Int'l winner wants me to state $1k bag is "gift" or $50 - is this right?

mnpurselover

mnpurselover

O.G.
May 1, 2006
457
35
#1
Hello -

I posted a different thread about a winner from Canada winning my Chanel bag auction. The bag was won for $1200. The winner just wrote and said:

"As to the custom taxes, usually others just put a different lower value such as $50.00 or something like that and the description of the item as "used handbag" and then they mark the item being sent as a "GIFT" to me."

My question is: do sellers do this? It doesn't feel right to me, as how can I insure the bag for it's full value if I only declare it was a gift or costs $50?

Thanks!
 
#2
Answer to your question: you can't insure the bag for its full value if you only declare it as $50.

It's a huge risk, so unless the buyer is a good friend or family member, I wouldn't do it.
 
#4
No she is not a friend or family member. She won my bag off ebay is all.

I will NOT take the risk on this Chanel bag. It's too much to lose.

So I will write the winner back and tell her it is too risky for me. Oh I hope this doesn't cause troubles. :nogood:
 
#5
mnpurselover said:
No she is not a friend or family member. She won my bag off ebay is all.

I will NOT take the risk on this Chanel bag. It's too much to lose.

So I will write the winner back and tell her it is too risky for me. Oh I hope this doesn't cause troubles. :nogood:
Click to expand...

Tell her you do not agree with lying on government documents and that if it got lost you would not be able to get full reimbursement from the post office. If she doesn't like it, too bad. Import duties are her responsibility and she should have contacted you and had you agree to these arrangements PRIOR to bidding and winning, not after the fact.

I am in Canada and import stuff from the US all the time. I am fully aware that import duties are my responsibility.
 
#8
Marking it as a gift isn't really a problem - but undermarking the value is. It states in your eBay account that you are from a different country than she is; the buyer should have taken that into account before even bidding on your auction.
 
#9
It's a real nuisance for buyers who live in custom duty hungry countries. She should really have asked you about this before. Putting gift - used handbag might assist the situation but I guess bnjj has more experience where Canada is concerned.
 
#10
bnjj said:
Tell her you do not agree with lying on government documents and that if it got lost you would not be able to get full reimbursement from the post office. If she doesn't like it, too bad. Import duties are her responsibility and she should have contacted you and had you agree to these arrangements PRIOR to bidding and winning, not after the fact.

I am in Canada and import stuff from the US all the time. I am fully aware that import duties are my responsibility.
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I totally agree with bnjj, don't risk it. If the buyer is in Canada she is well aware of the fact that duty is her responsibility and it's ridiculous to ask you to take that risk.
 
#11
Marking something as a gift without undervaluing it really has no effect, so there's no reason to do it. The whole point of the "gift" thing is to value the item just below the gift allowance of the receiving country. Above that it makes no difference - i.e. a gift valued at $500 will not be assessed less duty than merchandise valued at $500.
 
#12
I just got asked to do that for my buyer who is in the phillipines. She agreed that will be responsible if the bag is lost so I did it.

I am in Canada and totally understand where the buyer is coming from....They charge us crazy amounts here and I always see if I can get lower values when I import stuff. I just had a shipper from a big dept. store do that for me. The chances of something getting lost are VERY small too.

If you can do it you will doing the buyer a BIG favour and she might be a repeat customer. If not I'm sure she will undertsand as it is a big risk.....You can even ask her who will be responsible if the bag gets lost!?

BTW, I have had bags sent to me from Aloha Rag, Diabro, and Sacoche and all these stores put really low values on their packages. Thats why I much prefer buying from them....
 
#13
mona_danya said:
I just got asked to do that for my buyer who is in the phillipines. She agreed that will be responsible if the bag is lost so I did it.

I am in Canada and totally understand where the buyer is coming from....They charge us crazy amounts here and I always see if I can get lower values when I import stuff. I just had a shipper from a big dept. store do that for me. The chances of something getting lost are VERY small too.

If you can do it you will doing the buyer a BIG favour and she might be a repeat customer. If not I'm sure she will undertsand as it is a big risk.....You can even ask her who will be responsible if the bag gets lost!?

BTW, I have had bags sent to me from Aloha Rag, Diabro, and Sacoche and all these stores put really low values on their packages. Thats why I much prefer buying from them....
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, that means absolutely nothing to paypal and the seller would be out the money if anything were to go wrong. If you are taking payment via a method other than paypal, then that is a different story.
 
#14
Yep, makes no difference what they say they will do or what you write in your auctions, same applies if they don't pay for insurance etc. It is the sellers responsibility to get the item to the buyer one way or another, if they don't get it you will be the one that loses out. End of story.
 
#15
This has been discussed many times. It is illegal to put "gift" if it isn't and to devalue the item. Plus, as others have said -- you have everything to lose and she has everything to gain.

I put clearly in my auctions that I will not do this, yet bidders time and again -- even after they have made an offer -- ask me to do it. I will not do it and did not accept the offers, even if they were the highest ones I got. Someone who tries to change the rules after they buy or make an offer are trouble IMO.
 
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