US Customs discussion - airports, importing

#17
^ For me, 41$ DHL.
If I had to do it over again, I would do the same thing and ship. I had one of the many customs officers strolling around the room come up into my face :shocked: when I was waiting for my suitcase and ask me specifically what I bought (and I showed him since they warn not to pack purchases). If you hand carry back, you get to bring in 800$ no duty. After that 800., you are assessed. I don't know what they would do if a person got caught trying to sneak in something that cost several thousand dollars, maybe just have them pay. But if they flag the passport by computer, future international travel could be a real pain.
 
#18
Encore Hermes said:
^ For me, 41$ DHL.
If I had to do it over again, I would do the same thing and ship. I had one of the many customs officers strolling around the room come up into my face :shocked: when I was waiting for my suitcase and ask me specifically what I bought (and I showed him since they warn not to pack purchases). If you hand carry back, you get to bring in 800$ no duty. After that 800., you are assessed. I don't know what they would do if a person got caught trying to sneak in something that cost several thousand dollars, maybe just have them pay. But if they flag the passport by computer, future international travel could be a real pain.
Click to expand...

We always declare everything when returning from tavels in Europe.
 
#19
I am in DC right now, working on the Hill, on the Senate side and read your comments about US Customs duty.
Under the US Civil Code, ie, US Statutes, customs duty is regulated by the CBP, now a division of Homeland Security, before 9/11 it was regulated by the Treasury Dept.
If you go to CBP.gov and look at the site, Know Before You Go, all of the various duty amounts are explained.
I go to Europe 12 times a year on various CODELS for the US Congress and have always declared my Hermes purchases. I come back from Europe to IAD/Dulles and the CPB are very thorough at Dulles.
It depends on the US airport to which you are arriving, if you bring the Hermes items back with you, you willl get $800 per person, and then just pay the remainder amount that the CPB says you owe. You would do better to bring the Hermes items with you, then you would not pay such a hefty shipping cost.
If you have a problem with CBP, you can always have your Senator and/or Member of Congress initiate a casework inquiry for you with CBP.
Hope this helps,
susan von
 
#20
Hmm... interesting... I've never thought about the US custom tax for birkins, if I purchase them in Europe... What if I'm actually using the birkin I purchased from Europe, and I mail the empty orange boxes back to the States, will I still be charged for US custom tax???
 
#22
What are your experiences at customs when you've declared your H & Birkin purchases when you come home?

Do they charge you the extra duty (in excess of the allowable $800) right then and there? Or do they send you a bill?

Also, do they search your bags? For me, this would be totally annoying if you were honest and declared everything to find that it caused them to search your bags and waste your time. Has this happened to anyone before?

TIA!
 
#23
Does anyone know whether there is state sales tax that we have to pay on shipped orders from FSH? Or is it just the customs duty?

Also, I have read in the previous posts that the custom duty is 10% on the Birkin - can anyone confirm this from a recent experience?

Thank you much in advance!
 
#24
H clearly puts the value of the contents of the package on the outside of the box. Whether customs actually assesses you duty is a bit of a crapshoot. And in California, use tax is supposed to be paid on purchases made outside the state, even when the other location charged a sales tax. It's self-reported on your CA state income tax return, and just because probably most people choose not to report owing any doesn't mean it's not owed! :smile:

I seem to recall in a thread here the duty on a leather bag is 9%. If you do a search I'm sure you'll find it.
 
#26
Thanks for the input - this is the first that I've heard of a 'use' tax so it's good to know. I love how we can taxed on just about everything that we do - income, property, estate (when you die!), sales and now, use.
 
#27
This is a great thread. Does anyone have recent experience buying a used Birkin from Hong Kong/Asia and getting charged extra fees through customs? I tried to do a little research on the CBP web site and think the duty amount is 35% of purchase price -- is this right? Gee, if I buy a used Birkin for $7,000, that's quite a hefty duty fee. I don't want to underdeclare because the penalties for doing so are very harsh. Does anyone know if 35% sounds right?

Yikes.
 
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