International shipping - I know absolutely nothing! Please help?

[StefaniBeads]

Someone from UK emailed me about beads I had for auction on eBay, and wanted to know if I could ship Global Priority, and if I could "put $25 on the Customs slip". She said would pay instantly using Paypal if she won. I didn't get the email until the next day after the auction closed. I emailed her to tell her thank you for the compliment on the beads, and I would like to be able to ship internationally, so I would try to find out all that I can.

I don't know a thing about Customs, their fees, what types of packages they charge fees for, just only that you can't mail plants, seeds, fruit, etc to other countries. Boy, I feel dumb! :rolleyes: And I tested in the top 2% in the country for my nursing school NLN scores!

So, who pays the fees for Customs, the seller or the buyer? Where and how do I get the info on shipping internationally? To anyone, anywhere?? I would like to be able to offer international shipping in my auctions, but I won't dare jump into this until I know plenty about it!

Any information is greatly appreciated! :)

[AnnArbor_Blower]

Someone from UK emailed me about beads I had for auction on eBay, and wanted to know if I could ship Global Priority, and if I could "put $25 on the Customs slip". She said would pay instantly using Paypal if she won. I didn't get the email until the next day after the auction closed. I emailed her to tell her thank you for the compliment on the beads, and I would like to be able to ship internationally, so I would try to find out all that I can.

I don't know a thing about Customs, their fees, what types of packages they charge fees for, just only that you can't mail plants, seeds, fruit, etc to other countries. Boy, I feel dumb! :rolleyes: And I tested in the top 2% in the country for my nursing school NLN scores!

So, who pays the fees for Customs, the seller or the buyer? Where and how do I get the info on shipping internationally? To anyone, anywhere?? I would like to be able to offer international shipping in my auctions, but I won't dare jump into this until I know plenty about it!

Any information is greatly appreciated! :)

I'm not an expert by any means, but here's what I know:

- Global Priority is a service of the US Post Office. Read more here (http://www.usps.com/global/deliveryoptions.htm).
- Customs is paid by the person who receives the goods.
- When someone asks you to put an amount on the customs form or list it as a gift instead of a purchase, they're trying to keep their government from charging them customs on the basis of what the *actual* price of the object is. (I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to participate in that. ) I bet your item sold for more than $25. Am I right?

- eBay has some good help pages about international selling (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/international-sellers.html) and customs (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/intl-customs.html)

[kenchunk]

When I do send or receive package out of US, I write on the green paper(custom form? You have to fill it out at Post Office) the package as "gift", instead of "merchandize"
I didn't have to pay the fee by this way, both as seller and as buyer.

I'm not sure what you can not mail out of US, but if you are sending just your beads, there is no problem. Once I was told at Post Office that I can NOT purchase insurance for international package....but I'm not sure if this is true...


Sachiko

[StefaniBeads]

I'm not an expert by any means, but here's what I know:

- Global Priority is a service of the US Post Office. Read more here (http://www.usps.com/global/deliveryoptions.htm).
- Customs is paid by the person who receives the goods.
- When someone asks you to put an amount on the customs form, it's trying to keep their government from charging them customs on the basis of what the *actual* price of the object is. (I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to participate in that. ) I bet your item sold for more than $25. Am I right?

- eBay has some good help pages about international selling (http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/international-sellers.html) and customs (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/intl-customs.html)

Thank you for the links! This is the info I was looking for. Yes, it sold for quite a bit more than that! But no, not to her. Now I understand why she asked if I could write that on the slip, and I sure wouldn't want to get into trouble with that! :eek:

Sachiko - Thanks! I better check into that too!

[*Naos*]

Do yourself a favor - never lie on the custom forms. Do not lie about the value of the sale - do not let a buyer sweet-talk you into it just to keep a sale. When you enclose a business card or an invoice and that package just happens to be opened by inspectors, you can be fined $500.00 or more if it's determined you falsely reported a value. This happens all the time with Canadian shipments. Canadian customs is wise to ebay, believe it or not.

Also, be sure to check on the USPS.com site for any customs issues with international shipping. Some countries prohibit various items coming into their country. Singapore prohibits imports of beaded jewelry so when I sent a wholesale order there, I made sure to wrap the beads loosely with no frills - they could have been perceived as bracelets if they were tied up with my usual cord and accent beads.

Once you're educated in the glories of international shipping, it's easy to do - just protect yourself from liability. :)

Am

[Tink]

Do yourself a favor - never lie on the custom forms. Do not lie about the value of the sale - do not let a buyer sweet-talk you into it just to keep a sale. When you enclose a business card or an invoice and that package just happens to be opened by inspectors, you can be fined $500.00 or more if it's determined you falsely reported a value. This happens all the time with Canadian shipments. Canadian customs is wise to ebay, believe it or not.


This is so, so true. I have had customers (former customers :p ) get really snippy about my refusal to lie on customs forms. Part of why I love being in business for myself is that I can act as I see fit and conform to my own concept of integrity. I will not compromise that for anyone, no matter what.

As for Global Priority, it ROCKS! Very fast and very reasonably priced. Before Global Priority existed, it used to cost folks in Australia more for shipping than for the purchase price of my book. It was amazing. You can now ship most bead orders anywhere in the world for no more than $5. They also have a larger package for a couple of bucks more.

[Lara]

I was going to post a very similar question, but just never got around to it. I have had 2 people from Canada ask if I would ship to them. I said I would but wouldn't lie on the customs forms. One of them said that she had gotten beads from the US and it was just marked beads and she didn't have to pay customs, which is different from what I have heard here. I would love to hear from some of our Canadian or European or Australian posters on imports (exports to those of us in the USA) or those of you in the US that have bough things from ebay from someone in other coutry.

I'm also interested if anyone here has something in their auctions description about how they don't lie on customs forms. I'm trying to word it so that it doesn't sound too mean and would like to know what others say.

I thought I read that you couldn't send beads to Australia as well, go figure.

Lara

[KikkiSweden]

Well, I'm in Europe and have bought things on Ebay and regular internet orders.
I have only asked the seller once to put a lower value on the customs slip (not for a thing I bought on Ebay). She did it and I was very grateful.
A couple of weeks later I ran into a discussion here about and decided not to do it again.

It turns out I can but stuff for 45 Euro ($54 the last time I checked) before having to pay extra fees. If I'm going to make a larger purchase I can just as well pay the extras fees since I only place bigger orders for items that I can't get here anyway.

Some sellers have put a lower value on the package without me asking! Some don't. Since I don't ask it's up to them (but I can't say I'm not pleased as it gets cheaper for me.).

I have never had any problems at all with the shipping. Most of my smaller orders have been sent with Global Priority and I think it's both fast and reliable. Bigger orders I have had to pick up at Schenker (a shipping company) but that's not a problem, almost on my way home from work.

[JudithJohnston]

Ah UK customs charges - my specialist subject :)
I have copied this from my files for your info

"Customs duty and VAT (if due) is payable on goods that you buy over the Internet and import into the UK from countries outside the EU unless their value is below £18. ( Currently $32.00)

Under international postal agreements, the sender must make a Customs declaration on a form which, in most cases, will be attached to the package. The declaration includes a description of the goods, their value and whether they are gifts or commercial items.

The Post Office may charge you for clearing your package through Customs. They handle packages for Customs examination and, if required, open and re-pack them. The Post Office will also store packages if Customs need to make enquiries; for example, when the contents have not been declared properly by the sender. The Post Office fees are collected at the same time as Customs charges but are completely separate and Customs cannot reply to queries about them."

I no longer ask my US suppliers to lie about contents and value of the packages as I realise how badly it can come back and bite them (although I am unfeasibly grateful for those who do it anyway - you know who you are)
These customs and VAT charges are the sole responsibilty of the buyer and the carrier will not deliver the package until they are paid for.
Perhaps you could put a disclaimer in your auctions along the lines of
While you are happy to send beads internationally you are not responsible for any local taxes that are incurred and are bound by legal requirements to declare the true value and contents of the package.
I hope this helps
Judith

[Lara]

Perhaps you could put a disclaimer in your auctions along the lines of: While you are happy to send beads internationally you are not responsible for any local taxes that are incurred and are bound by legal requirements to declare the true value and contents of the package.
I hope this helps
Judith

Judith:

Great information. This is a nice way to word this about taxed and fees. Sound much better than I would have written. Thank you.

Lara

[ValorieCox]

Judith, thank you for those details. I always wondered what my international customers had to pay at the other end in customs duties and taxes when I sent packages via Global Priority (which I love by the way--works great, inexpensive and get there fast!)

Val

[Orca]

I'm going to weigh in here for a moment.

As a resident of Canada, when I order from the US I often have to pay a high price for taxes, duty etc. That is the cost of doing business...no more no less.
I have never asked for a lowered value, but some sellers routinely lower the values for Canadian shipments, and it is received very gratefully.

I have a big problem with those who ship internationally, and inflate the value of the products, or mis-label them. A higher value, (for example a value of "what it's worth", as opposed to what was actually paid), forces us to pay an inflated amount of duties and taxes, higher than what is required by law. This is not cool.

As well, when shipping component parts for jewelry, label them (correctly) as "jewelry supplies". NOT as "jewelry". This will prevent an additional exise tax. I have had to pay as much again as the value of the shipment, because of improper or inflated labelling and values.

So if you are going to ship internationally, please be aware of the different issues involved.

I get a bit uptight when a thread seems to imply that most people who are not residing in the US are somehow generally lacking in honesty and integrity. It's simply not true.

[M'lis]

I'm going to weigh in here for a moment.

As a resident of Canada, when I order from the US I often have to pay a high price for taxes, duty etc. That is the cost of doing business...no more no less.
I have never asked for a lowered value, but some sellers routinely lower the values for Canadian shipments, and it is received very gratefully.

I have a big problem with those who ship internationally, and inflate the value of the products, or mis-label them. A higher value, (for example a value of "what it's worth", as opposed to what was actually paid), forces us to pay an inflated amount of duties and taxes, higher than what is required by law. This is not cool.

As well, when shipping component parts for jewelry, label them (correctly) as "jewelry supplies". NOT as "jewelry". This will prevent an additional exise tax. I have had to pay as much again as the value of the shipment, because of improper or inflated labelling and values.

So if you are going to ship internationally, please be aware of the different issues involved.


Well said, Sherry - my thoughts exactly.

There is always someone somewhere who wants to save a buck or two and is willing to compromise their own integrity or ask others to compromise theirs. As far as I am concerned, it is not worth it. With 2 kids living and working in the US there is a lot of "cross-border" traffic in presents and "can you order for mes" and it is so much easier (and less expensive in the long run if you consider the fines if you are caught) to be honest about it in the first place than to explain to a less-than-sympathetic Customs officer that "you just wanted to save the duty".

Melissa in Manotick :)