I try to always ask what value the buyer wants me to put on the item and will respect their wishes. The disadvantage to a lower value is, if you want it insured, the insured value has to match the declared value. So either you're taking the higher fees to be safe, or minimizing it but giving up any chance of recourse if the package gets lost.
Question, has anyone in the U.S. ever had to pay customs fees? I've probably received a hundred or so international packages in my time, and I never have. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tomas Buteler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 2:04 PM Subject: RE: [SWCollect] Paranoid seller and tax evasion > Hi everybody! > > I'm also new to the list, but have been watching the > discussions for a while. Guess I had nothing worth > writing before this. > > Funny Peo mentioned the taxes being absurd, because > it's something I know quite well, since I'm a computer > game collector in Brazil. I have to pay a whopping 60% > tax over the total value of the item (which usually > includes about 20 dollars in S&H). And that doesn't > even count the 2.8 currency conversion rate we > currently have. > > Of course, not all packages are held by the custom, > but I've had a bit of bad luck lately. I've found the > hardest thing to do is to convince a customs officer > that an older "shrinkwraped" game is not a "new" game > :) > > I don't ask sellers to declare lower values, unless > they offer first (and it doesn't happen very often. > The one time I remember it happening was when I bought > a package from C.E. a while ago). But as a seller I > always ask which value they want me to state, because > I believe it's the polite thing to do when trading > older games. I know some games are worth 200+ in the > collector market, but physical value, to me, is > something else. > > In my opinion the seller's reaction was absurd, and > comparing it to jewelry robbery is way out of line > (after all, you're not robbing anyone possesions). > Like I said, the final auction price refers to it's > value as a collectible, and should not be taxed as a > new item. For instance, 20 year-old cars don't pay > customs tax in Brazil, because they're considered > collectible, why would 20 year-old game have to pay > taxes like new games, when they become collectible > material at least twice as fast? > > I guess I'm taking a stand on this one because I've > suffered my share with customs (and Peo, at least > Swedish government actually does something with the > taxes they collect - I still have to pay for school, > hospital bills, trash collectors, etc. :) > > Anyway, I hope I can add something to the list once in > a while. I'm not the most prized collector out there > (actually, I'm more of a fan of most of you guys, > Hugh, CE, Jim - love Moby :) but I'm getting there. > > Finally, if anyone ever needs something from Brazil > (gaming or otherwise) or hints when dropping by, don't > hesitate to ask. > > Best regards, > > Tomas Buteler > > > --- Per-Olof Karlsson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >Don't forget the $5 'processing fee'. On a $20 > > item, this can be painful. > > > > Heh, that's cheap.. > > > > If something gets caught in our customs, the first > > thing they do is slap a > > handling fee of almost $9 to the sum. Then they take > > the declared value > > _including_ the shipping cost + the $9 fee and add > > no less than 28.5% to the > > whole shebang (25% VAT and 3.5% customs fee). It > > doesn't end there either. > > To actually receive the package you have to pay the > > entire fee at the post > > office, and they will charge you $5 just for the > > hell of it. Can you > > imagine, if you pay bills or whatever at the post > > office in Sweden, you have > > to pay a fee of $5 _for each payment you make_! If > > that isn't absurd, we > > need a new definition of the word. > > > > - Peo > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > This message was sent to you because you are > > currently subscribed to > > the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send > > mail to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of > > 'unsubscribe swcollect' > > Archives are available at: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes > http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to > the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' > Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
