I got the impression that the guy that "helped" me did this every day, all day. There were about a dozen guys just like him hanging around outside looking for "lost" importers like I was that day. It all started when I asked for directions.
"we all know why". I don't know why. Do tell.
I didn't ask many questions during the process. I was much more interested in observing every detail of what was going on there at the airport and I had a hard time understanding what I call "Campo", this dialect of mumble as far as I can tell. Anyway, the answers tended to be along the line of "don't worry about it, go stand over there, be patient, and don't draw attention."
What I observed, was that the amount of reductions obtained was almost what the "broker" expected to get in return, that the cashier often "miskeyed" when typing the bill to be paid at another window if she got the wink-wink signal from her "friends" who were extremely careful not to be "noticed", and that her willingness to do so seemed proportional to the attention that the customer did not draw and her level of comfort that her and her associates would somehow get compensated for her "mistakes", that the customs guys were strictly by the book, that the operation was set up in a way so as to intentionally prevent the people involved from communicating with each other (and thereby preventing "agreements"), and that the customs guys were strictly by the book, literally, a big big book. Also that there as an advantage to having unassembled parts vs. the more valuable finished product, and that looking confused was better than looking informed as the customs guys seemed paranoid of making a mistake. There was definitely no corruption going on with them, as the process had a quadruple check built into it, each by a different person, none of whom actually collected the fees. The fees paid were documented by an intense paper trail. So one person processed the papers, 4 people did the valuation, and 2 different people collected the money, all in a way that would have made it very difficult to get a break without a grand conspiricy having been prearranged. Each step of the process was conducted in a way so that the customer, me, would not be able to discuss what was going on during the process. They kept retreating to areas that were sealed off from the customer yet all walled in by clear plexiglass so that everything took place in private but in plain view.
The warehouse floor was as organized as a junk drawer and filthy. Not with with trash, but dirt and dust, the kind where one bump into a box on the "factory" floor leaves one of those marks on your clothes that I can only relate to what I get when I accidentally bump into my car while getting gas after a week of drivig around in snow melt, slush, dirt, and salt during a midwinter in Detroit.
My wait during that day was mostly sitting on the concrete in the sun outside a loading dock in a very industrial and boring environment with nothing to do, nothing to see, nothing to eat or drink, and most the time spent with the anxiety of having no idea what the hell the process was, what I was waiting for, what was taking so long, or what to do next.
I concur with everyone, get a broker or pack your lunch and bring a cushion and a book. This of course is for importing something small (less than 500 lbss) that arrives at the airport.
I'm amazed at all the trouble the country goes through to do what I would term as "discourage" imports, the cost of which gets passed on to their own citizens, and surprised after seeing all this that imported items aren't much more expensive by the time they hit the shelves, considering all the little fees they hit you with: 5% here, 4% there, it all adds up.
The one that really got me was the 13% "fee" to exchange money and exchange goods, guaranteeing that they get 13% off the top in addition to any and all the taxes and fees. And that's 13% of the cost of the item, 13% of the insurance which is mandatory, and 13% of the cost of shipping. I don't remember the details, that was a combination of two fees, the exchange fee and the goods exchange fee (ITBIS). It is possible that one of them wasn't charged against the insurance and shipping and I know that since I did it 2 or 3 years ago, the fees have changed or vary depending on what you are importing. That alone guarantees that everything in the DR that is imported costs about 20% more than at its place of origin, and that's without considering the cost of import itself (shipping, insurance, labor, broker fee) and taxes (duty).
I had read about the consular invoice fee, which I avoided because my item was under some amount, I think it was US$1000, which would have delayed arrival, increased my shipping cost, plus added another fee.
Talk about discouraging trade! No wonder everybody just loads up their luggage and has no problem greasing a few palms to let them slide by hassle free.
"we all know why". I don't know why. Do tell.
I didn't ask many questions during the process. I was much more interested in observing every detail of what was going on there at the airport and I had a hard time understanding what I call "Campo", this dialect of mumble as far as I can tell. Anyway, the answers tended to be along the line of "don't worry about it, go stand over there, be patient, and don't draw attention."
What I observed, was that the amount of reductions obtained was almost what the "broker" expected to get in return, that the cashier often "miskeyed" when typing the bill to be paid at another window if she got the wink-wink signal from her "friends" who were extremely careful not to be "noticed", and that her willingness to do so seemed proportional to the attention that the customer did not draw and her level of comfort that her and her associates would somehow get compensated for her "mistakes", that the customs guys were strictly by the book, that the operation was set up in a way so as to intentionally prevent the people involved from communicating with each other (and thereby preventing "agreements"), and that the customs guys were strictly by the book, literally, a big big book. Also that there as an advantage to having unassembled parts vs. the more valuable finished product, and that looking confused was better than looking informed as the customs guys seemed paranoid of making a mistake. There was definitely no corruption going on with them, as the process had a quadruple check built into it, each by a different person, none of whom actually collected the fees. The fees paid were documented by an intense paper trail. So one person processed the papers, 4 people did the valuation, and 2 different people collected the money, all in a way that would have made it very difficult to get a break without a grand conspiricy having been prearranged. Each step of the process was conducted in a way so that the customer, me, would not be able to discuss what was going on during the process. They kept retreating to areas that were sealed off from the customer yet all walled in by clear plexiglass so that everything took place in private but in plain view.
The warehouse floor was as organized as a junk drawer and filthy. Not with with trash, but dirt and dust, the kind where one bump into a box on the "factory" floor leaves one of those marks on your clothes that I can only relate to what I get when I accidentally bump into my car while getting gas after a week of drivig around in snow melt, slush, dirt, and salt during a midwinter in Detroit.
My wait during that day was mostly sitting on the concrete in the sun outside a loading dock in a very industrial and boring environment with nothing to do, nothing to see, nothing to eat or drink, and most the time spent with the anxiety of having no idea what the hell the process was, what I was waiting for, what was taking so long, or what to do next.
I concur with everyone, get a broker or pack your lunch and bring a cushion and a book. This of course is for importing something small (less than 500 lbss) that arrives at the airport.
I'm amazed at all the trouble the country goes through to do what I would term as "discourage" imports, the cost of which gets passed on to their own citizens, and surprised after seeing all this that imported items aren't much more expensive by the time they hit the shelves, considering all the little fees they hit you with: 5% here, 4% there, it all adds up.
The one that really got me was the 13% "fee" to exchange money and exchange goods, guaranteeing that they get 13% off the top in addition to any and all the taxes and fees. And that's 13% of the cost of the item, 13% of the insurance which is mandatory, and 13% of the cost of shipping. I don't remember the details, that was a combination of two fees, the exchange fee and the goods exchange fee (ITBIS). It is possible that one of them wasn't charged against the insurance and shipping and I know that since I did it 2 or 3 years ago, the fees have changed or vary depending on what you are importing. That alone guarantees that everything in the DR that is imported costs about 20% more than at its place of origin, and that's without considering the cost of import itself (shipping, insurance, labor, broker fee) and taxes (duty).
I had read about the consular invoice fee, which I avoided because my item was under some amount, I think it was US$1000, which would have delayed arrival, increased my shipping cost, plus added another fee.
Talk about discouraging trade! No wonder everybody just loads up their luggage and has no problem greasing a few palms to let them slide by hassle free.
