gregchang35
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2012
- Messages
- 3,416
Offering good customer service is one thing. Offering free international shipping back and forth is another. Lastly, making the re-entry and custom clearance flawless is remarkable.
All this during covid.
Congratulations on a beautiful ring!!
I’m so glad it worked out. The new prongs are indeed a beautiful improvement, and just dainty enough.
This is tangential, but I wonder if you could share with me your fedex experience. I too will soon be expecting a Whiteflash shipment to Canada and would like to know what to expect about how/if fedex will contact me themselves, how the customs and taxes are calculated and paid, the pickup process, etc
Thanks so much! And again, congratulations on your most gorgeous ring!
No problem! Here's something I started up typing that I was going to post later.
Shipping from US to Canada: WF sent me an email telling me my package was shipped and that I would receive my studio photos of the ring afterwards. I received an email from Fedex shortly after the package was shipped stating: “Exception Reason: Detailed broker information is required. Recommended Action: Shipper or Importer must provide designated broker information.” I called Fedex and they emailed me the “POA 1x - Simplified Agency Agreement - English” form which I filled out and sent back to the Fedex rep.
Within a few hours, I received an email from a Fedex rep with a PDF of our “ROD receipt” stating that we needed to pay the import charges. The import charges were: GST + PST + ROD fee of $10. No duties! My partner called the number in the email and paid by credit card, and I received an email with a payment confirmation number from Fedex, which I then emailed to the Fedex rep (as per their instruction). <48 hours later, we received an email stating: “Clearance issues resolved. Shipment released for delivery.” We drove to the Fedex Shipping Centre to pick it up that same day. Total time from WF shipping it from the states to being ready for pick up in Canada = 5 days
Shipping from Canada to the US: Whiteflash offered to have me ship the ring back to them (postage paid) to adjust and sent me directions. I was asked to fill out a Fedex form titled “Foreign Shipper’s Declaration of US Goods Returned”. After I sent that to Vera, I was then sent several forms shortly after:
As per Vera’s directions, I included three copies (collated) of documents #1-4 and put it into the shipping pouch on the box. I put document #5 inside with the ring. The AGS certification was not necessary as I was not changing the stone. When I checked the tracking info, Fedex’s tracking site stated: “Description provided is insufficient to classify commodity. Recommended action: Shipper or Importer must provide a more detailed description of goods”. Twelve hours later, the site was updated and the notice disappeared. Vera said that it happens from time to time. A day or two later, the package arrived at WF. Total time = 5 days
- Commercial invoice (third party insurance for the ring, I think?)
- Importer’s declaration of US Goods returned - completed by WF
- Foreign shipper’s declaration of US goods returned - completed by me earlier
- Fedex express return shipping label (2 pages)
- Return packing slip.
Shipping the revised ring from US back to Canada:
Five business days after, I received the revision photos. After approving the revised images, they shipped the ring on the next business day (Monday) via Fedex. On Tuesday, it arrived in my city but there was a message on the tracking page stating, "Detailed broker information is required." I thought I had to call Fedex again to go through the POA process but fortunately the message disappeared shortly in the same day (I'm not sure if WF managed it or FedEx resolved it). The status was changed to "Held, cleared regulatory agency(s) after aircraft/truck departed" which also resolved after six hours. After that, my package was ready for pick up so I picked it up on Wednesday of the same week! Total time = 3 days
----------------------------------------------------
Hope that is helpful. I included the Fedex statuses in case you (or other future viewers of this thread) are as anxious as I am LOL. The whole process of sending it back to get the prongs revised was significantly less complicated than I expected! This has been the most expensive international purchase we've made, and my partner was VERY impressed with the customer service from WF. He was so impressed that he even reminded me to send WF a thank you email and to post an update on "that forum".
Wow!!! This was so helpful!
I am also currently waiting the revised photos for my ring and should have it by tomorrow.
What method of shipping was used? Was it FedEx Priority? I was hoping to get my ring before the 23rd(Wed) but doesn’t seem like that will happen since it took 5 days for you to get your package the first time around.
No problem! Here's something I started up typing that I was going to post later.
Shipping from US to Canada: WF sent me an email telling me my package was shipped and that I would receive my studio photos of the ring afterwards. I received an email from Fedex shortly after the package was shipped stating: “Exception Reason: Detailed broker information is required. Recommended Action: Shipper or Importer must provide designated broker information.” I called Fedex and they emailed me the “POA 1x - Simplified Agency Agreement - English” form which I filled out and sent back to the Fedex rep.
Within a few hours, I received an email from a Fedex rep with a PDF of our “ROD receipt” stating that we needed to pay the import charges. The import charges were: GST + PST + ROD fee of $10. No duties! My partner called the number in the email and paid by credit card, and I received an email with a payment confirmation number from Fedex, which I then emailed to the Fedex rep (as per their instruction). <48 hours later, we received an email stating: “Clearance issues resolved. Shipment released for delivery.” We drove to the Fedex Shipping Centre to pick it up that same day. Total time from WF shipping it from the states to being ready for pick up in Canada = 5 days
Shipping from Canada to the US: Whiteflash offered to have me ship the ring back to them (postage paid) to adjust and sent me directions. I was asked to fill out a Fedex form titled “Foreign Shipper’s Declaration of US Goods Returned”. After I sent that to Vera, I was then sent several forms shortly after:
As per Vera’s directions, I included three copies (collated) of documents #1-4 and put it into the shipping pouch on the box. I put document #5 inside with the ring. The AGS certification was not necessary as I was not changing the stone. When I checked the tracking info, Fedex’s tracking site stated: “Description provided is insufficient to classify commodity. Recommended action: Shipper or Importer must provide a more detailed description of goods”. Twelve hours later, the site was updated and the notice disappeared. Vera said that it happens from time to time. A day or two later, the package arrived at WF. Total time = 5 days
- Commercial invoice (third party insurance for the ring, I think?)
- Importer’s declaration of US Goods returned - completed by WF
- Foreign shipper’s declaration of US goods returned - completed by me earlier
- Fedex express return shipping label (2 pages)
- Return packing slip.
Shipping the revised ring from US back to Canada:
Five business days after, I received the revision photos. After approving the revised images, they shipped the ring on the next business day (Monday) via Fedex. On Tuesday, it arrived in my city but there was a message on the tracking page stating, "Detailed broker information is required." I thought I had to call Fedex again to go through the POA process but fortunately the message disappeared shortly in the same day (I'm not sure if WF managed it or FedEx resolved it). The status was changed to "Held, cleared regulatory agency(s) after aircraft/truck departed" which also resolved after six hours. After that, my package was ready for pick up so I picked it up on Wednesday of the same week! Total time = 3 days
----------------------------------------------------
Hope that is helpful. I included the Fedex statuses in case you (or other future viewers of this thread) are as anxious as I am LOL. The whole process of sending it back to get the prongs revised was significantly less complicated than I expected! This has been the most expensive international purchase we've made, and my partner was VERY impressed with the customer service from WF. He was so impressed that he even reminded me to send WF a thank you email and to post an update on "that forum".
We picked up the ring today and I LOVE IT!
The prongs weren't the first thing I noticed this time when I opened the box (which was what I was hoping for). They look a bit longer but thinner than in the revision photo that WF sent. Now I can stare at it without thinking about the prongs! As an added bonus I didn't even have to do anything with customs or Fedex this time when it came across the border in to Canada!
I'll do a SMTB post after the proposal, but for now, here's a comparison shot as well as a fun, festive picture of my ring with my Christmas macarons:
Yes I am wearing the same pants, but I swear I did do laundry in the time between these two comparison shots...
As bright as Rudolf's nose is, it is no match for the brilliance in my WF ACA!
No problem! Here's something I started up typing that I was going to post later.
Shipping from US to Canada: WF sent me an email telling me my package was shipped and that I would receive my studio photos of the ring afterwards. I received an email from Fedex shortly after the package was shipped stating: “Exception Reason: Detailed broker information is required. Recommended Action: Shipper or Importer must provide designated broker information.” I called Fedex and they emailed me the “POA 1x - Simplified Agency Agreement - English” form which I filled out and sent back to the Fedex rep.
Within a few hours, I received an email from a Fedex rep with a PDF of our “ROD receipt” stating that we needed to pay the import charges. The import charges were: GST + PST + ROD fee of $10. No duties! My partner called the number in the email and paid by credit card, and I received an email with a payment confirmation number from Fedex, which I then emailed to the Fedex rep (as per their instruction). <48 hours later, we received an email stating: “Clearance issues resolved. Shipment released for delivery.” We drove to the Fedex Shipping Centre to pick it up that same day. Total time from WF shipping it from the states to being ready for pick up in Canada = 5 days
Shipping from Canada to the US: Whiteflash offered to have me ship the ring back to them (postage paid) to adjust and sent me directions. I was asked to fill out a Fedex form titled “Foreign Shipper’s Declaration of US Goods Returned”. After I sent that to Vera, I was then sent several forms shortly after:
As per Vera’s directions, I included three copies (collated) of documents #1-4 and put it into the shipping pouch on the box. I put document #5 inside with the ring. The AGS certification was not necessary as I was not changing the stone. When I checked the tracking info, Fedex’s tracking site stated: “Description provided is insufficient to classify commodity. Recommended action: Shipper or Importer must provide a more detailed description of goods”. Twelve hours later, the site was updated and the notice disappeared. Vera said that it happens from time to time. A day or two later, the package arrived at WF. Total time = 5 days
- Commercial invoice (third party insurance for the ring, I think?)
- Importer’s declaration of US Goods returned - completed by WF
- Foreign shipper’s declaration of US goods returned - completed by me earlier
- Fedex express return shipping label (2 pages)
- Return packing slip.
Shipping the revised ring from US back to Canada:
Five business days after, I received the revision photos. After approving the revised images, they shipped the ring on the next business day (Monday) via Fedex. On Tuesday, it arrived in my city but there was a message on the tracking page stating, "Detailed broker information is required." I thought I had to call Fedex again to go through the POA process but fortunately the message disappeared shortly in the same day (I'm not sure if WF managed it or FedEx resolved it). The status was changed to "Held, cleared regulatory agency(s) after aircraft/truck departed" which also resolved after six hours. After that, my package was ready for pick up so I picked it up on Wednesday of the same week! Total time = 3 days
----------------------------------------------------
Hope that is helpful. I included the Fedex statuses in case you (or other future viewers of this thread) are as anxious as I am LOL. The whole process of sending it back to get the prongs revised was significantly less complicated than I expected! This has been the most expensive international purchase we've made, and my partner was VERY impressed with the customer service from WF. He was so impressed that he even reminded me to send WF a thank you email and to post an update on "that forum".
For any other Canadians out there interested in the international shipping process... my Whiteflash package was shipped from Whiteflash’s door to my local FedEx depot (in Ontario, Canada) and ready for pickup in exactly 38 hours!!! 38 hours! I couldn’t believe it!!
As soon as my tracking page indicated that there was a “Clearance delay - Import; Detailed broker information is required” I gave FedEx a call. The first agent I spoke to thought everything was on track and nothing needed to be done on my end, despite my insistence that I needed to clear customs and pay my taxes due to the knowledge I gained from the very detailed and helpful post by @cakeeatingcat, so I called back an hour later to talk to another agent.
This second agent had me send an email stating that “I, full name, do authorize Fedex to clear the shipment on my behalf and will be responsible for any applicable duties and taxes”. I did not have to fill out any forms.
A few hours later, I was emailed an invoice for the taxes due that I paid for over the phone. I was instructed to email my payment confirmation back to the agent, who then cleared the package to go through customs then onto my local FedEx depot for pickup.
I would not hesitate to purchase in this way again as it wasn’t nearly as daunting or difficult as I imagined it would or could be. The process was seamless, efficient, and well worth it.
Hi ice empress! I too am from Canada and I am waiting on my new e-ring from WF to be finalized. Do you mind me asking how much taxes/duties you paid?
Off on a tangent
but those Christmas biscuits look delicious
How was your Christmas with your new and improved ring ?
My Christmas was great. The now-fiance proposed on Christmas day and I have been enjoying my ring since Thank you for asking!!
I just posted a thread in SMTB for anyone interested: https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-world-of-modest-super-ideal-diamonds.263297/
Thanks to everyone in Rocky Talky for the help! I'll be back... (when I get my ACA upgraded hehehe)