Question about customs....

M

murasaki

Balenciaga Forever
Jan 7, 2006
1,034
0
#1
If a package gets handed over to customs, does that necessarily mean I will pay duties? The shipper from overseas said the declared value was only on the shipper's form and if I wanted a copy, that I could request it from her and she would scan it in and email it to me. She said she did that so it wouldn't draw attention. But I am confused, does that mean the full declared value is not apparent on the package? :worried:

Any info would be much appreciated. Oh yeah, the package in question contains two b-bags, eek!
 
#2
Are you in the US? I have never had to pay duties charges on anything I have received.... yet (thankfully), but everything does go through customs regardless, it doesn't mean you have to pay (I don't think!)
 
#3
This is so confusing to me but my recent experience was a piece of cake. I am in the U.S. and a pf member sent my paddy from NZ. It did go to customs and got to me in less that a week. There was no additional fees, only what was asked to pay when I purchase my Chloe.
 
#7
If you have to pay duty, its usually not that much... so the worst case scenario is if you get some assessed, it won't be too bad. One thing to remember though, customs DOES make mistakes. Be sure and be informed about what the duty percentage IS so if you get assessed, you can make sure it's correct. I collect antique jewelry and often get things from Europe. You can import items over 100 years old into the USA without paying duty. This goes for any dollar amount. I once was assessed duty on some earrings that were Victorian and the waybill clearly stated that. The customs agent either didn't read it or made an error. I paid the duty but called UPS after and talked to a customs rep there. She agreed that the duty was incorrect and UPS sent me a refund check two weeks later.
 
#8
All international packages go thru customs. It's up to the seller on how much they declared on the customs form. If the seller declared it full value, like over $500. You problebly have to pay duty fees. Ask the seller on how much they declared.
 
#9
If they didn't declare the correct value and the package gets lost, what happens then? It seems for insurance purposes, you'd have to declare the correct amount.

BTW, duties are usually 10% of the declared value.
 
#10
In the US if you send something overseas and you want insurance, the post office puts the insured value on the EMS label. The customs form gets put on the box next to the EMS label - therefore you can't insure a bag for $1000 and declare it a gift or used bag with a value of $100 - to insure it you have to declare it. If you don't insure it and it gets lost you are out of luck. I sent a b-bag to singapore and insured it and declared the same value. Buyer never had to pay customs duties in her country - so maybe it depends on where the bag is being shipped.
 
#11
I always use 3rd party insurance which cost less then EMS insurance and declare it as a gift less value of $100 so far it has worked without getting lost... knock on wood.
 
#14
You can use 3rd party shipping insurance like
DSI or Upic. They insure most countries.. you just have to fill out the form online and they will give you confirmation number and U pay via cc. It cost less than EMS, fed ex, or other carriers. It's so simple and you don't have to worry about customs or lost package. I believe there's $1000 limit on each shipping.

https://www.dsiinsurance.com/one_time_order1.asp
http://www.u-pic.com/OfflineRates.aspx
 
#15
You gals are all very lucky ... the folks sending the bags to you knew what they were doing.

I've answered this question about Customs & Duties many times, and I always tell folks that they should review the US Customs website to get all the facts on Customs & Duties.

The duties assessed are based on the "value" as filled out by the sender. By default, you are allowed to bring in $800 (per person) worth of goods without any duties being assessed. Therefore, if your sender listed the item as having a value less than $800, that would be why you didn't have to pay anything. If the sender puts an amount greater than $800, then you are assessed a flat rate percentage.

As the US Government has been focusing more on terrorist activities, I have found them to be much more amenable - many times either indicating no duty or assessing a very low percentage (1%). Either way, the sender (anything outside the US) must fill out the customs forms or the parcel will sit in customs and they will contact either you or the seller to provide the necessary paperwork. When I ordered a bag from Browns (London), it sat in customs for 1 month because Browns had not provided the paperwork. When they finally did, the put the 'real' value so I ended up having to pay duties to boot!!! Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled ...
 
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