Shipping 1k handbag without insurance internationally to avoid customs?

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1K is enough to warrant a fair bit of customs duties depending on which country your buyer is in. But I would require an email rom mthe email stating that she is opting, out of her own free will, for no insurance on the item, so that if anything happens, you have a paper-trail and back-up.
 
1. you have to LEGALLY declare an amount. a fed offense i believe not to.
2. you do NOT want to be liable for a lost package of that amount.to lose the
bag and the money due to paypal's pain in the arse policies? no fun.
3. why even attempt to get yourself into a possible bit of trouble? you have
heard so many ebay/paypal horror stories that you should be well
prepared for this stuff.
4. Customs are the buyer's issue. not yours.
 
Amen to the above-when a package crosses a border, it is going to go through customs, thats the nature of borders, and what they decide to do with it is out of your hands-but if you try to beat them, you are playing a potentially pricey and dangerous game-and the buyer is liable for duties, if any are assessed, which they may be unhappy with-this is why international purchases can be minefields (and letters retracting earlier letters can also be sent)-I would think long and hard about how to handle this whole auction.
 
Amen to the above-when a package crosses a border, it is going to go through customs, thats the nature of borders, and what they decide to do with it is out of your hands-but if you try to beat them, you are playing a potentially pricey and dangerous game-and the buyer is liable for duties, if any are assessed, which they may be unhappy with-this is why international purchases can be minefields (and letters retracting earlier letters can also be sent)-I would think long and hard about how to handle this whole auction.

This whole customs issue is a mine field. We have a very good repeat customer in Germany who asks that we mark her purchases as a "gift" and value them very low. The first few shipments went fine, but then she got a phone call about one shipment. . .they didn't believe the low value, "appraised" it on the spot and charged her about $300 duty. She wan't happy, of course, but didn't blame us and has bought from us since.

I think the issue os one of the relationship you have with the customer (customers often become friends =) For a first-time sale tell the Buyer you have to be honest on the declarations and that duty is the Buyer's responsibility. What you do as the relationship builds depends on the relationship.

We shipped an expensive bag to the U.K. about a year ago. The Buyer purchased it on our website; no emails, no communication, but her payment was fine and so we just shipped the bag as normal, including honest customs declarations. When the bag arrived and she saw the customs bill, she was unhappy and finally emailed us, claiming the duty was part of the shipping fee and we should reimburse her. We explained, calmly and professionally, the facts and have never heard from her again (and also have never sold her anything else =(

It can be a touchy situation. Duty can be high, and buyers need to consider that before grabbing a "bargain" overseas.
 
Are customs fees bad from the US to Canada?

No, if you purchase from the US and have it shipped to Canada via regular mail or express postal mail you will pay the GST and PST on the item. That's it. I always factor in GST/PST into everything I buy out of habit anyways.

BUT if you have the item shipped via UPS or another courier you will pay crazy fees! UPS charges "brokerage fees" of like 20-30%. Its insane! And they've already charged you $20 to ship the package!
 
If I'm shipping internationally, I always use USPS Global Express Shipping since it comes with online tracking. I'll buy insurance up to the amount the buyer paid for the item and declare the item as a "used handbag" or a gift depending on how much the item cost.
 
If I'm shipping internationally, I always use USPS Global Express Shipping since it comes with online tracking. I'll buy insurance up to the amount the buyer paid for the item and declare the item as a "used handbag" or a gift depending on how much the item cost.
I do it like Irissy just that I use DHL which is the German equivalent to USPS and if it's for a friend I don't declare the full value and mark it as a gift but if it's on Ebay I declare the full value.
 
As an overseas buyer myself I must say that I do not normally ask for this kind of treatment, although some US sellers seem to mark things as gift routinely. When I purchase used item (like a bag) *at least* the parcel should be marked as used item. That lowers somehow its value when it goies thru customs. I do not have anything against paying customs fees, but what is unnerving is that here in Italy they hit totally randomly, they are *never* the same, and if a parcel gets stuch in the customs it can take up to 3 weeks to be "freed" and to reach me.
So yes, even if it is not legal and everything, I do not feel that my country's customs system is consistent. I feel like they make use of their power in a harmful way. That's why, in case of a very high value, I might ask the seller to lower the insured value and to declare the parcel as a gift. In that case, of course, I agree to be refund only on the insured amount. this has never happened to me so far, but I do not exclude that it might happen.
By the way, sorry if I say this, but sometimes I feel a lot of negativity here regarding international purchases. I do not think that every international buyer is 'per se' a wannabe scammer, and I do think that communication and expedition problems can be solved in a peaceful way on both sides of the Atlantic :yes:

*Edit*: I hope I'm not offending anybody here, but I do find many threads that rant about international buyers etc. etc. and sometimes I feel a little offended by this, being an international buyer myself.
 
I really think sellers should not be so scared about shipping internationally... it's really not complicated or dangerous like a lot of people here think... I believe the key to successful transactions is to choose who you will sell to (ask the buyer to email you first for approval before taking paypal payment and look at the feedback profile).

Honestly I am one of those buyers who usually request to declare lower value and not fully insure the item. When purchasing from US, I will only use USPS Global Express (EMS) with online tracking, and I will write to the seller that the responsibility is mine if anything goes wrong. I'm willing to take the risk because 1). I believe that EMS is a very reliable service. I have sent and received thousands of EMS parcels in the last couple of years (no not only my shopping :P, also relating to business) and never ever had a problem. 2). The whole customs deal is just too much... too expensive and takes way too long. Here in Australia we have an allowance of AU$1k (approx. US$750) and anything above that will be taxed dearly.
 
If that package gets lost it will be up to YOU to refund her money if its not insured. I ALWAYS insure the item for either what it will cost to replace it (if I have the receipt for what I paid for it origionally) or the full amount of the ebay item that the buyer paid. I do NOT lie on customs forms (its illegal ya know). This is disclosed to international buyers. I would rather lose a sale than lose a package and risk neg feedback and the stress of a refund. Customs fees are the buyer responsibility, not mine.
 
i do it all the time. i'll ask to put low value but using a reliable shipping company.
i'll rather pay extra for the shipping.
my aunt sent me a 600$ LV, and edclared 600. when it arrived, the custom charged me 450$!!!!!!
i return the bag to my aunt right away!