I’m in the Netherlands, backer, upgraded to the 8kX. Payed the price that was asked - $1,009.00 while giving up everything left from the kickstarter. Te headset was delivered several weeks ago. Today I receive an email from Pimax saying that I need to pay $219 more.
To ensure fast and smooth delivery FedEx has delivered your package with limited customs clearance but it is important to note that your package has generated a VAT Tax and as a result has an outstanding balance in the amount of $(219.13).
Several point on this:
It is very … uhm… bad to blackmail people for more money weeks after their orders have been delivered.
It is very … uhm… bad to hide costs like this!
It seems they have hidden the VAT on their website even if the EU law is requiring them to show the full price.
The 8kX is extremely expensive. It already seemed expensive, even when I thought the price included VAT. The … uhm… extreme cost saving measure to not include 2 cushions subjecting half the clients to hours of debugging and annoyances with a very narrow sweet spot is mind-blowing. In the next one or two days I need to consider if the 8kX is not too expensive after the hidden costs are added and simply return it.
That’s a good question.
I guess they waited for 2 weeks before asking for more money so the 2 week return window mandated by EU law would expire. All this seems setup on purpose.
Most people including myself have received an invoice for VAT from Fedex by post, I don’t know why you are receiving it from Pimax but in fact it comes out the same.
For the first time in my life I have been asked to pay more weeks after delivery.
Any order (products, tickets… ) I have ever done - if there are hidden fees they are visible before payment. The moment you login to paypal/bank the full amount is shown to you.
While I upgraded I kept an eye for the change in the price but it didn’t come. If the VAT was added then I wouldn’t have gotten it since the total cost is too high.
If all companies start sending invoices weeks after purchase then everything will fall apart since nobody will trust anybody.
I can’t not pay the invoice - it is by Fedex. Pimax is a middle man since I don’t have a Fedex account. In NL they will come after me with an “incassobureau” so I’ll end up paying even more.
The Pimax store page clearly said the price was ex. VAT, so it’s not hidden at all.
Getting a Chinese company to follow EU law won’t happen anytime soon… You can always hope customs or whoever misses to charge you for the VAT, but that’s really all you can hope for. This time you weren’t so lucky (me neither).
As I explained above - I expected the VAT to appear at some point during checkout, but it didn’t.
At the moment I made the decision to pay via my Paypal account the VAT was still not added.
So it is hidden - it was not present at the moment of payment, it only comes now.
I was looking for it closely because 1300 euro would have been above what I’m willing to pay.
I also recieved this comment on my order today, 4 weeks after delivery. My amount is $(274.12). There is just this number buried in the text without any invoice showing VAT and fees in detail. This is highly unprofessional! So i should just trust Pimax that this is the correct amount?
Based on my math i should pay only 151$ for VAT (payed less because of coupons), the rest is then import-whatever-fee???
I am happy to pay VAT as i am supposed to in my country and which was declared on the store page, but everthing else should be included in the 60$ delivery or not?
I also don’t understand how do I need to pay. It seems Pimax already payed Fedex and now want to get their money from me, but are trying to conceal this and the result is a letter that is confusing and impossible to follow.
Our records indicate your order, Order Number: (SOXXXXX) was shipped and has likely been delivered.
This letter is in reference to FedEx Tracking No. : (XXXXXXXXXXX
To ensure fast and smooth delivery FedEx has delivered your package with limited customs clearance but it is important to note that your package has generated a VAT Tax and as a result has an outstanding balance in the amount of $(274.12).
(FedEx Service charge and exchange rate fluctuations are involved & it is noteworthy that the final tax bill amount is subject to the customs bill provided by FedEx, please do not be surprised if FedEx’s notice of the same order comes later）
P.S. Please inform us about your payment if you have paid to FedEx (better and prefer to ) or Pimax.）
Therefore, you must make one of the following arrangements for payment of the outstanding duty balance.
1.Direct Payment to FedEx
We have attached a document (a tax deduction authorization letter) for your convenience that you can fill out with your FedEx account number and email it to us. This will allow the outstanding VAT Tax balance to be paid from your existing FedEx account.
Note: This method requires you to have a FedEx account.
2.Remit the amount to Pimax and allow Pimax to make the payment on your behalf.
If you do not own a FedEx account you can remit the funds to Pimax and we will make the outstanding VAT Tax payment to FedEx on your behalf at no extra cost (just the exact amount of the VAT and FedEx Service charge). If you would like to use this option please select this link:
Normally the allowed time to make a VAT Tax payment is 14 days from the delivery date. It is important the outstanding amount is paid before this time expires.
If you have any additional orders with Pimax we can continue shipments once the outstanding VAT Taxes are satisfied. (we are not allowed to deliver to the same address with an outstanding VAT Tax balance).
We hope you have a great experience in your new VR world! We are here for you to continue improving your experience with free updates to your software, firmware, and more.
Thank you greatly for your understanding and cooperation,
Your Pimax Logistics Team
Yep, notice how both ways of payment both include Pimax as middle man. So I really guess they have already payed it.
Curiously your amount is bigger. Mine is roughly 22%.
Honestly, i almost instantly deleted the email, as its subject was “Re: SOXXXXX” as the usual e.g. amazon fraud/scam emails. And the senders name was “tess.jia” and not something like “Pimax etc.”…
I logged into the store then and saw the comment in the order section.
That’s unfortunate! Still, even with the undisclosed vat you are paying less than what I paid as a regular customer. I’m ok with my costs because they were clear before I completed my order.
If they’d not been, and more cost was tacked on after delivery, I’d be angry too.
I guess all I can suggest is that you consider how much you like the headset and knowing how expensive a replacement is at full retail, consider carefully. On the other hand I think Pimax did handle it badly. Just don’t make a decision in haste that you may repent at leisure.