You are correct, Zeev -
I don't sleep well if I think I am breaking some international customs
law!
Just feel bad when folks ask me to under-declare value - because it
seems like it is something that is often done.
But I don't want to do it.
Just wondered what others experience with this practice might be -
Thanks to all in advance.
Alan Adler
On Oct 14, 2008, at 12:41 PM, lobby card invasion wrote:
Ron, Wim, and others. You are missing the point. Alan Adler is not
asking you for "tricks" to outsmart various Customs. My
understanding is that he doesn't think its right, and doesn't want
to do it. Sometimes he looses some business.
What he wants to know is, is there a way to be completely honest and
yet not miss those "problematic" sales?
That's my understanding.
Zeev
----- Original Message ----- From: "MotionPictureArt.com" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
To: <MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:31 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Under-Declaration of Value on International
Shipments
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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