US Customs discussion - airports, importing
- Thread starter esyee
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Items shipping from Europe can be subject to as much as 20% duty (for leather, specifically) and there is not an exemption as you are not bringing the item in. I don't recommend it.
hi guys! i came back to charlotte from paris a few weeks ago. i got all kinds of advice about evading the customs system, ugh. eventually i figured it wasn't worth it and to be honest. so i put everything down on the customs form. it was bout 9k ... when i came back through charlotte, the customs officials were incredulous that i had spent that much on clothes. they didn't bother to lecture the older gentleman next to me who got a 6k watch. all i said was i was honest and declared. the officer gave me a flat 3% and walked me to the counter. in the end it wasn't worth lying and potentially losing global entry and maybe having customs look at the receipts from France and England. but the thing that made it most worthwhile is that i felt better about being honest!
Hi everyone , just want to share my experience, came back from Paris to LAX airport ,i got a Birkin ,
i have global entry so declared that I have goods over $800 and the officer looked in the computer and said “follow me”. Then the customer asked me about all the receipt that I’ve got ., And start calculating ... for leather goods 9% , clothes / jackets / coats that percentage is depend by the materials it it’s wool, cashmere ..... so at the end I paid l
I think they already know if you purchase a big amount abroad cause they didn’t even asked me what did I buy ... they’re waitinge to show the receipt and I was told I’ve you don’t declare and you got caught ithe fine is x6 and if you can’t pay they will confiscate .
i have global entry so declared that I have goods over $800 and the officer looked in the computer and said “follow me”. Then the customer asked me about all the receipt that I’ve got ., And start calculating ... for leather goods 9% , clothes / jackets / coats that percentage is depend by the materials it it’s wool, cashmere ..... so at the end I paid l
I think they already know if you purchase a big amount abroad cause they didn’t even asked me what did I buy ... they’re waitinge to show the receipt and I was told I’ve you don’t declare and you got caught ithe fine is x6 and if you can’t pay they will confiscate .
You also lose your global entry privileges if you fail to declare.
I have suspected that they are communicating with US Customs recently. Pablo is computerized. They could send thee info to the US. IDK but I think it's even more risky now to try to evade taxes. Do you think you still got good deals on what you bought?
compared to US price I think it’s still a good deal ..
t don’t want to risk my global entry and I know they did something in the computer when the the officer in Paris asked to showed him the purse .
I swear I read somewhere on tpf about someone getting a bill from customs weeks after they entered. How would they know what to bill if they didn't get some info from France?
Glad you got a good deal. It hurts to see how much cheaper H is in France.
I think I read that one too before, and also someone got a call from the customs the following day .. well ...as DH said, "you've got everything you wanted right?"
Flew back from Paris through Philly this week. Once again it appeared I was the only one declaring from my flight 
But In the end I am ok — the consequences for not declaring are too severe for me not to declare. The agent only charged me 3% so I was happy.
But In the end I am ok — the consequences for not declaring are too severe for me not to declare. The agent only charged me 3% so I was happy.
Came back from Paris last Friday and received all five VAT refund credits from Global Blue, including two Hermes purchases, back on my credit cards yesterday. So that's a mere four days. I can't believe it because in the past I've waited as long as 8 weeks.
Also, when I went through customs, I got singled out for an agriculture check. I thought they were going to charge me the duties but they didn't even ask about my purchases, only if I'd been on a farm.
Also, when I went through customs, I got singled out for an agriculture check. I thought they were going to charge me the duties but they didn't even ask about my purchases, only if I'd been on a farm.
Also, when I went through customs, I got singled out for an agriculture check. I thought they were going to charge me the duties but they didn't even ask about my purchases, only if I'd been on a farm.
That's interesting.. did you have anything agricultural in nature?
What I learned from this very informative thread is to be ready to pay if over $800 for "quality leather goods", exotics (except those forbidden in CA/NY), and possibly RTW. If residing in CA, it will be highly likely to get hit with a "use tax". Also, be sure to look out for VAT refunds.
Does anyone know what time customs opens for the VAT refund at CDG? It says always open but I know that’s not true as on previous early flights there has been no one there. My experience is the high price items they usually ask to check...
deciding between an 8:00am or 9:00am departure time! Thanks in advance!
deciding between an 8:00am or 9:00am departure time! Thanks in advance!