International Ordering

[jskidder1]

Has anyone ever used Tenso when ordering from Japan? Wondering if the experience/cost is better or worse that using a traditional proxy.

[ibringdoom98]

For those in the US, this site: http://hts.usitc.gov/ contains the various rates customs uses to assess duties. It's dense, but can be somewhat useful if you want to approximate what you could potentially owe to customs when buying overseas.

I had to pay $77 (14.6% duty rate) in duties to receive a leather jacket I bought, most likely because the item description on the customs form was only 'clothes'. I used From Japan to proxy and never had a problem with duties before, even when the full value was declared. I'll be sure to look into having them include a better description of the item in the future so excessive duties can be avoided.

[k3mist]

anyone know how bad the customs tax gonna be from darklands (pair of sneakers 1500euros).

[noirgt]

ship to where? I've never had any tax issue with packages from darklands... Actually I think no matter how much it was declared on the customs form, as long as it is carried by postal offce/usps/ems, there won't be any tax... as least for the US.

[fadetogrey]

Based on some of ebay's other policies (like charging final value fees on shipping costs- wtf) I don't trust them at all.

Someone just pointed out something new to me today. Ebay has something they call the Global Shipping Program, which is introduced here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/shipping-globally.html

It seems to give the idea that you are paying for applicable import charges when you buy something from abroad in advance, but to my understanding, what your actually paying are some seemingly unecessary fees concerning exporting: "...certain fees, such as export classification, importation risk premium, and variance fees".

Are these really necessary things when shipping from the US?

The service description is pretty twisted because it states:



but then in the following chapter:



so it does NOT include all import charges (aren't duties and taxes such?) and there WILL be additional charges at delivery (duties and taxes), even though the first quote says otherwise.

Is it just me or is this totally fucked up?

[Dane]

anyone know how bad the customs tax gonna be from darklands (pair of sneakers 1500euros).

ship to where? I've never had any tax issue with packages from darklands... Actually I think no matter how much it was declared on the customs form, as long as it is carried by postal offce/usps/ems, there won't be any tax... as least for the US.

Duties and tax are two different things. Both are dependent on where you live, so no one can answer this question without knowing that, and even then, it's extremely difficult to answer this question as tariffs and such are complex. Best bet would be to call your government office that handles such things and ask.

[1349]

Has anyone from Canada had experience with shipping from INK?
I'm considering some BBS, but worried about duties.

[boodude]

Has anyone from Canada had experience with shipping from INK?
I'm considering some BBS, but worried about duties.

Shipped other items from HK and the only way not to get smashed by duties/taxes is to declare a lower value when shipping. Once i was even asked by customs to show them a receipt ( it was a watch that as not cheep so they were suspicious). For clothes/shoes it is much more likely that they will close their eyes ( as long as the value declared is less then 100$) Also depends on the carrier. In general you might have to pay gst/pst and duties, all that can go anywhere from 15-35% depending on the province and brokerage fees of the carrier.

[derpington]

I'm not from Canada, but whenever I order from Ink they mark the package as "used personal items" and declare it as a low value without me even asking, so I'd expect you to not be hit by customs.

[ironman]

Shipped other items from HK and the only way not to get smashed by duties/taxes is to declare a lower value when shipping. Once i was even asked by customs to show them a receipt ( it was a watch that as not cheep so they were suspicious). For clothes/shoes it is much more likely that they will close their eyes ( as long as the value declared is less then 100$) Also depends on the carrier. In general you might have to pay gst/pst and duties, all that can go anywhere from 15-35% depending on the province and brokerage fees of the carrier.

taxes depend on the province
duties depends on the category (clothing is like 35% like you say)

brokerage fees CAN be avoided. i drove to the airport (FedEX location) to pick up my motorcycle exhaust in person and i only paid tax, NO BROKERAGE FEES

things to note:
- i got lucky, lady at CBSA counter did not charge me any duty even though it was from Italy. i should have had to pay it
- my package was simply in limbo not moving. i called them to ask where it was. i am not sure how to avoid it beforehand

how it works is that it was in limbo because (according to the FedEX agent i spoke to on the phone) they did not have my power of attorney so that they could not release it from customs on my behalf

without it being released from customs first, they technically didn't do any work. it was shipped locally in Italy by BRT, then got on a plane and landed, being received by FedEX. as a result, no brokerage fees needed because i personally came to pay the fees and release it from CBSA

it may or may not be the same for the US and other countries

regarding the duties decidedly being exempt by the customs agent, this also happens when i drive over the US border. i typically only have to pay tax, when i have to pay anything

[wonder]

To import clothing into Canada the duties are 18% plus whatever your local province tax rates are

[ironman]

actually he's right it's 18% according to the CBSA website. i don't remember what it was but one time i did pay a super huge amount in the 30s range a few years back...or maybe my memory is messing with me :(

[wonder]

well once you figure in duties, taxes and brokerage fees it works out
to plus 30 something percent over the sticker price.

a handy tool for looking up import duties. I think it gives you 10 free calculations.

http://www.dutycalculator.com/

[boodude]

Essentially as I said 18% duties+gst/pst+ eventual brokerage fees. I payed 35% on my guidis last year shipped from italy ( they did not mark them down as they promised) So best is to get the seller to mark down the package bellow 100$. Otherwise it is going to be expensive.

[1349]

Thank you for all the replies. It only seems worth the expense if INK would be willing to mark the prices lower. 18% + other costs is making me reconsider an order from INK.