Nailed in the mail.....

[Mark Pulver]

>I guess third time unlucky....
>the third package I've received from Paul Schreiber through the mail 
>(at my insistance) has just come through with about 12 UKP to pay tax 
>and duty 

I see that you have other replies on this, but I want relate my stories as
well.

The inbound customs and duties are a pretty common thing, when I send stuff
out of the US, both to Canada and Overseas, I tell the buyer about the
import fees, and make sure that he/she understands them before I ship the
package.

I also give the buyer the choice of allowing me to mark the package as a
"Gift" which, from what I've found, releases the requirement of my delaring
a value (the concept is that since the package is a gift, then the
recipient shouldn't be expected to pay anything to receive it). The PROBLEM
with this is that while the recipient no longer has to pay, I also cannot
get insurance on the package.

Now, to try to make you feel better... A couple of months ago I bought
something from a guy in Canada for $500. I told him to find out what it
would cost him to get the package into the US (ie, his export fees) and to
tag it onto the cost. He shipped it via UPS and the UPS driver picked it up
without requiring any fees. The box showed up here in the US, and was
delivered without any fees being due.

"Cool", I thought... This is a first!

Well, about two weeks later I get a call from an import broker. It seems
that when UPS picks up packages that don't have the export charges paid up
front, they just assume that they'll be paid by the recipient. Which is
what I expected, but the UPS driver didn't say anything on this side.

Anyway, the broker wanted my Social Security number for some paperwork and
I gave it to them. Another two weeks goes by and I get the paperwork in the
mail. Guess what the paperwork was for? 

It seems that I now have an importer's number, and I can use it with this
service for bringing things into the US a lot quicker. I'm a little foggy
on what it really means to me.

Oh... btw, along with the paperwork on the importer number, I got hit with
a bill for the issuance of this number, and of course for the import fees.
About US $50.


You live and learn.

Mark

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 Mark Pulver - http://shoga.wwa.com/~mpulver    The "Son of The MIDI Wall"
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