Thursday 7 October 2021

Vicarious travel

The kids were on vacay out east in N.B. and N.S. in August, visiting the other gramma. They had planned to take the train, but it was only running on a limited schedule. 

We have had fun seeing their photos. They flew. All but Isabelle are fully vaccinated. She can travel, according to the protocols, since the family is otherwise all vaxxed. They are vigilant mask wearers.

I live vicariously through my adult children and their families! They went to the Hopewell Rocks, Tidal Bore, the Bay of Fundy, and played in the mud. 


 

From there they went to Nova Scotia. They went to the maritime museum, saw the HMCS Sackville,  saw the Halifax Citadel.




 

I decided to create a book of their trip. I downloaded them from the family photo stream, and uploaded photos to Photobook. They aren't cheap, but how else to do it? I ordered two books, they had a sale. I wanted hardcover, as they last longer. The books are made in Malaysia, then shipped to the US, and then Canada by DHL. The shipper has proven to be difficult.



I sent this to Photobooks:
I am shocked that DHL is charging me an additional $22.50 in import duty taxes, on top of the shipping fees of $11.70. These are hidden fees and it is just wrong. This isn't what import duties amount to. DHL (a German company) are charging me extra. I've already paid $100 for two books. I wrote the books. I seriously question the practices of this company. 

CBC has researched this (March, 2021), and it still hasn't changed. 
"Sinclair is joining a growing chorus of people online who say DHL is using claims of "duty and taxes" to include extra charges that customers feel trapped into paying or risk losing their packages."

I tweeted out my complaint, and sent one directly to Photobooks Canada. I had some satisfaction. 
A customer service rep replied and assured me that they are working on the DHL issue. They also said they would credit my account with the $22.50. 

6 comments:

Tom said...

...I am looking forward to travelling freely, I wonder when that will happen?

Anvilcloud said...

Shipping is so expensive without the extra surcharges. I looked at buying a calendar from a photo guy. It was 14£ but then shipping was another 13£. I didn't do it.

Nancy J said...

What a wonderful holiday, and soon down here you will need a vaccination certificate to show you have been fully vaccinated to participate in any large event,enter venues, or fly overseas, and maybe even within NZ. Love the N.S. photos, and hidden costs, so wrong. The whole world is a changing place, week by week.

RedPat said...

There is always someone trying to take advantage of other people.

Kay said...

Good thing you complained. We get our photobooks printed at Costco, but haven't done it in a while. I'm working on a set of 5 now and hoping it doesn't go to 6.

Kay said...

We loved seeing the Bay of Fundy. The tides were so interesting.