Custom/duty/import fees from Japan to USA

[nicole0612]

Hi Nicole0612, could part of it have been state sales tax? Via DHL, one of my purchases of about 6600 (which included NY sales tax) was I think 660 Customs (Not sure how much carriage was as I wasn’t paying too much attention. . . I was fortunate that another purchase for 4K wasn’t charged. But I think that was a fluke.

I apologize for the late reply, I only just happened to see your quote completely by accident. I don’t get notifications consistently here

 

[olibelli]

I think I must have shared this in another thread, but I have made two purchases from Japan in the past few months, one via FedEx (~$1000 fees, slightly over 20%) and one via UPS which was ~$500 fees for ~6%, but it may be for different categories, since each spec is a different duty rate. The 6% was jewelry, the 20% was a handbag. Though it could have been due to the different carriers as well.

I'm thinking about buying a Kelly from a reseller in Japan and due to Covid-19 restrictions, they are only shipping via FedEx to USA. The bag itself is about $18.6K all in (bag, tax-free JPY rate, FedEx international shipping & handling), but wondering what I can anticipate in terms of customs fees & state sales tax?

 

[nicole0612]

I'm thinking about buying a Kelly from a reseller in Japan and due to Covid-19 restrictions, they are only shipping via FedEx to USA. The bag itself is about $18.6K all in (bag, tax-free JPY rate, FedEx international shipping & handling), but wondering what I can anticipate in terms of customs fees & state sales tax?

I think you need to be open to the idea that you may pay 20%, but it also may be much less. There doesn’t seem to be a way to be certain until you get the bill.

 

[olibelli]

I think you need to be open to the idea that you may pay 20%, but it also may be much less. There doesn’t seem to be a way to be certain until you get the bill.

Makes sense! I found the same bag from a US-based seller that's just about 20% more in price than the one in Japan. Quite the gamble, let's see... thank you

 

[nicole0612]

Makes sense! I found the same bag from a US-based seller that's just about 20% more in price than the one in Japan. Quite the gamble, let's see... thank you

Wishing you good luck!

 

[Kitties Are Cute]

Oh nooo I wish I read here before buying a Chanel bag from brand_jfa who just shipped via DHL. I thought i was getting a good deal but if there’s an additional whopping 10%+ on it, then definitely not a good deal. Ugh.

 

[Kitties Are Cute]

Update, just got the email from DHL with my customs charges - $195 on a $6k bag. Not as bad as I thought... I was expecting $600! I wonder how they calculate this though?

 

[alyssamay_xx]

Once I ordered a vintage Chanel and I had no customs fees
And a few months ago I ordered a m/l classic flap in beige and I got hit with a $600 customs fee

 

[nicole0612]

Once I ordered a vintage Chanel and I had no customs fees
And a few months ago I ordered a m/l classic flap in beige and I got hit with a $600 customs fee

The fees have certainly gone up steeply. What percentage did you pay in customs?

 

[alyssamay_xx]

The fees have certainly gone up steeply. What percentage did you pay in customs?

i don’t remember but I would say almost 10% but I will mention I do believe the seller may have declared the value higher as I don’t think I should have been charged so much on a $5500 bag! I could’ve just spent a bit extra and purchased from the store

 

[nicole0612]

i don’t remember but I would say almost 10% but I will mention I do believe the seller may have declared the value higher as I don’t think I should have been charged so much on a $5500 bag! I could’ve just spent a bit extra and purchased from the store

I think rates have gone up, or maybe brokerage fees are higher. I ended up paying almost 20% recently. It made it a very bad deal.

 

[yenniemc]

Update, just got the email from DHL with my customs charges - $195 on a $6k bag. Not as bad as I thought... I was expecting $600! I wonder how they calculate this though?

Thanks for the information! I am actually considering getting an Hermes bag from brand_jfa and I was wondering about the customs fees.

 

[lovely2008]

JP has surface, which take 2 months to arrive, but I was not charge any custom fees for 2k+ package. It does take long, but I wasn't in any hurry, so I tried that method. It did arrived exactly 2 months and USPS is the one who deliver the packages.

 

[lulu212121]

JP has surface, which take 2 months to arrive, but I was not charge any custom fees for 2k+ package. It does take long, but I wasn't in any hurry, so I tried that method. It did arrived exactly 2 months and USPS is the one who deliver the packages.

What is JP?

 

[wrtau23]

Any recent info on import fees? Just purchased a $6K bag from Japan and was estimating at 10% before I read this thread.