Yes this is something that infuriated me too. Especially that the “paper pushing fee” is often more than the actual VAT due, and I live 5 min away from the federal customs office.
But I checked all I could and in Switzerland you’re not allowed to take the option of clearing the package yourself and so have to pay the courier’s racket.
The beauty of it is that how expensive the fee is depends on the level of service the sender picked, and you don’t even know how much the fee will be because they drop the parcel off and send you a bill a couple weeks later.
I never order abroad anymore and when I’m forced to, I only do it if they’ll ship through the regular post office as Swiss post is the least predatory in their “handling fees”… but like everything in CH: caveat emptor.
But I checked all I could and in Switzerland you’re not allowed to take the option of clearing the package yourself and so have to pay the courier’s racket.
The beauty of it is that how expensive the fee is depends on the level of service the sender picked, and you don’t even know how much the fee will be because they drop the parcel off and send you a bill a couple weeks later.
I never order abroad anymore and when I’m forced to, I only do it if they’ll ship through the regular post office as Swiss post is the least predatory in their “handling fees”… but like everything in CH: caveat emptor.