The Story Of The $78 T-Shirt

Meta Merchandise
#1

Only Shipping “merch” from the US

Maybe Consider a EU based shipping provider as well?

As I’m always in need of some nerd-ware. I was thinking about supporting the project by purchasing a T-Shirt.
But, when I have to pay ~$78 for a $25 T-Shirt, not so much.

Where I live (Norway) we have this cool thing called taxes on pretty much everything, and not just the usual tax, but a bonus-tax for all orders shipping from other countries and has a total price > ~$41 (including shipping).

This adds up to a pretty substantial amount, as the courier of the merchandise takes another fee for clearing up and dealing with the tax stuff paper work…

So, I ended up having to pay around $78 for a $25 T-Shirt… Not happening.

I’ve searched around for small businesses that are aware of this silly situation, and found a couple that sells stuff from the KDE project amongst others, and they happily label the envelope as a “Gift” and sets the “Value” to something below $40.

Don’t care to mention the URL right now, but if possible, this would make it possible for people outside the US to get access to future branded products.

Some admin, PM me if this is something you’d consider doing.

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1 Like
#2

Independently from various import taxes, the shipping costs are just outrageous when shipping to Europe. I’ve sadly also had to give up buying a T-Shirt because of the total cost.

Surely, there must be a more affordable solution out there for non-US residents.

4 Likes
#3

Thanks for raising this issue. We will bring this concern to our merchandising vendor.

1 Like
#4

Bonus taxes sound very fun :wink:

As Jordan mentioned - definitely hear you on this! We certainly want to make sure people can get merch & support rocky without handing over their first born child in the process to the tax man and/or shipping services.

2 Likes
#5

Anyone know the UK position?

#6

I reaelly would support Rocky but shipping prices are insane for EU.

#7

I took the hit, but the merc was indeed expensive…

Subtotal $65.00
Shipping $30.87
Total $95.87 USD

And after that 34 USD on taxes (converted from euro)
Total of 130 USD for 1 shirt and 1 sweater.

If there would be an EMEA store it would really appreciate it for future orders!

#8

Yeah, and shipped to Norway (because we are all so filthy rich up here, apparantly) the extra import tax for values above ~40 USD it would end up costing… wait for it… $150!!

#9

So I have actually had the pleasure of ordering a T-shirt and six stickers from the store and well the experience was rather interesting…

The total sum was $129 when sent via DHL Express, this translated into €112, this was pricy but I support this project 101% so why not?
Best part however was the dutch tax office that had to grab a nice income for themselves… they put a nice whopping €51 VAT and import tax price on top of it…

Fun times those were with the €180 euro t-shirt and six stickers.
So right now I dont recommend anyone outside the US to order anything at the store unless they feel like dropping a big amount of money into it :smiley:

The only thing I am sad about is the fact that I expected a nice 100% cotton T-shirt and the actual shirt is a bit of a thin semi polyester thingy :frowning:

#10

Hi everyone in EU and beyond from the USA- The official Rocky Linux merch retailer here with a little message of hope for you!
We wanted to let you know we hear you. We understand the issues that the added tax and shipping have been adding to your purchases and we are making every attempt to create a better solution for you when purchasing with us and supporting Rocky Linux. A decision should be made soon as to the best solution, most likely in a way to avoid having to export to you altogether.
We hope you don’t mind being patient with us just a little longer while we work out these details. We really appreciate your support and business! Thank you for bringing these issues to our attention!
Sincerely,
Paula
Muckles Ink
The Official Rocky Linux Merch Maker

#11

@tais I would like to make sure you are completely satisfied with your experience and purchase of Rocky Linux merch. Can you please contact me directly at info@mucklesink.com attention: Paula. I just need a couple details.
Thank you!
Paula

#12

Hello Rocky Folk!

This is Jack, AlmaLinux’s community manager. Someone sent me the link to this thread and I signed up to respond because I think we may be able to help. We’ve actually figured out a decent solution to international order fulfillment and we’d love to share it with you guys if you think it might be helpful. Not sure how y’all are setup but would be glad to discuss.

If we can help with this or anything else let me know. We are glad to help. We are all stronger when we work together.

–Jack

4 Likes
#13

Hey there Jack!

Thanks for reaching out, it’s much appreciated. I will be reaching out shortly.

1 Like
#14

Pricing to the UK isn’t so bad. About an extra $20 depending on how much you buy. I bought about $90 worth of stuff, so my total with shipping and duty came to roughly £90