Customs Fees?

DooneyNewbie

DooneyNewbie

O.G.
Dec 6, 2012
97
36
#1
I am planning on buying a preloved LV purse from a store on Malleries.com. I already got in authenticated, read about their return policy, and the fine print. They say that shipping is free worldwide but customs fees, taxes, etc are the buyers responsibility. They are shipping it from Japan...how do I know what the fees will be? I've never ordered anything from Japan before...and when I add it to my cart, it only shows the amount before taxes. Any suggestions?
 
#2
DooneyNewbie said:
I am planning on buying a preloved LV purse from a store on Malleries.com. I already got in authenticated, read about their return policy, and the fine print. They say that shipping is free worldwide but customs fees, taxes, etc are the buyers responsibility. They are shipping it from Japan...how do I know what the fees will be? I've never ordered anything from Japan before...and when I add it to my cart, it only shows the amount before taxes. Any suggestions?
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You may end up paying no fees at all as custom officers are unable to stop and inspect every package that crosses the borders daily.
If you have to pay fees, it depends on the value declared on the forms that accompanies your package. I believe that there is an official website to calculate these fees.
 
#3
fabuleux said:
You may end up paying no fees at all as custom officers are unable to stop and inspect every package that crosses the borders daily.
If you have to pay fees, it depends on the value declared on the forms that accompanies your package. I believe that there is an official website to calculate these fees.
Click to expand...

I see...so you receive forms in the package afterward that tell you how much you owe for fees? I never knew that. Why wouldn't they charge it ahead of time? Also, where do you send the payment for the fees? I'm sorry, this is all new to me.
 
#4
DooneyNewbie said:
I see...so you receive forms in the package afterward that tell you how much you owe for fees? I never knew that. Why wouldn't they charge it ahead of time? Also, where do you send the payment for the fees? I'm sorry, this is all new to me.
Click to expand...
The US government charges the fees to the person who imports the goods (you). The seller has nothing to do with that.
The forms are filled out by the seller for customs. If custom officers inspect your item and decide you owe import taxes (that's basically what this is about), you will have to pay the fee before you can get your item.
 
#7
DooneyNewbie said:
I am planning on buying a preloved LV purse from a store on Malleries.com. I already got in authenticated, read about their return policy, and the fine print. They say that shipping is free worldwide but customs fees, taxes, etc are the buyers responsibility. They are shipping it from Japan...how do I know what the fees will be? I've never ordered anything from Japan before...and when I add it to my cart, it only shows the amount before taxes. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
There is a great thread discussing this. From the thread:
1) Anything over $8000 is subject to taxation.
2) If U.S. CBP decides to tax your imported package, and it is a handbag, and it is from most countries such as Japan (but not Singapore, Australia, etc., due to FTA), the taxable rate is 8% of the declared value of the bag.
3) Many CBP agents aren't the brightest, and the declared value is never written down in USD but in the foreign exporting country's currency and they sometimes calculate wrong. This could end up with higher or lower taxable fee perception by the agent. This can be an instance where you pay more/less than expected. In addition, your shipper may declare a lesser value.
4) At the end of the day, CBP may open your package by random inspection and compare it against what is declared to see if it's declared correctly or incorrectly. Their estimations on market value have no rhyme or reason, which is why you can contest your duties paid - this is why you should always take a snapshot of the form you fill out at the post office when paying your duties. This can be another instance where you pay more/less than expected.
5) If your seller ships through a non-state-sponsored service such as UPS, DHL or FedEx, there may be additional brokerage fees added onto the duties, that are imposed on you. This is never pleasant, so beware. The upside is that when they use brokers, usually nobody opens up packages and just go by what is declared by the sender. State-sponsored services (government carriers, such as Canada Post, Royal Mail, EMS, etc.) change hands to USPS control once crossing the border and leaving customs. https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/custom-duty-import-fees-from-japan-to-usa.451248/page-11
 
#8
twin-fun said:
There is a great thread discussing this. From the thread:
1) Anything over $8000 is subject to taxation.
2) If U.S. CBP decides to tax your imported package, and it is a handbag, and it is from most countries such as Japan (but not Singapore, Australia, etc., due to FTA), the taxable rate is 8% of the declared value of the bag.
3) Many CBP agents aren't the brightest, and the declared value is never written down in USD but in the foreign exporting country's currency and they sometimes calculate wrong. This could end up with higher or lower taxable fee perception by the agent. This can be an instance where you pay more/less than expected. In addition, your shipper may declare a lesser value.
4) At the end of the day, CBP may open your package by random inspection and compare it against what is declared to see if it's declared correctly or incorrectly. Their estimations on market value have no rhyme or reason, which is why you can contest your duties paid - this is why you should always take a snapshot of the form you fill out at the post office when paying your duties. This can be another instance where you pay more/less than expected.
5) If your seller ships through a non-state-sponsored service such as UPS, DHL or FedEx, there may be additional brokerage fees added onto the duties, that are imposed on you. This is never pleasant, so beware. The upside is that when they use brokers, usually nobody opens up packages and just go by what is declared by the sender. State-sponsored services (government carriers, such as Canada Post, Royal Mail, EMS, etc.) change hands to USPS control once crossing the border and leaving customs. https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/custom-duty-import-fees-from-japan-to-usa.451248/page-11
Click to expand...

Ahh I see. I read the posts on the other page. Thank you!
 
#9
fabuleux said:
The US government charges the fees to the person who imports the goods (you). The seller has nothing to do with that.
The forms are filled out by the seller for customs. If custom officers inspect your item and decide you owe import taxes (that's basically what this is about), you will have to pay the fee before you can get your item.
Click to expand...

For Christmas a couple of years ago, my husband bought me a pair of $300 boots from the UK. It wasn't until March that he got a bill in the mail for the customs fees. It was annoying, as he'd thought he was done with the whole thing--just know your bill could turn up later.
 
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#10
Customs fees do make you have to think carefully about buying outside of your market area.
If it is a relatively low cost item that attracts customs fees, what is really irksome in the UK is the charge made by some carriers to collect the fees (on behalf of IR). Having been caught once I am now very cautious.
It is also very difficult to predict what he charges might be, even if you can find the applicable rates.
I do think that in UK fees are charged at the point of entry and goods are not released until the charges have been paid, so there should not be any nasty surprises some time later.
 
#11
PJW5813 said:
Customs fees do make you have to think carefully about buying outside of your market area.
If it is a relatively low cost item that attracts customs fees, what is really irksome in the UK is the charge made by some carriers to collect the fees (on behalf of IR). Having been caught once I am now very cautious.
It is also very difficult to predict what he charges might be, even if you can find the applicable rates.
I do think that in UK fees are charged at the point of entry and goods are not released until the charges have been paid, so there should not be any nasty surprises some time later.
Click to expand...

Yeah I realize this now and decided not to buy from this seller just to avoid all the stress. I didn't feel good about it and I want to enjoy my item when it arrives. So I ordered a pochette accessories from a US online consignment shop and bought the key holder from LV.com. I decided to wait on buying the noe. I'll wait until I see something on Fashionfile or Yoogis Closet just so I don't have to worry about customs fees etc.
 
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