Custom/duty/import fees from Japan to USA

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#61
A.Ng said:
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
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Very helpful, comparative post!
 
#63
A.Ng said:
Oh one more thing I think is worth mentioning: my bag went through custom in LA :)
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A.Ng, Thank you for your information!! I'm also considering buying a $5K purse from Brandoff Japan, but I'm quite afraid of the big custom fee. I have bought a few purses from Japan but the sellers quoted as "used bag" and they are only $1k purses so there wasn't any custom duty fee.
 
#64
Pias said:
A.Ng, Thank you for your information!! I'm also considering buying a $5K purse from Brandoff Japan, but I'm quite afraid of the big custom fee. I have bought a few purses from Japan but the sellers quoted as "used bag" and they are only $1k purses so there wasn't any custom duty fee.
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Yes, I just bought 3 other chanel and lv bags from Japan, all of them were sold for under 1k and were shipped seperately. 3 packages breezed through custom office within a day and no fee or tax :)

The total cost for custom fee and import tax, if any, should be less than 10% of the value so if the bag is really cheap compare to the one sold in US and the difference is way more than enough for covering the cost then I'd say go for it. But if the difference is not much, in this case a few hundreds dollars compare to a 5k bag then dont. Its not worth the hassles of international shipping, custom process and you would be worried tossing around nights after nights until it comes
 
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#65
A.Ng said:
Yes, I just bought 3 other chanel and lv bags from Japan, all of them were sold for under 1k and were shipped seperately. 3 packages breezed through custom office within a day and no fee or tax :)

The total cost for custom fee and import tax, if any, should be less than 10% of the value so if the bag is really cheap compare to the one sold in US and the difference is way more than enough for covering the cost then I'd say go for it. But if the difference is not much, in this case a few hundreds dollars compare to a 5k bag then dont. Its not worth the hassles of international shipping, custom process and you would be worried tossing around nights after nights until it comes
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Thank you, A.Ng, for your advice. I totally agree with you to check the total cost of bag plus possible custom duty. Lately, many Hermes bags from Japan are quoted price as high or higher than those in consignment stores in US. So, the total price might be not worth it. :roflmfao: I think I'd better wait for something in US. Thank you again, A.Ng, for your help!!:smile1:
 
#66
A.Ng said:
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
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wow, I thought if they declare the bag as gift, you will not need to pay custom fee. Thanks for the information!
 
#67
does anyone know the duties and fees if you purchase a handbag from japan/taiwan and ship it to canada? bag under $2000-2500. if anyone knows the % i would greatly appreciate it.

thanks
 
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#68
I know this is a different topic but I came across this post and was curious I've been eyeing some LV purses on Ebay and was wondering why is it that purses from Japan seem to be priced lower than any other areas selling the same purse?
 
#70
Hi, This is my first time on here. I have heard great things about this forum. So here I am. I am also trying to find out if I am going to incur duty fees if I purchase a Louis Vuitton from Japan. I live in Hawaii. I am thinking that unless it is alot of money paid for item I am probably going to be okay. I am currently bidding on a purse so we shall see. If I win the bid. I will let everyone know on here what my experience was. Jumping in head first and hoping for a pleasant outcome. Thanks to all the above threads at least I have some idea now. I have been searching on the web and leaving messages for a custom's office no luck getting any call backs or finding any real information on their website. Aloha.
 
#71
LivLoves said:
I know this is a different topic but I came across this post and was curious I've been eyeing some LV purses on Ebay and was wondering why is it that purses from Japan seem to be priced lower than any other areas selling the same purse?
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I lived and worked in Japan for 6 years. It's their culture, they're really honest people, they wouldn't overprice just to get an unjustifiable amount of profit.
 
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#73
I had considered bidding on an item from JAPAN and researched the import duty/customs issue. Ultimately, I decided it was not worth the trouble. After reading some posts from this thread, I feel like I could give it a try if I find something next time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
 
#74
luffiness said:
I had considered bidding on an item from JAPAN and researched the import duty/customs issue. Ultimately, I decided it was not worth the trouble. After reading some posts from this thread, I feel like I could give it a try if I find something next time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
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I was charged $83 customs fee for 2 LV bags from Japan,
 
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