Originally Posted by digby723

Ok, great, thanks! I hope I don't get hit with an import fee, it would suck to get hit with a fee half the price as the bag, haha!

I'd say there is almost no chance of that.

The import fees you hear talked about are wildly overstated. eg USA & Singapore are about 7% I believe, Canada is about 9%, the UK is 20%. It only gets nasty when you get to poor old Norway which has 44% and Thailand which has to be the record holder with 60%!!!

Some people really loathe taxes, but the reality is they are there.

The USA don't bother with trifling amounts like $285, but to a customs officer in Canada, that would be a whole different ballgame! The amount that each country has as a limit before taxing applies, varies enormously, from roughly above $22 (Canada) to $1000 (Australia). There is actually a cost of administration to chase taxes and depending on the country, they all seem to have a balance point at which it is perceived to cost efficient.

Others do chime in please if my estimates are out, but I think I am in the ballpark here.

I know nothing about Japan customs but I am yet to pay anything in Canada. I have lucked out a lot.

Hello to everyone, just wanting to share my horrible experience with my first purchase of an LV pouchette purse, no it wasnt from Japan it was from a seller from the States, and yes i paid $27 for customs fee. The seller was very nice accomodated my asking price so i paid the item thru paypal on ebay and waited for my purse but as i was waiting for my item i got a message from ebay saying that the item was cancelled as it was fake so i contacted the seller who appeared to be very friendly and went extra mile to give me this item, i trusted her ( this is my flaw i trust people so quickly :( ), after i got the message from ebay i felt so frustrated and didnt even care how many days my purse will arrive, and finally i got a notice from the post office that the item was in, i didnt want to go i felt sad and all my excitement gone, this was my first LV and i got scammed. i went to the post office and opened the parcel, it sure was a fake LV why do i say it is because i have been researching online on tips to distinguish between a fake and real LV the seller is ok with me to return the package and promised me again to return the money to my paypal account please help me here dear readers is the seller tellingthe truth is she able to send the money back through my paypal account. I have been browsing on ebay for an LV bag and avoided the ones in Jpan thinking they are the fake ones and as your questions am i going to pay custom fee ( i live in Canada) because i paid $27 for the fake purse, i am not sure and could anyone of you tell me if it is better to buy the LV bags from Japan? are they genuine? i know some are old and really used but i really want my first LV and i cant afford to go to the real LV store downtown, help please anyone, sorry for my long story i need to vent out and you my dear purse lovers i know can help. Thank you and i will return to read your input.

Originally Posted by mahalko64

Hello to everyone, just wanting to share my horrible experience with my first purchase of an LV pouchette purse, no it wasnt from Japan it was from a seller from the States, and yes i paid $27 for customs fee. The seller was very nice accomodated my asking price so i paid the item thru paypal on ebay and waited for my purse but as i was waiting for my item i got a message from ebay saying that the item was cancelled as it was fake so i contacted the seller who appeared to be very friendly and went extra mile to give me this item, i trusted her ( this is my flaw i trust people so quickly :( ), after i got the message from ebay i felt so frustrated and didnt even care how many days my purse will arrive, and finally i got a notice from the post office that the item was in, i didnt want to go i felt sad and all my excitement gone, this was my first LV and i got scammed. i went to the post office and opened the parcel, it sure was a fake LV why do i say it is because i have been researching online on tips to distinguish between a fake and real LV the seller is ok with me to return the package and promised me again to return the money to my paypal account please help me here dear readers is the seller tellingthe truth is she able to send the money back through my paypal account. I have been browsing on ebay for an LV bag and avoided the ones in Jpan thinking they are the fake ones and as your questions am i going to pay custom fee ( i live in Canada) because i paid $27 for the fake purse, i am not sure and could anyone of you tell me if it is better to buy the LV bags from Japan? are they genuine? i know some are old and really used but i really want my first LV and i cant afford to go to the real LV store downtown, help please anyone, sorry for my long story i need to vent out and you my dear purse lovers i know can help. Thank you and i will return to read your input.

Hi and welcome. Your best option is to post the bag you have bought on eBay to the Authenticate-this-LV thread. Follow the directions on page 1 with the item name and number and the sellers name. That will give you a fast answer on whether or not your bag is real. eBay could be right - Use the experience of people who know these bags really well and you can have your mind at rest. Much better than you trying to search the net for every little detail.

Any bag you want to buy online is best checked over by these experts, whether it is from the USA, Japan, Australia, Europe or even Canada too.

You would have to pay customs duty on any bag being imported into Canada if it is over $22 Canadian - doesn't matter where it is from. The customs office can open it. Not all items get taxed, but you have to be prepared for that possibility.

Hello! I just wanted to share that I purchased a goregous, authentic, nearly flawless (for 2000) 40cm Birkin from Mimiaction in Taiwan on eBay on January 18, 2011. (I did go through the authentication process here first.)

It was shipped by them after the Chinese New Year (Jan. 30th) and arrived to me in the US on Feb. 4th! Shipping was super fast (after their holiday ended), they provided tracking info and the best part was that I did not have to pay any customs duties / import taxes on my purchase! I just signed the delivery confirmation slip and was handed my package!

Overall a very positive experience, hope maybe this information will be useful to someone else.

i bought a chanel kelly from ebay (sluxury) and had to pay duty equating 9% of the purchase price.

afterwards, i purchased a lady dior from brandoff also in japan and did not have to pay any duty at all.

both packages were not marked as gifts and were declared for their full value. the lady dior cost more than the kelly so it is random if any duty will be collected.

you can maybe make a predicting seeing how long your item is held up in customs from the USPS delivery confirmation. the chanel kelly was in customs for over a week getting the bill slapped on while the lady dior breezed by in less than a day before it was processed to a post office for delivery.

Originally Posted by Everlong

i bought a chanel kelly from ebay (sluxury) and had to pay duty equating 9% of the purchase price. afterwards, i purchased a lady dior from brandoff also in japan and did not have to pay any duty at all. both packages were not marked as gifts and were declared for their full value. the lady dior cost more than the kelly so it is random if any duty will be collected. you can maybe make a predicting seeing how long your item is held up in customs from the USPS delivery confirmation. the chanel kelly was in customs for over a week getting the bill slapped on while the lady dior breezed by in less than a day before it was processed to a post office for delivery.

Thanks for sharing your experience. So far, no one that I have shipped to in the USA has commented on being charged duties and I declare correctly on all my stuff. I've only been dinged on shipping charges by one USA buyer and that item was below the USA tax threshold. I think that the USA is largely an easy destination to ship to from a sellers perspective. However, taxes can be charged at any time on anything over USA$200, but the likelihood seems low.

Originally Posted by CHANELllie

Ok so i just found this - it might be helpful , leather purses valued over $20 each but under $2000 (not so sure about this number ) - the import fee is 10% BUT ! there are exceptions : Free (AU,BH,CA CL,D,IL,J+,JO,MA, MX,OM,P,PE,R, SG) 7.2% (E) So I guess there is no fee for importing from : Australia ,Bahrain, Canada, Chile, D-? I assume Denmark?Israel, Jordan, J+ i assume Japan ??? , Morocco, Mexico, Oman, P - ? don't know, Peru, Singapore Source : http://www.usitc.gov/publications/do...er/1000C42.pdf

Do any of those abbreviations mean Japan by any chance?

Anyone else have experience being in the US and having higher valued things mailed to you from Japan? I'm looking at a bag that is just under $2000 and wondering what kind of bill I could be hit with.

To answer a question that is further back in this thread, it looks like J+ does not refer to Japan, but instead the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act - which has to do with countries Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Information on the customs abbreviations here:
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/...structions.pdf

And here is where I found information one what countries were associated with the Act:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_...radication_Act

Have bought a bag worth $5K from Japan, did not pay a penny and recieved within 5 days. I'm sure any import of personal items from other countries TO usa no worries but on the other hand to other countries I would be concerned of Duty. Shipping to Canada is notorious..takes forever to reach and import duty taxes even on a $5 item.

I am from the US and trying to purchase my first ever GENUINE Louis Vuitton bag from a Japanese Seller on eBay and was given this "Purse Forum" address to have it authenticated. It passed! Thank goodness!! :) And I was just getting ready to "click the BIN button" when it occurred to me "oh no, what will the import duties/fees be? I can't afford much more than the price I am paying for the bag and don't want to get hit with a ridiculous fee"! I have been researching this since yesterday afternoon - I went by my local post office (because the Seller is shipping USPS), they couldn't help me but referred me to the International Inquiry Center via telephone, I called them and they gave me the website www.wcoomd.org, I reviewed the website and could not find a list of fees or percentages anywhere, went on the eBay discussion board, absolutely NO HELP whatsoever, went to the US Int'l Trade Comm. website, nothing....so I started googling "handbag purchase from Japan to US custom fees", read through several "ehow" instructions, still no help and by this time (a day and a half later of reading every page on each website I went to) hours and hours later, and getting VERY FRUSTRATED! I find this WONDERFUL Purse Forum blog!!!! YEAH! FINALLY people who can ACTUALLY help me with what I need to know!! I am so thankful that I found you guys, with helping me authenticate my purchase to giving me this wonderful advice on custom fees, because now I can FINALLY relax and enjoy my purchase!! The stomach knots have disappeared!! LOL :)

I am purchasing a BEAUTIFUL Vintage LV Monogram Speedy Sac Triangle Bag from what seems to be a reputable eBay Seller from Japan (he's actually on the recommended sellers list of this forum) for $358 - I wish I could afford these 2000K bags these ladies are buying! lucky ladies! after reading your purchases I'm VERY jealous! j/k lol but I'm working my way UP I'll get there one day! :)

Anyway, I hope I will be as lucky as most on this blog and not get hit with any custom duties/fees, but at least I know now that it won't be a ridiculous fee of like 1/2 the price of the bag...I can definitely live with $25-$40 extra. I will update once I get my bag to let the rest of you know "how the story ends" ...lol...it may be a few weeks though from what I'm reading here.... and good luck to the rest of the ladies like me that are "new to this whole thing"!! :)

Hi there,

I read a thread from last year regarding your dispute with mimiaction. How did it work out?
I need all help that i can get, since this seller is trying to scam me. I bought a 20K hermes croc bag from her that didn´t match the description and now I want to return the bag.
She says she needs to keep 10% (2000 USD) for her re-stocking fees, but that is insane since this is about the bag being incorrectly described. I would never want to return in otherwise. She also refuses to send me her shipping details and I cannot return the bag until she does.
Do you know what I can do?
TIA

Originally Posted by Nancy12345

Hi there, I read a thread from last year regarding your dispute with mimiaction. How did it work out? I need all help that i can get, since this seller is trying to scam me. I bought a 20K hermes croc bag from her that didn´t match the description and now I want to return the bag. She says she needs to keep 10% (2000 USD) for her re-stocking fees, but that is insane since this is about the bag being incorrectly described. I would never want to return in otherwise. She also refuses to send me her shipping details and I cannot return the bag until she does. Do you know what I can do? TIA

Welcome to tPF! I moved your question about your return to your own thread here in the eBay forum, so you should start to get some responses there - adding to these older threads won't get you the best responses + we don't allow duplicate posts.

Originally Posted by IrisCole

Welcome to tPF! I moved your question about your return to your own thread here in the eBay forum, so you should start to get some responses there - adding to these older threads won't get you the best responses + we don't allow duplicate posts.

Thank you very much!

Hi, I know this is a rather old post but since alot of us will buy from overseas so I would like to share my experience

1. Japan does not have any free-trade agreement with US so everything crosses the border is subjected to custom fee and import tax depends on the value
2. If you bought from japan and paid nothing for custom then it is either your item is low in value or you got lucky
3. I bought many many Chanel items from japan and paid nothing but my recent Chanel jumbo caviar bag JPY210k handle by USPS got into custom, sit there for ONE week and then got out, got delivered to my front door together with a $213 bill (thats about 9-10% of the declared value). I paid for it by check btw. Seller declared full value of the bag, marked as gift and described it as "used bag". I dont see any word "chanel" on the form or in the box. The box also did not look like it was opened by US custom at all. I guess they just scaned the box and chanel signature double C lock showed through. Poor me, my luck with US custom ends I guess lol