International Shipping and Customs

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:53 am

Any of you guys ever shipped something very expensive internationally? I've heard that with some countries, you should declare the value lower than it is or else it will get stuck in customs indefinitely.

Post by **Kaylee** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:22 am

That is correct. In the UK the value in practice is about £30.00, anything over that and customs may open it and will hold it for a while whilst they calculate how much tax and duty fee you should pay.

You know, for the privilege of you having already bought it with your own money and having it posted at your own expense.

The government just want to wet their beaks...

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:53 pm

I bought the set of four NECA Turtles last summer. Cost about $80 including shipping. Nice one.

Seller wanted to insure it for $200. His call. ******* moron went and put that value on the customs declaration.

I got properly bent over.

wideload · Post by **wideload** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:59 pm

Karl wrote:That is correct. In the UK the value in practice is about £30.00, anything over that and customs may open it and will hold it for a while whilst they calculate how much tax and duty fee you should pay.

You know, for the privilege of you having already bought it with your own money and having it posted at your own expense.

The government just want to wet their beaks...

Not only that. Certain shipping companies will also charge you "brokerage fees" on top of whatever the government collects.

Canada has some of the worst duty laws in the world. We get $@#$# on customs, brokerage, sales tax, etc.. any time something above a certain value (I think $10) is imported.

The amount of duty you pay is dependent on what kind of trade agreements apply between nations. It's not just getting beaks wet, it's also protectionism.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 2:25 am

Yeah--I'm shipping something a dude bought for 900$ to Brazil, and he asked me to declare it for 400$. Took me aback but it sounds like it's normal enough at this point. Gotta watch for scams.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:10 pm

Dude, what did you sell for $900 that can be shipped to Brazil? Surely not something TF related?

Post by **Kaylee** » Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:17 pm

And why was I not invited to wet my beak?

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:14 am

I have never once had an easy time of shipping something to Brazil. Something ALWAYS goes wrong.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:23 am

Their PayPal fees are twice what any other country's are. ******* ****. There goes most of the money I just charged the dude for shipping. Wish I knew that was coming.

You were invited, Karl! Your beak is always welcome.

Musical equipment--the kind of nondescript thing full of buttons that means a lot to certain people.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 11:56 am

I've probably shipped stuff to half the nations on Earth, so if you have any questions about shipping stuff to god knows where, feel free to drop me a message.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:35 pm

If it's a place with particularly rapacious Paypal fees, do you include that in the description of the price on ebay, Smooth?

I'm not too worried, as this particular piece of equipment appreciated in value and even after the fee I made 100$ more than I paid for it. But I could have made 150$ more, by gum.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 6:02 am

bumblemusprime wrote:If it's a place with particularly rapacious Paypal fees, do you include that in the description of the price on ebay, Smooth?

I used to, but that got to be a hassle. So I've set it up to where people from those countries can not bid unless they contact me first. That's when we settle any problems like fees, customs, etc.