I had 2 sunglasses which I believe were taxed at 3%. The guy said he would give me a paper to show me the calculations but I think I was so frazzled I forgot. I don’t know how they calculate the $800 exemption… like if they remove that first and how they choose which items they will apply the duty to. I had also had Dior cloth slides and some costume jewelry I don’t know what the rate of those were. I had a few items he mentioned were taxed at 19 and 20%, a gold ring and a scarf. I had a Prada bag and 2 LVs (one was a gift).
US Customs discussion - airports, importing
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I had 2 sunglasses which I believe were taxed at 3%. The guy said he would give me a paper to show me the calculations but I think I was so frazzled I forgot. I don’t know how they calculate the $800 exemption… like if they remove that first and how they choose which items they will apply the duty to. I had also had Dior cloth slides and some costume jewelry I don’t know what the rate of those were. I had a few items he mentioned were taxed at 19 and 20%, a gold ring and a scarf. I had a Prada bag and 2 LVs (one was a gift).
This is a really clear explanation of all the factors I believe one needs to take into account for overseas purchases. I absolutely agree with your analysis (although I don't live in the US the process should be the same). My calculations are not so elaborate but before I travel I also take note of the price in my home country with sales taxes included and FX to do the currency conversion. Then when you see if the item in the foreign country you can base your decision on sales price, VAT back & "potential" duty & sales tax if you exceed your duty free limit and have to pay. It helps that my country has a trade treaty with the EU (which includes silks & leather items) so most items can be imported "duty free" but you will still need to pay the taxes if you exceed your duty free limit. Do all these calculations & see if the savings will be worthwhile.
That said, I have been known to buy H-items that are grossly overpriced in the foreign country vs home (looking at you Asian boutiques!!!!) because my home country didn't get the item at all (e.g. horn jewellery, certain scarf colourways) so I just "bite the bullet" & buy it anyway. LOL.
Calgary is in Canada so would not be subject to US customs. As a general rule, calculation of duty varies depending on the officer, how he or she is feeling and approaches the calculation. There is no set rule. At a minimum you will be charged HST.
I think what she means is in Calgary you pre-clear customs for the US on the Canadian side before you head back to US (like you also do in Abu Dhabi for example).
At any rate, what you said still stands for any US entry point, pre clear or not. It's a fun game of "what are they going to charge me" roulette!
Just shipped a few items (bag, silks, etc.) home and was only charged 8% in customs after the $800 deductible. Pleasantly surprised, although DHL kept asking for the same/wrong info to process in customs.
Cleared US Customs in Calgary from Europe and declared all my purchases. I calculated the duty myself beforehand and was ready to pay over $1,000 in taxes. The officer just opened my luggage and closed it back immediately and just asked to see one of the items I declared. He tried to access duty for that item based on the origin and material and I think gave up. Asked if I could pay $80.00 and if that was ok ( or too high for me?) I wasn't sure if he wanted me to haggle? I said of course and was directed to the register to pay. I appreciated the promptness since I had a connecting flight to catch back to the US. It could be a bit nerve-racking if you have a tight connection since the inspection line was long but once you see an officer its quick.
I recently traveled to Australia and Fiji. I went through LAX but returned through San Francisco. In Sydney, purchased an Hermes Evelyne, some LV SLGs, and some jewelry. I had a 3.5 hour layover in SFO. Upon landing I searched for someone to declare my items and didn't find a single person.
Hello all!
A lot of us here shop internationally, so I thought I’d ask if anybody has experience with shipping a bag or high priced wallet or something from France into the US. I’ve gone through regular customs with my own bag but I don’t know what to do if sending the bag alone.
I haven’t been able to go the Europe at all lately and want to ask my friend in Paris to grab something for me to scratch that itch. I don’t mind at all paying the duties but just don’t know how to make sure it’s declared right + not an insane amount, in the past I’ve let UPS/DHL handle this stuff but it was never anything over $2k…
So!
Have you shipped an expensive Hermes item from Paris/France to the US before? How’d it go? I’m in Texas if that matters
A lot of us here shop internationally, so I thought I’d ask if anybody has experience with shipping a bag or high priced wallet or something from France into the US. I’ve gone through regular customs with my own bag but I don’t know what to do if sending the bag alone.
I haven’t been able to go the Europe at all lately and want to ask my friend in Paris to grab something for me to scratch that itch. I don’t mind at all paying the duties but just don’t know how to make sure it’s declared right + not an insane amount, in the past I’ve let UPS/DHL handle this stuff but it was never anything over $2k…
So!
Have you shipped an expensive Hermes item from Paris/France to the US before? How’d it go? I’m in Texas if that matters
I'm not sure where to post this, but I'm looking for advice. I purchased a bag on a resale website that was pre-authenticated, however the site is dumb and they make the seller find their own shipping as opposed to Vestiaire Collective that gives a seller the shipping label. Anyhow the guy is in Prague and shipped the item and now it's stuck in customs in NYC. I had to give info to DHL, like my SSN, material of the item and they wanted the manufacturer's address. How would I know that?
I'm really at a loss because it was something I had been searching for over a year and it cost me $4k. Any advice from anyone? I'm worried I won't get this item. I know I'll get my money back because I paid with PayPal, but I really want the item. Anyone know how this process goes? I already reached out to the seller to let them know.
And I was already charged sales tax for this item, so it wasn't tax free at all. I paid $300 in tax.
Thanks!
I'm really at a loss because it was something I had been searching for over a year and it cost me $4k. Any advice from anyone? I'm worried I won't get this item. I know I'll get my money back because I paid with PayPal, but I really want the item. Anyone know how this process goes? I already reached out to the seller to let them know.
And I was already charged sales tax for this item, so it wasn't tax free at all. I paid $300 in tax.
Thanks!
This happens when the seller does not fill out the customs forms perfectly. This actually happened to me even with a purchase from Selfridges. They needed additional information like the species origin and the scientific name of the species (it was Grey Mother of Pearl jewelry) and the company address of the manufacturer. I waited on hold for hours to talk to a customer service representative, and she said just fill it out as best as I can. To get an address of the company/manufacturer just Google the brand name and you can put in their main address or headquarters address. That is what I did and it worked fine.
Thanks for the quick reply! Well the woman on my case at DHL said that whatever address I gave her she needs to verify with the sender, which I think is ridiculous. I've never had such an issue before. Obviously you got a nicer DHL person than I did lol. I really hope it works out for me. When I asked more questions, the woman said that customs can choose to hold the items for longer and inspect it and it can be held for up to 30 days.
I'm surprised that happened with Selfridges, they didn't take care of that for you?
Isn't that surprising? It was not a small purchase either. To their credit, they did get back to me with the information, but I was too nervous to wait, because the people at customs always sound like they're going to send your item back if you don't take care of it asap. It turns out that I gave them the incorrect information, but it still got to me, however I did pay way more in customs fees than I should have (possibly because I chose the wrong country of origin). I realized after I answered you that this is the in the Hermès forum, so I would put Hermes corperate HQ as the address (I don't think they expect you to have the address where your item was physically manufactured). Then you can send a message to the seller/sender telling them which address you used so that they can verify it if customs contacts them. My item was VCA and I put the main VCA company address and it was fine.
Also the DHL rep was extremely annoyed and threatening in my case also! In the end it was all fine though.
I have shipped H leather items from Paris to the US twice (direct from Hermès) and unfortunately both times I was charged 20% duty. There are others here who've only paid 3-9%.
DHL can be a pain. And, yes, customs can hang onto your item forever. Fill out to the best of your ability (As per @nicole0612 post). I’ve been charged the equivalent to 10% customs plus additional state sales tax. Some high end retailers will take care of all this for you, but that’s sadly not the case for resale
ETA: just read another post above, and it’s close to 20%.