What you can do is ask them to write on the pack that customs see
'Value: £18'. It's highly unlikely customs would open the package.

...but if they do open it and find that the value of the goods is
much in excess of the declared value you'll be getting a
metaphorical 3am knock on the door. They don't take kindly to this
ruse :-(

And when they do, how many customs officials know that two 100uf 500v
Black Gate Capacitor have a value of £100 instead of £18 ?


Invoice included in the package?

"RJH" wrote in message
...
| Coincidentally, I wanted a DVD - King of
| the Hill (anyone?!) - and could
| only find it at a canadian site
| for £18.30. I asked them to mark
| the parcel under £18 and they replied:
|
| ---------
|
| To make the label for the items
| we have everything pretty much
| computerized.
|
| For the weights we have to put it
| on machine and it stores the # in
| the computer.
|
| There is no way that we can change the weights.
|
| Sorry!
|
| -----------------
|
| Quite what all this has to do
| with weight I'm not sure - fact
| remains they wouldn't.

I like a good giggle first thing in the morning.

If you're going to deal with other countries, you have to learn the
lingo.

Mistake No. 1:
You typed the good old British pound sign '£'. This uses a code
which, on North American systems, means '#' (hash), and is displayed
and
printed thus. So you asked them to say 'under #18'.

Mistake No. 2:
In North America, the # (hash) symbol means pounds weight. We write
18 lbs,
they write 18#. So you asked them to say 'under 18 lbs'.

Moral:
You have to write 'UK Pounds', or 'UKP'.

Homework exercise:
Try the same request when writing to:
a. A Japanese Supplier
b. An Australian Supplier

c. (Double marks bonus question) A Kinawe tribe Supplier (Fu Islands)

HTH

--
)==ss$$%PARR(º Parr

"parr(*" wrote in message
...
"RJH" wrote in message
...
| Coincidentally, I wanted a DVD - King of
| the Hill (anyone?!) - and could
| only find it at a canadian site
| for £18.30. I asked them to mark
| the parcel under £18 and they replied:
|
| ---------
|
| To make the label for the items
| we have everything pretty much
| computerized.
|
| For the weights we have to put it
| on machine and it stores the # in
| the computer.
|
| There is no way that we can change the weights.
|
| Sorry!
|
| -----------------
|
| Quite what all this has to do
| with weight I'm not sure - fact
| remains they wouldn't.

I like a good giggle first thing in the morning.

If you're going to deal with other countries, you have to learn the
lingo.

Mistake No. 1:
You typed the good old British pound sign '£'. This uses a code
which, on North American systems, means '#' (hash), and is displayed
and
printed thus. So you asked them to say 'under #18'.

Not necessarily. Just because it's in the same location on the keyboard
doesn't mean it typed out the "#" when "£" was entered. The pound symbol is
coded as Alt-0163 on either a UK or US layout. I'm from the US and with my
wife in the UK. She has the UK English layout and character set, and I have
the US English layout and character set. On both machines the character
comes out the same when typed into a form field.


--
Steve Goodman
* EarthLight Productions
* http://www.earthlight.net

You typed the good old British pound sign '£'. This uses a code
which, on North American systems, means '#' (hash), and is displayed

Thanks Parr, but as this is a UK group and we were discussing importing into
the UK I think everyone managed to work that one out.

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 09:49:05 +0000 (UTC), "parr\(*"
wrote in message id
:

| the Hill (anyone?!) - and could
| only find it at a canadian site
| for £18.30. I asked them to mark

| For the weights we have to put it
| on machine and it stores the # in
| the computer.

Mistake No. 2:
In North America, the # (hash) symbol means pounds weight. We write
18 lbs,they write 18#. So you asked them to say 'under 18 lbs'.

But they shouldn't should they ? Perusing the net I discover that
Canada is a "metric country" which is seemingly disputed at:-

http://members.shaw.ca/gw.peterson/metrication.html

---------------------------

"How did this happen? Didn’t Canada convert to metric in the 1970s and
1980s? Thanks to government flip-flopping, consumer apathy, and
administrative stubbornness Canadian metrication has stalled far from
completion."

---------------------------

This is vastly different to Australia where metrication was
introduced very rapidly such that there is almost no use of imperial
measurements (although I still think of my height in feet and inches
the Australian passport insists on cm).

In Canada's case I would suggest that the answer might be
"francophobia" which is one of the reasons it took the United Kingdom
(and indeed Australia) so long to metricate. (I base this on
editorials in the Sydney Morning Herald from the 19th. Century where
metrication was being discussed but dismissed as something only the
French would contemplate and the French were mistrusted).

There would be resistance in Canada to anything metric in the English
speaking provinces of Canada and I quote from the site above..

---------------------------------------------------------

"In January 1983 two Toronto gas station owners, Jack Halpert and Ray
Christianson, were charged under the Weights and Measures Act for
selling gasoline by the imperial gallon. The two gas station owners
won their case in provincial court. While the decision was under
appeal by the Attorney General of Canada, Mark MacGuigan; Judy Erola,
Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affaris, the federal department
responsible for implementing the Weights and Measures Act, placed a
moratorium on the metrication of motor fuels, home furnishings, and
individually measured foods."

-----------------------------------------------------------

It's also a multi-lingual country BUT there are people known to
censor out the French from packets of cornflakes on the basis it that
it might corrupt their children.

Homework exercise:
Try the same request when writing to:
a. A Japanese Supplier
b. An Australian Supplier

I believe only a few people would be likely to order from Australia.
We are mainly importers not exporters. Australia however changed to
metric currency from pounds shillings and pence and the country still
has ties with the "old country" so the currency symbol is very
familiar. An Australian dollar is effectively 10 shillings and 20
shillings (10 cent pieces) still make a pound (two Australian
dollars). A five cent piece isn't a nickel. It's sixpence.

One day (real soon now) the United States of America being almost the
only country in the world not to contemplate metrication (apart from
the currency) will amend it's system of weights and measures. I would
like to mention that Australia still uses imperial for anything to do
with computers, which is I believe based on it being an American toy.

Bob Bain wrote:

[snip]
It's also a multi-lingual country BUT there are people known to
censor out the French from packets of cornflakes on the basis it that
it might corrupt their children.

I've never seen any of thatbefore. Probably those goddamned Albertan
cowboys.

[snip]
A five cent piece isn't a nickel. It's sixpence.

WHAT?!?!

--
BELANGER

Actually, I have seen a number of proofs that 5=6.

"Stephen Goodman" wrote in message
...
|
| "parr(*" wrote in message
| ...
| You typed the good old British pound sign '£'. This uses a code
| which, on North American systems, means '#' (hash)
|
| Not necessarily.

As you say, not neccessarily.

So what's your explanation, boyo?
--
)==ss$$%PARR(º Parr

"Bob Bain" wrote in message
...
| On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 09:49:05 +0000 (UTC), "parr\(*"
| wrote in message id
| :
|
| Mistake No. 2:
| In North America, the # (hash) symbol means pounds weight. We
write
| 18 lbs,they write 18#. So you asked them to say 'under 18 lbs'.
|
| But they shouldn't should they ? Perusing the net I discover that
| Canada is a "metric country" which is seemingly disputed at:-
|
| http://members.shaw.ca/gw.peterson/metrication.html

Canada is as metric as Oz. However, Canada is part of North America
too. Which means that they (excluding Quebeckers) have adopted
almost all of their southern neighbour's computer standards.

| In Canada's case I would suggest that the answer might be
| "francophobia"

I suggest you go to Canada's capital, Ottawa/Hull, and shout this
loudly on both sides of the Ottawa river.

| "In January 1983 two Toronto gas station owners, Jack Halpert and
Ray
| Christianson, were charged under the Weights and Measures Act for

Last month, someone was prosecuted in the UK for using old lbs/oz
scales for their sales. And so they should be. Such scales can not
be tested anymore with standard test weights. Mid you, they decided
to make an example of themselves for some reason. There are many
small businesses, especially farm shops, who still use such scales.
And even supermarkets still show prices in lbs as well as kilos, and
sell minced beef by the 458 grammes.

| It's also a multi-lingual country BUT there are people known to
| censor out the French from packets of cornflakes on the basis it
that
| it might corrupt their children.

Meanwhile, here in the UK, there was great sadness when HP sauce (HP
= Hpuses of Parliament = Big Ben) lost its French description of the
sauce (".. un melange des fruits et des epices.." I seem to
remember).

| Australia however changed to metric currency from pounds
| shillings and pence and the country still
| has ties with the "old country" so the currency symbol is very
| familiar. An Australian dollar is effectively 10 shillings and 20
| shillings (10 cent pieces) still make a pound (two Australian
| dollars). A five cent piece isn't a nickel. It's sixpence.

Dreamtime stuff. An Australian Dollar is worth about 40 UK pence,
theoretically eight bob in old parlance, but if fact equivalent to
about a pre-decimal tanner, or sixpence if you must.

And talking of dreamtime, prices are still shown as Aus $9.99, etc
despite the cent having died the death and all sales totals being
rounded to the nearest 5 cents.

| One day (real soon now) the United States of America being almost
the
| only country in the world not to contemplate metrication (apart
from
| the currency)

Unknown to you, the USA have been toying with metrication for
decades. And toying is an apt description. And they never did
metricate their currency, they adopted a decimal currency yet still
call their cents 'pennies'.

--
)==ss$$%PARR(º Parr

"parr(*" wrote in message
...
"Stephen Goodman" wrote in message
...
|
| "parr(*" wrote in message
| ...
| You typed the good old British pound sign '£'. This uses a code
| which, on North American systems, means '#' (hash)
|
| Not necessarily.

As you say, not neccessarily.

So what's your explanation, boyo?

it's probably them dumb ****ers from canada. I think he was talking to a
dumb dummy, and that is what happened.

//

your subject line is mispelt.

assuming you mean "buying stuff from a broad"...

which broad do you mean?

--qSq