We have just released the ASR6502 series of products: https://heltec.cn/proudct_center/lora/cubecell/
Information of some products is still not perfect, very sorry about that. We are taking the time to improve relevant product information.
Thanks for all friends for your support and attention. A 15% discount coupon for CubeCell:
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Congrats on the launch, order placed. Some more detail on the GPS board, that I ordered three of, would be great – GPS and antenna are installed? Type of GPS chip?
Sydney, Australia: 2.83s (Chrome Dev tool measurement)
FYI Also console error about Defaults.css (404), but it works well.
Postage and Import costs limiting sale of New products.
Why cheaper postage costs are needed as seen on most eBay, AliExpress is that once you use DHL FedEx, who are very good, the cost of the carriage mean that the product cost accelerate in cost due to the Carrier, and in addition the product is immediately inspected for customer taxes as the cost of carriage is greater than the minimum import value level. This mean that the product is then liable for Customs declaration of fees. For samples that are purchased this make them excessively expensive
I thought I would show the effect for purchase of one of the new CubeCell GPs Boards at $19.99 from the Heltec Site, for the EU/UK thought the VAT level will alter per country.
Background on cost. Below £15 (10€-22€) no charges after VAT is paid on electronic good in UK this is 20% other EU countries may be different. Customs duty is payable on top of the other charges when the amount exceeds £135 (150€) after this then in the UK the rate is 2.5% up to £630 when amount is charged based on the goods classification other countries have different amount of taxes.
So, On the Heltec Website the GPS board is $19.80 with current carriage cost DHL is $ 28.20 for the UK and $26.20 for EU, so a total cost of $48 or $46 respectively.
When it is received in the UK, there will be an automatic check in customs as DHL cost in itself will exceed the minimum amount. There will then be, an additional fee of £12 ($15) for DHL customs handelling fee, the fee for VAT of ($9.60). The total cost therefore for the buyer in the UK is £58.08 ($72.60) for a product that cost $19.80 some 367% more!
Compare to with normal postage cost service previousity the customs check is only on the value declared and so in this case it would be unlikely subject to tax and the buyer would have paid around $23 for the product.
I hope that Heltec find this useful and why at present I will not be buying samples with the current cost of carriage until either the Heltec site go back to normal postage or use the approaches for their own AliExpress Sites or Other where the carriage cost is only a few $.
Simon
Hi Simon
Your content contains a lot of important information, let us know many rules of EU tariffs, thank you very much.
I don’t know eBay very well, but AliExpress is a brand of Ali Group. They have their own logistics platform, so they are less affected by COVID-19, and working in a lower price. Only order in AliExpress can use this service, third-party packages cannot be used. Now that we are still on a national holiday, returning to work this Wednesday, our agents will also be on the shelves with GPS-6502. In fact, buying some sample from agents in mainland China has many advantages, you can get the same technical support, and because the agent protection agreement, the price may be cheaper.
This is a special period for all humanity, and there is really no way to choose DHL or FebEX. Not only the cost is high, but also must wait in line. Hope that the COVID-19 epidemic will end soon and everything will return to normal.
I will admit that the costs of shipping has stopped me from ordering. Even with the discount code it is still prohibitive.
In early March of this year, we sent a lot of packages through the YANWEN Express, but so far, more than half of the packages are still in China or lost.
Waiting for the COVID-19 become better, we will enable the normal delivery method. Thanks you for your understanding.
My yanwen express package from late Feb turned up last week. Took multiple attempts to leave China (based on tracking) to Australia. Very inconsistent, someone else replied here that their ->UK order went through quickly.
Ordering via aliexpress looks like a viable option for small quantities, are the new products up there yet @Supporter? Are you keen enough to link us to the official Heltec store on there, it can be hard to find.
The agent has not started selling the new CubeCell, I will inform you when they start selling
I’ve been enjoying using the CubeCell GPS-6502 (I have 2) for educational purposes. Just a newbie and trying to learn. However, I would love to be able to restore the original program that the units came with (pingpong is similar, but not the same). Where could I find that original sketch? Thank you in advance.
-David