Hi Alan, Wim and all others,
I'm also from the Netherlands and have noticed that usually rolled posters
in tubes slip by customs if mailed through the regular postal service.
They probably figure that stuff inside tubes can not have a very high value.
Folded posters get picked out more often simply because the package is
larger.
Customs also (almost) always checks packages shipped via UPS/DHL or any
other express service.
Customs charges almost 30% of the total value of the package plus the
shipping. This can be very expensive.
You can ask sellers to mark the packages as a gift with a low value, but if
they don't want to do this it's fine too. I usually calculate in the extra
30%.
Only with expensive orders I check with the seller first.
There are indeed a few ways that usually trick customs.
Marking the package as a gift with a low value or just any other description
with a low value (almost) always works.
One seller I know marks the packages as Commercial Samples (something like
this can be found on the shipping or customs forms) with the full value.
Describing the items as "Used Posters", "Printed Matter", "Paper",
"Advertisement Material", "Second Hand Goods" or any other term not implying
a high value also often works.
Why is there this value added tax?
According to some sources (including customs) it's just a trick to keep
business and thus money in your own region.
In other words: stick to where you come from and keep that economy alive.
;-)
Within Europe there is free trade, but when I get an order from the US,
Canada or Australia I'll have to pay 30% extra.
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: "bqjansen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 6:43 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Under-Declaration of Value on International Shipments
Hi Alan,
As an international buyer I like to say this. It is indeed a lot of
bother. The problem is that it is a VAlue Added Tax. This means that the
value you put on it is considered to be the value of the parcel. That is
not per se the market value of collectible. So this is your first
problem, what is the value of the poster? ISuppose I buy a Touch Of Evil
poster for a $100 (unfortunately that hasn't happen so far) is it's value
then $100?
Secondly in Holland they use this crazy system that books, paper etc has
a VAT of 6%, while most other stuff is 19%. You can't imagine how much a
hassle it is to get your point across as a buyer that this paper, old
paper at that and that the "value" is in the eye of the collector.
Customs services are alas a bastion of bureaucracy.
This is only money of course and is a thing you can/have to consider as a
buyer.
There's a third point. The moment a package has a value on it,
mysteriously this set customs in action. I haven't investigated this
scientifically, but I am convinced that High value packages are tampered
with, looked in etc, by customs (sometimes with devasting effects on old
paper) far more often than packages that don't have a high value on. If
something is damaged and I am pretty sure that has happened to me twice,
thyere;'s nothing you can do.
Wim
Mopo-Mailing-Mavins -
Just blew another sale because I would not under-declare value of parcel
for an international shipment.
Anybody care to speak to this issue?
International buyers continually ask me to not place true value on
contents of their shipments so they can avoid customs.
It is always a deal breaker for me.
Is this not against International Postal Law or something like that?
And for those in the know -
Why the heck is there an import duty on something like a movie poster,
anyway?
Also, there are evidently some trick words - like magic - that you can
write on the outside of certain Intl. packages or on their customs
forms -
and voila, they evidently slip through customs more readily.
Anybody got the answers on this end of the operation?
Alan
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