Back on Planet Earth
Here are some answers to some of the most-asked questions;
please read this carefully before emailing us. We are a very small team and we would like to concentrate our efforts on solving the problem.
Can you tell me my place in the queue?
No, but we will work our way through it using our database of the registrations in date order by the date of each person’s registration of interest (or first registration in the case of someone who has registered multiple times).
Why haven’t you sent me an invite email yet?
We have only sent out the first 200 “invitation to purchase” emails so far. One thousand, nine hundred and eighty people registered their interest on the first day that we announced the product (July 20th, 2020). As mentioned above, we will be working through the list in order, so please be patient with us.
When will you send out your next invite email?
We don’t know. Last week we said we were waiting for the stock to build up. Our intention was to send out that email this week. However, in the last few days Amazon has paused shipping our products to the US. We believe that this is while they work out the impact of the
de minimis zero tariff retraction, in terms of cost and/or tariff implementation.
Will scalpers buy up all the Tricorders before I get a chance to buy one from you?
No they will not. We are making plenty of Tricorders. Please do not buy overpriced Tricorders from overpriced third party sellers. There is no need to buy them from anyone selling at grossly inflated prices as there will be enough to go around.
I don’t live in the UK – how will I get one?
Amazon UK ships at very reasonable prices all over the world. At the moment they have paused shipments to the US while they work out the impact of the
de minimis tariff exemption ending.
I live in the US – why is Amazon UK not letting me purchase a Tricorder?
At the moment they have paused shipments to the US while they work out the impact of the
de minimis zero tariff arrangement ending. Once they have worked things out, we hope that they will start shipping to the US as they have always done in the past.
What do the tariffs mean?
The current tariffs for importing our products in bulk to the USA are between 145% and 187.6%, depending on the specific product. Although the Tricorder was developed and designed by the Wand Company in the UK, it was manufactured in China and thus if we ship it in bulk to the United States, a tariff of 145% will be levied on it as it arrives in the US.
This has a big impact on you and of course on us. How the tariffs are applied is highly complicated, ambiguous and fluid – what appears to be the situation this week might be completely different next week. As it takes at least a week or two to move stock around the world, even by air, we don’t have the confidence to export the Tricorder to the US if the costs and thus the final price are not properly understood and as a result are impossible to plan for.
For individual shipments valued under $800 (including the shipping cost), the situation now is that you may be charged zero tariff, 120%, 145% or $100, depending on factors outside our control.
But I heard that electronics are exempt from the tariffs?
This exemption is only from some of the tariffs, and only applies to certain categories of electronics, such as smartphones, computers and peripherals.
What are the Wand Company doing about this situation?
In some respects it is totally out of our hands. Lots of companies and organisations that have been affected by the tariff uncertainty are lobbying the US administration for clarity and changes. However, while this continues we are investigating every option for bringing the Tricorder in the most cost effective way to our very important US fans.
Why doesn’t the Wand Company sell the Tricorder on Amazon US?
We are considering doing just that, but right now we can’t because of the tariffs on bulk imports mentioned above. The uncertainty over the tariffs and a potential agreement between the US and China to reduce them, is making it impossible to make short term decisions.
Why doesn’t the Wand Company ship the Tricorders themselves?
This is what we wanted to do all along. We designed and set up a shop, but we underestimated how complicated things are with US state sales taxes, and the tariffs were the final straw. Until now, Amazon has always been able to show customers all costs (including import duty/tariffs) at the time of purchase, but doing this would have been impossible for us, for the sale of a single product line as we are not set up to be a retailer.
How long will the tariff situation last?
For you it must seem as though the whole of the Tricorder project has been a waiting game. Just when you thought the wait was over, the tariffs have caused another pause. However, there are positive noises about the possibility that the situation is inching towards deescalation… So, in a tone that I am sure you are all getting tired of, a bit more patience is required, and hopefully we will be able to ship our/your Tricorders soon.
What can I do while I wait?
You can start by checking out our new
Captain’s Log archive.
Eventually, when you do get your Tricorder, you will be able to listen to every single one of the Original Series’ Captain’s Logs. The audio files have been taken from the original recordings before special effects and music were added, thus providing an authentic experience of listening to the logs as Captain Kirk (and occasionally the crew) would have recorded them.
The 77 Original Series episodes spawned 233 logs, and finding your way through them on the Tricorder can be a bit of a lengthy process. To help you in this epic task, we have transcribed and catalogued each log and provided them for you in a new, specially created, searchable archive, for desktop and mobile phone use from the
link.
Please interrogate and enjoy the archive, with zero tariff.
LLAP
Chris
