Need soem customs help, please!

[mattking2000]

I will be off to help the US economy in a few weeks... and will definitely be trying to include H in my trip. the problem however, is that there's a $750 customs limit for canadians leaving 7+ days.

Knowing H, that's barely two scarves, or a few other small things.

Is there a way to bypass this? I would like to mail packages back home, but I was wondering what would be the best way to go about doing this.

Option 1: Have H mail them directly to my house/relatives (will they do that?
Option 2: Mail them to my house/relatives via FedEx
Option 3: replace with UPS
Option 4: replace with USPS
Option 5: replace with DHL

My concerns about Options 2 - 5 are that I'll have to pay brokerage fees + customs fees + any other hidden fees from the shipping companies. Is there a way around this? Every time I order from Yoox I dont' have to pay anything (and no signature required) , but every time I order from Portero I have to pay extra fees (signature required), both UPS. Are brokerage fees only charged if a signature is required? I have tried to read the shipping sites' brokerage systems but it's worse than my bio textbook.

If anyone has other suggestions, please feel free to chime in -- I'm trying to figure out a way to avoid paying both US tax AND Canadian tax on ONE purchase (that, and have less things to lug around in my luggage)

Thanks very much in advance!

 

[Lady Luna]

I know that if you ask the store to mail the purchase to you they MUST declare the full value on postal statement.
You could avoid paying tax if you declare the value close to zero, but then you are putting your shipment at risk.

 

[Aminamina]

Why don't you mail your packages by yourself to yourself the way you want it?

 

[mooks]

Do you have to declare what you have when you come back into Canada? After all everything in your case could be what you took with you to the US.....

 

[perlerare]

How much is the VAT in your country?

 

[mattking2000]

I know that if you ask the store to mail the purchase to you they MUST declare the full value on postal statement.
You could avoid paying tax if you declare the value close to zero, but then you are putting your shipment at risk.

If I place my value close to zero, what is my risk? Is it that if I lose it/gets lost in transition the insurance will only cover the amount i declared?

Why don't you mail your packages by yourself to yourself the way you want it?

Aminamina, I'm not sure which way I want -- I want the best way, but I'm not sure which is =(

Do you have to declare what you have when you come back into Canada? After all everything in your case could be what you took with you to the US.....

I believe you have to declare everything you bought while in the US, and is brought back "new" to Canada. I'd like to keep the boxes/whatever they come in, so should I mail the empty boxes back home and make it look like I've been using the items all along?

How much is the VAT in your country?

It's 13% in the province I come from.

Thanks for all your responses! I don't think I should go with having the store send my purchases home, as Lady Luna kindly pointed out. Has anyone had bad experiences/opinions about the carriers above, or other suggestions about getting through customs?

 

[mistikat]

If you are pulled aside by Canada Customs for a luggage search, they have the right to look at EVERYTHING. And I mean everything. And they also have the right to ask for receipts. According to the H store here, they are well aware of what things cost and have codes corresponding to the item/colour. So you can't take a old receipt and pass it off for a new, different item.

If you use a courier service, you will pay duty (likely) and taxes on whatever the declared value of the parcel is. It is hit or miss with Canada Post. Sometimes you are charged duty, sometimes, even if the full amount is declared, you are not. Depending on the item, you are most often charged the 13% in taxes and an $8 handling fee.

Depending on what you are planning to buy, honesty is probably your best policy.

 

[Perigord]

Mistikat is giving you the best advice. I live in the US, not Canada, but I can tell you what I think based on my own experiences. During the years when the dollar was good (I can barely remember what that felt like) I bought all my Hermes items in France on my regular trips. Also, as an occassional eBay seller, I ship items to people in other countries.

FedEx and UPS are nice, but you risk brokerage fees, which can raise the cost of shipping. You will likely pay duty--Mistikat is right though when she says that it can all be hit or miss.

If you use the US postal services, you would not have a brokerage fee. Depending on where you live, though, you may not be able to insure your items for their full value. The USPS sets insurance limits for each country.

Whatever you use, you should insure the item for the full cost. Your ability to collect in the case of damage or loss would be limited to the amount of insurance you buy. I would rather face duty charges and insure the item properly than risk loss just to save a few dollars.

If Hermes ships, they would not ship without full insurance. But if Hermes ships from the store to Canada, you would not be charged state sales tax.

So--if shipping, letting Hermes do it would save you the sales tax, but could result in brokerage fees. What a dilemna!

Now I have heard Hermes employees actually say that you should take the item with you and mail the receipts and boxes to yourself so that you do not have them at the border.

I am not really thrilled with that option, because there are still ways you could be caught when you return to Canada. I know that in the US the fines can be huge. In the US there is also the risk that your passport will be electronically noted and on future trips you could easily endure more scrutiny.

I have also heard that US officials can and do--when they are suspicious--check credit card activity to see what your transactions are. I do not know if this is urban legend or not but it sends chills down my spine!

The allowance in the US is now much better--you can buy close to $2,000 in goods and only spend a few dollars on duty. Many times at that level they do not bother charging anything.

If you take your goods across the border, you would not be charged duty on the first $750, based on what you said.

What I would do if I were you is call Canadian customs. Ask what they charge for leather goods (or other things you might want...silk...cashmere...) with France as the country of origin. At least you will know before you buy whether the amount of duty would be awful...or not so bad. It could be three percent or thirty percent!

I guess there is no perfect answer...but for me I prefer to declare things and see what happens. I travel too often and do not want to make future border crossings a problem.

Hope this doesn't confuse you totally!

 

[costa]

Ship the empty boxes by mail and store the bag in your suitcase or just use it.

 

[Aminamina]

If I place my value close to zero, what is my risk? Is it that if I lose it/gets lost in transition the insurance will only cover the amount i declared?



Aminamina, I'm not sure which way I want -- I want the best way, but I'm not sure which is =(

What I meant was why don't you send yourself a cheap gift? I don't know how many bags and stuff you are (hopefully!) going to buy but it wouldn't be that difficult to carry a few empty boxes, esp. if they would fit in one another...I would use either FedEx or USPS. Best of luck to you!

 

[perlerare]

Mistikat is giving you the best advice. I live in the US, not Canada, but I can tell you what I think based on my own experiences. During the years when the dollar was good (I can barely remember what that felt like) I bought all my Hermes items in France on my regular trips. Also, as an occassional eBay seller, I ship items to people in other countries.

FedEx and UPS are nice, but you risk brokerage fees, which can raise the cost of shipping. You will likely pay duty--Mistikat is right though when she says that it can all be hit or miss.

If you use the US postal services, you would not have a brokerage fee. Depending on where you live, though, you may not be able to insure your items for their full value. The USPS sets insurance limits for each country.

Whatever you use, you should insure the item for the full cost. Your ability to collect in the case of damage or loss would be limited to the amount of insurance you buy. I would rather face duty charges and insure the item properly than risk loss just to save a few dollars.

If Hermes ships, they would not ship without full insurance. But if Hermes ships from the store to Canada, you would not be charged state sales tax.

So--if shipping, letting Hermes do it would save you the sales tax, but could result in brokerage fees. What a dilemna!

Now I have heard Hermes employees actually say that you should take the item with you and mail the receipts and boxes to yourself so that you do not have them at the border.

I am not really thrilled with that option, because there are still ways you could be caught when you return to Canada. I know that in the US the fines can be huge. In the US there is also the risk that your passport will be electronically noted and on future trips you could easily endure more scrutiny.

I have also heard that US officials can and do--when they are suspicious--check credit card activity to see what your transactions are. I do not know if this is urban legend or not but it sends chills down my spine!

The allowance in the US is now much better--you can buy close to $2,000 in goods and only spend a few dollars on duty. Many times at that level they do not bother charging anything.

If you take your goods across the border, you would not be charged duty on the first $750, based on what you said.

What I would do if I were you is call Canadian customs. Ask what they charge for leather goods (or other things you might want...silk...cashmere...) with France as the country of origin. At least you will know before you buy whether the amount of duty would be awful...or not so bad. It could be three percent or thirty percent!

I guess there is no perfect answer...but for me I prefer to declare things and see what happens. I travel too often and do not want to make future border crossings a problem.

Hope this doesn't confuse you totally!

Customs have extended power of investigation. But customs duties and VAT are due on items that ACTUALLY enter the country.

If you have bought something abroad as a gift to your hostess there, you have left it in that country, so you do not have to pay any VAT in your country for it.

 

[perlerare]

Ship the empty boxes by mail and store the bag in your suitcase or just use it.

....and make sure then, that you mail all CC receipt, bill, invoice and all evidence of payment directly to your home.

And take off labels and mix the used and the new thing in your suitcase in a happy mess !

 

[Lady Luna]

Happy mess in a suitcase is the best solution. But If you plan to take your deductions at the Departure Airport - the custom officer depending on their disposition or mood may request to see the item or all items, and it has to be new with tags, labels, receipts, etc.
I traveled a lot and always brought home a little bit more than was allowed, but never anything big, no latest designer's stuff. Considering the former value of dollar it was such a fun to shop in Europe. So we had to go thru a hassle to check in, get a boarding pass, check your bags then carry stuff intended for deduction to the customs, then you had to take it to the plane as a carry on. I tried to go thru customs first, but you need a boarding pass. When you get a boarding pass they require to check luggage in. You cannot return after customs and check in more luggage. Then only I mailed my receipts, there are mail boxes in the airport, the orange one for stamped returns and next to it a blue international mail box.
It might be a different procedure for the VIP class, but we fly regular. What I described is my personal experience. Sometimes Hermes did a return on a spot, but you still had to show items to the customs.
One time I got extremely unpleasant male, he asked for all items in the list and stopped only at "Triumph" objects. I was prepared to display them to him too nonchalantly.

And one more thing, I had personally read with my own eyes that Amex signed agreement with respective departaments to report all foreign activity.

 

[geminisparklers]

Happy mess in a suitcase is the best solution. But If you plan to take your deductions at the Departure Airport - the custom officer depending on their disposition or mood may request to see the item or all items, and it has to be new with tags, labels, receipts, etc.
I traveled a lot and always brought home a little bit more than was allowed, but never anything big, no latest designer's stuff. Considering the former value of dollar it was such a fun to shop in Europe. So we had to go thru a hassle to check in, get a boarding pass, check your bags then carry stuff intended for deduction to the customs, then you had to take it to the plane as a carry on. I tried to go thru customs first, but you need a boarding pass. When you get a boarding pass they require to check luggage in. You cannot return after customs and check in more luggage. Then only I mailed my receipts, there are mail boxes in the airport, the orange one for stamped returns and next to it a blue international mail box.
It might be a different procedure for the VIP class, but we fly regular. What I described is my personal experience. Sometimes Hermes did a return on a spot, but you still had to show items to the customs.
One time I got extremely unpleasant male, he asked for all items in the list and stopped only at "Triumph" objects. I was prepared to display them to him too nonchalantly.

And one more thing, I had personally read with my own eyes that Amex signed agreement with respective departaments to report all foreign activity.

When I was at the CDG airport in May, we could do a re-checkin of additional items after we did our tax refund claims.

 

[pyrexia]

I think the best way would be to actually use your items and mix them up in your suitcase and mail the empty boxes back home to yourself. That way, you can literally declare a $0 value or the maximum allowed before you have to pay tax, and you won't have to worry about the actual items.