive to them rather than having to resort to that river in South America.
Having to pay 1/4 the cost of the book in shipping fees, and then customs and duties on top...it's cheaper for me to pay a reshipping service to take it across the border, and then ship it to me then it is to ship directly. :-(
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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I have no horse in this race, but I do genuinely hope Paizo can figure out something with shipping to Canada in general. It's the biggest thing that keeps me from doing subscriptions, the cost of shipping here is crazy.
I'd love to be able to support Paizo for those books I can't get from my FLGS, or when I have to wait on it to arrive to them rather than having to resort to that river in South America.
Having to pay 1/4 the cost of the book in shipping fees, and then customs and duties on top...it's cheaper for me to pay a reshipping service to take it across the border, and then ship it to me then it is to ship directly. :-(
It is something we are truly actively working on! Not just Canada but International shipping in general!
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Aside from the DHL Express guy not ringing at my work and therefore me having to get the package from a DHL service point half an hour away, things went surprisingly well. Shipping for the Draconic Codex and the AP volume was USD 40, which is not that much above the normal and the books arrived in four days. Also no customs extra charge, although that is a flip of a dime with the stupid system we have in Germany.
Having tracking is great, so I don't want things changed back for everyone, if Paizo decides to listen to the people who don't like the new system.
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Singapore here. Due to my subscription for Draconic Codex getting borked, I just ordered the hard copy to be delivered. I had always accepted that paying high shipping was just a fact a life, and I was happy to swallow it to support Paizo. This time, however, shipping was 34$ on a 64$ book. I think it has finally reached the point where it no longer makes sense for me to buy physical books.
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Is DHL not considered a "courier" (as opposed to a postal carrier)? CUSMA set a de minimis threshold for couriers of CAN $150 for duties and $40 for taxes on shipments originating in the US or Mexico. Postal shipments were left with the existing CAN $20 de minimis for both.
Possibly the Canadian rules got changed in the tariff tit-for-tat engulfing the world since "Liberation Day" in the US. Chaos is making things difficult for every importer and exporter.
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We're still using DHL for our next shipments since it would be impossible to shift things over so quickly of course, but I am passing on this info to the team for consideration! Thank you everyone for letting us know your experiences!
Aside from the DHL Express guy not ringing at my work and therefore me having to get the package from a DHL service point half an hour away, things went surprisingly well. Shipping for the Draconic Codex and the AP volume was USD 40, which is not that much above the normal and the books arrived in four days. Also no customs extra charge, although that is a flip of a dime with the stupid system we have in Germany.
Having tracking is great, so I don't want things changed back for everyone, if Paizo decides to listen to the people who don't like the new system.
Yeah, tracking proved to be invaluable for me too. Still not sold on DHL and wish upfront communication had been better, but having it as an option would be better than not
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Having tracking is great, so I don't want things changed back for everyone, if Paizo decides to listen to the people who don't like the new system.I don't understand the tracking advantage. From my 2nd subscriber delivery onward the mail innovations delivery were always tracked in the DHL app. As soon as the parcel arrived in Germany I always got the status (and could look it up in the dhl app) and a day before delivery I got a mail with the customs amount to be paid to the delivery man.
There is no advantage for dhl express considering tracking.
As if you pay the customs tax, dhl express is a least double the fee (15 instead of 7.5 Euro).My delivery date was 4th of Nov., but my coin toss for customs check was bad am still waiting for the customs checks. Since the tax was already paid by paizo (one shop stop system), the tax should be zero, but I think dhl express will charge me a second time.
I know the mail innovations have a tracking number, something like 1233569US
Maybe paizo could provide this number, so I would able to track the parcel from day one.
I was never able to get tracking data before and this has led to the loss of two shipments in the past. I want that tracking data.
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@Maya - a short update. Unfortunately, DHL delivered my package damaged. With Mail Innovations, I did receive one package damaged (when our local mail carrier decided it was OK to bend the cardboard envelope to place in our regular mailbox). So in terms of package delivery, Mail Innovations was 219 out of 220 APs received in good condition. DHL is 0 for 1.
I have sent an update on my ticket to customer service. I know they are overwhelmed, so hopefully they can offer some sort of solution once the store transition overwhelm is tamed.
Reading other responses here, the theme I'm seeing is 'choice is good'. Those with poor experiences with Mail Innovations in the past value DHL and the tracking. Using DHL may also make sense for supersubscribers or those with big orders to distribute the increased DHL costs over multiple products. For some international customers who make smaller orders though, the math may no longer works to purchase physical products from Paizo. Which I feel sad about and I hope a solution can be found.
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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@Maya - a short update. Unfortunately, DHL delivered my package damaged. With Mail Innovations, I did receive one package damaged (when our local mail carrier decided it was OK to bend the cardboard envelope to place in our regular mailbox). So in terms of package delivery, Mail Innovations was 219 out of 220 APs received in good condition. DHL is 0 for 1.
I have sent an update on my ticket to customer service. I know they are overwhelmed, so hopefully they can offer some sort of solution once the store transition overwhelm is tamed.
Reading other responses here, the theme I'm seeing is 'choice is good'. Those with poor experiences with Mail Innovations in the past value DHL and the tracking. Using DHL may also make sense for supersubscribers or those with big orders to distribute the increased DHL costs over multiple products. For some international customers who make smaller orders though, the math may no longer works to purchase physical products from Paizo. Which I feel sad about and I hope a solution can be found.
It's definitely a lot to weigh. Some people are enjoying DHL and some aren't, but we don't want to make it seem like we are only listening to the positive feedback here. The negative feedback also helps us determine our decisions long term as what we really want is for everyone to get their games undamaged, with tracking, and with the lowest amount of customs fees.
Thank you as always for filling me in! I'm keeping this thread on our team's radar! I appreciate you as well with your patience with our small but diligent Customer Service Team!
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As someone who isn't happy about the change I will say that tracking means nothing to me, what I care about is the lowest possible cost.
I think in the 15 years or so of subscribing only one AP issue has gotten lost in the mail, so I never felt the need to see where my package was.
This is important info for us to know! Thank you for telling us!
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I have had problems with the german customs for almost all packgages in the old system (glued their label over the paizo label with the tx-informations and I had to pay the tax a second time - to get this back I had to fill out a lot horrible forms - tried this one time and after that I just paid this extra)
There was no problem with the DHL package.
But I understand that this is not the case for everyone.
So maybe it could be a solution to let us choose which carrier we want for our packages. There was something like this in the old system.
I have had problems with the german customs for almost all packgages in the old system (glued their label over the paizo label with the tx-informations and I had to pay the tax a second time - to get this back I had to fill out a lot horrible forms - tried this one time and after that I just paid this extra)
There was no problem with the DHL package.But I understand that this is not the case for everyone.
So maybe it could be a solution to let us choose which carrier we want for our packages. There was something like this in the old system.
That is in practice a standard feature of most web shops. I'm pretty sure Paizo will be able to offer this shortly.
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A tangential point:
There have been several news stories lately about the impact of tariffs on individuals importing small-value items directly into the U.S., since the end of the de minimis exemptions. Basically every major carrier (FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.) seems to be charging a fairly significant fee to the end receiver on top of the tariff amount.
On the one hand - OK, they weren't set up to do this and they needed to spend on the systems to figure out the tariffs and how to collect them. And how to then pay them to the government. Not to mention the carriers have to prepay the tariffs so there is some (very small) lost time value of money. On the other hand, once their systems are set up there is minimal recurring cost. A lot of consumer advocates are concerned that these "tariff handling fees" are rapidly turning into another revenue stream for the carriers rather than simply recouping costs. And that after seeing the potential profits in the US they are adding or increasing similar fees internationally.
What does this mean for Paizo shipping? Just that the companies that have significant business direct-shipping internationally (and have price-sensitive customers) are going to have to spend a lot of effort choosing and/or negotiating with the carriers to get the lowest added fees. Which is to say that there's no fast fix and in the end it comes down to the carriers.
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+1 for going back to Mail Innovations. DHL is prohibitively expensive shipping to New Zealand. Admittedly I don't have to deal with the customs issues of those elsewhere. I wont be able to keep my subs long term if something doesn't change
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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+1 for going back to Mail Innovations. DHL is prohibitively expensive shipping to New Zealand. Admittedly I don't have to deal with the customs issues of those elsewhere. I wont be able to keep my subs long term if something doesn't change
Thank you for letting us know! Region specific issues help us determine what works best as we seek solutions!
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Y'all are getting your orders?
I'm in Canada and have had 3 shipments lost in a row. No tracking information is insane in this day and age. As someone who lives in a rural community, where packages aren't actually delivered and often get help at a pick up centre or a PO Box, I have no way of knowing if anythings been delivered, or if it was returned by the shipping company, or lost. All I know is when I do go and check they don't have anything. Its a 30 min drive each way to go maybe have something there. Please please please add tracking as an option to Canada. I now have over $400usd worth of orders missing. Between not actually getting my orders, and the higher shipping costs, and taxes, and tarrifs I've canacelled my subscriptions. It's just way to expensive to MAYBE get a book.
Well, first off, you can contact customer service for that and they will gladly send you the books again free of charge. They did it for me.
Secondly, yes, I had two lost shipments in the last half year and as such I think tracking is essential. Whatever Paizo does, please do not take away the option to get tracking.
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Community & Social Media Specialist
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Y'all are getting your orders?
I'm in Canada and have had 3 shipments lost in a row. No tracking information is insane in this day and age. As someone who lives in a rural community, where packages aren't actually delivered and often get help at a pick up centre or a PO Box, I have no way of knowing if anythings been delivered, or if it was returned by the shipping company, or lost. All I know is when I do go and check they don't have anything. Its a 30 min drive each way to go maybe have something there. Please please please add tracking as an option to Canada. I now have over $400usd worth of orders missing. Between not actually getting my orders, and the higher shipping costs, and taxes, and tarrifs I've canacelled my subscriptions. It's just way to expensive to MAYBE get a book.
Really sorry these got lost because this whole experience sounds frankly awful. As magnuskn said above, have you reached out to Customer Service already for help? That would be your main route in this case.