makes the disks even cheeper with the 19% tax+ 4% import tax out for me.

till now all dvd's send this way are fine, no problems.

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There's no point saving a few $$$ per item if the customer ends up paying a customs charge, which ends up costing more per item than other dealers.

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Basically lie? Or is this 'uncouth'? Id they were to do this surely customs would not batter an eyelid?

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A value below $50 will be fine for larger orders (and keep both customs and customers happy).

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They do not secure the discs to the envelope causing them to move freely against each other causing disc damage.

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I would like to correct an inaccuracy regarding our Global Priority Letter (GPL) shipping. When we ship via GPL each disk is removed from the plastic DVD case and put into a paper sleeve for protection. It is virtually impossible for the discs to rub together. As far as I can determine we have never had a report of discs getting scratched in this manner. In fact, we believe that GPL is actually SAFER that the traditional method because there is no possibility of the disc coming off of the spindle and getting scratched inside the case. Overall GPL has been a big success and we’ve received excellent feedback from our international customers.

Hardz, if your discs were damaged during shipment then please contact us so we take care of the problem.

I'll address the issue of declared values shortly.

Ken Graham
Five Star DVD

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Every day customers ask us to falsify our customs documents. We are frequently asked to declare the items as “gifts” or “free samples”. Many customers request that we hide DVDs in magazines or newspapers and the most popular request is that we change the declared value to a much lower amount. While we completely understand why customers make these requests it is not something that we are willing to do.

Of course we know that other retailers can and do make these arrangements. We are also aware that we loose some business because we don’t offer these “services” and sometimes customers don’t understand why we aren’t more flexible in this area. The bottom line is that we have certain principals (like honesty and integrity) that we adhere to when we run our business and falsifying documents doesn’t mesh with our philosophy –even if it means loosing some business. We don’t want to pass judgment on any other companies but we have decided not to operate that way.

Personally, I shop online quite often and one of the most important factors deciding where I shop is whether or not I trust the retailer. After all, an Internet retailer has some important information including my email address, my credit card number, my address and all of my purchasing history. With adult products, this purchasing information is especially sensitive and should be kept confidential.

As a consumer you have to ask some important questions. If Company X is willing to falsify the customs forms to make a few extra dollars then where else are they willing to cut corners? Are they willing to sell my email address to spammers? Are they willing to sell my purchasing history to marketers? Will they cut corners on security so that hackers can get my credit card number and see what type of adult movies and sex toys I buy?

Ken Graham
Five Star DVD

Edited by - five_star on Feb 8 2002

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Your comments regarding value declaration are quite valid and appreciated.

I sincerely believe that companies that are 'customs' friendly' are simply showing more loyalty to their customers.

My problem with international custom charges is one of principle:

1. We pay TAX on our earnings
2. We pay TAX on the product we have just bought
3. We end up paying TAX again on the same product, to customs.

On the issue of your new shipping method:

1. I know you have a very good and responsive customer service, and will deal with any lost or damaged discs, but ...

2. The last order I received from you, the discs (although placed in a paper sleeve) were loose within the envelope and this meant that when pressure is applied to the envelope, the edges of one disc presses into the surface of the others. (The postal system does not differentiate between postal items)
This has caused playback problems on 3 out of 5 discs.

If you secure the discs so they do not move, it will significantly reduce the possibility of damage.

3.I hate having to return discs because of the time delays and so on.
(I've given these problematic discs to a friend as a gift and re-ordered from another retailer)

It's nice to see FIVE STAR trying different shipping methods and once you have ironed out some minor issues, I'm sure I'll use you again in the future.

Just a small final note :

Although your post does not say this directly , You must not assume that 'customs friendly' companies have less 'honesty and integrity'.

The fact that you are willing to ship items to international territories using a discrete method, shows you are willing to be a little flexible in that area yourselves.

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Hypothetical situation: Conduct a survey of two groups employees. The first group is taken from companies that use 'customs friendly' shipping methods and employees from companies that do not use such tactics. Give them a series of questions like: 1) do you feel your international shipping methods are against the law? 2) are you proud to work for your company? 3) are your shipping methods published on your web site? 4) do you feel like a smuggler? etc.

I think that such a survey would indicate that the benefits gained from operating in an honest, ethical fashion directly reflected in employer-employee relations and other business-business relationships. These relationships provide positive results that are far more advantageous in the big picture than the extra $10 in the bank they didn't get.

I think Five Star was wise to make the decision early in their existence not to fraudulently ship products overseas. It's a catch 22 for customs friendly shippers. They start using such tactics in the beginning when they are small and they really need the business. Ultimately their business grows and through word of mouth they build a decent customer base in part because they offer such "services". Such success is problematic.

I know that a few "customs friendly" shippers send out hundreds of thousands of dollars in product per year using fraudulent shipping methods. When they're small the risk is small. If they get caught now the risks are significantly higher. What happens when they have an employee that's no longer a team player and leaves the company? A vindictive individual could easily contact the appropriate authorities and create an amazing amount of problems for the shipper.

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Do FIVE STAR ship discreetly to states within the US, that have restrictions on hardcore porn ?

Edited by - Hardz on Feb 9 2002

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Generally, discreet shipping means that the box the items are shipped in is plain and does not indicate its contents. This is a matter of courtesy and respect of one's privacy. Yes, Five Star domestic shipping methods meet this definition. This courtesy extends to their billing policies as well. (You don't see 'adult videos' or 'pornography' mentioned anywhere on your credit card statement.) They do this for all of their domestic customers regardless of location. Which this might seem obvious you would be surprised at the number of retailers that label their packages (and subsequent snail mail product offers) with big red stickers: "Adult Materials Enclosed".

Edited by - Drew Black on Feb 9 2002

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We feel that the widespread practice of smuggling DVDs in magazines and falsifying customs documents is very bad for our industry. It’s simply not a legitimate way to conduct business. Leading companies such as Amazon.com would never use these practices. Until our industry decides to operate honestly and up-front we will never reach our full potential.

The current Enron scandal is a classic example of a company that compromised it's principals to improve profits. Billions of dollars and thousands of jobs have been lost as a result

I want make it clear that I am not questioning anyone’s integrity. Every company has to make business decisions on how they operate. These decisions might affect customers, employees, investors, vendors and even a company’s reputation. Drew touched on a few of the potential problems with falsifying documents but there are many more. For example: It’s a fact that companies can be completely banned from exporting to other countries for repeated customs violations.

Hardz- To address your other points:

Please contact us and we will replace any damaged discs.

We sympathize with you about being over taxed.

As Steph pointed out, the purpose of discreet shipping is to protect our customer’s privacy. Most customers don’t want their children, neighbors, mail carrier, co-workers or anyone else to know what is inside their shipment.

There are no US states where pornography is “illegal”. The US system is based on the complicated and flawed concept of “community standards”. However, based on legal advice there are certain locations such as Utah that we do not ship to.

Ken Graham
Five Star DVD

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Wow, I'm very impressed by the professionalism and clarity of your posts.
Thank you for clarifying the situation.

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Hopefully this time u could change your policy to use the service of DHL/UPS/FEDEX and many many more who guarantee delivery service for buyer from asia country who do not mind to pay little bit more.

And if u do let us know by update yr website, we certainly will come back to u for more

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