Buying, Selling, and Trading Internationally

spydie54

spydie54

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Just looking for some advice/input on the topic.

A few questions to start:

What kind of duties, taxes, or fees are incurred when receiving a knife from outside the US?

What is the best (if any) way to track/confirm delivery?

Any suggestions for completing customs forms?

Are all packages typically opened and inspected?

Would declaring contents as "Small (or large) fixed blade knife" pose issues? (I vaguely remember "camp tools" mentioned. Is that preferable?)

Any other important considerations?
​


Thanks in advance.:thumbup:
 
In response to Spydie54 question, here is my experiences;

When a knife is imported, we, in Thailand, usually pay for:
1) import tax around 20-30% + 7% VAT
2) International express delivery will have tracking number and this is probably the best way to ship the knife to Thailand which will take around 10 days to get them.

If senders are kindly enough,
1) "camps tools" <$35 will be helpful and usually custom officers are mostly likely to ignore them. But it also depends on the size of package. Also, if the package was sent by individaul, recievers were less likely to pay import tax.

2) My packages were open for inspection.

All in all, whether recievers would pay import tax or not, it ultimately depends on receivers luck.
 
Or you should declare it less than you paid, but if you loss (insured mail) you become less than you paid. USPS EMS with Tracking number is the best . very fast.
 
I'm moving this from the Busse forum to the GBU so that you can get a wider range of responses.

Good Luck

Eric
 
The rules vary by country as to what can be received. I had 2 blades, not knives, returned by Danish customs because they exceeeded the length allowed unless the recipient had a police permit. He did, but they just sent them back. Seems like Europe has value added taxes, other countries don't. There may or may not be customs fees due, depends on the country. USPS International Express has fairly good tracking and few problems, so far. Global Priority has little tracking, but I've not had a problem with it.

Canada charges a brokers fee for items sent UPS.

The easiest thing is to contact the recipient and ask about their laws and fees. Don't lie on a customs form, especially about value if you want to ship insured. A knife can be a carving tool, camp tool or a number of things besides a knife.

On USPS insurance, once it leaves the USA the rules change. You may insure a package for $500, but packages going to that country may only pay up to $46 for insurance claims because of theft.

I insured a package of damascus steel to Japan for $600. It never arrived. In filing the claim, the Postmaster explained that it was really only insured for $46. The problem was, the package never left Oregon, according to their records, so it was still insured for the higher value.

Discuss all these things with your customer before shipping so everyone is on the same page about what happens if the package never arrives. And FWIW, I've had more packages disappear going to Arkansas than any other place in the world.

Gene
 
Cougar Allen said:
Gentlebeings, he asked about "receiving a knife from outside the US."
Click to expand...

That he did.

I have received knives from Denmark, Norway, Italy, Germany, and Canada. In none of these cases have I ever had to pay a duty or other fee. I did once get a call from FedEx when they wanted to know what a "camp tool" someone was shipping me from Italy really was. When I explained that it was a hunting knife, she exclaimed "Oh, like a KABAR!" and that was the end of it. Some of the exchanges were purchases and some were trades.
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

I actually was curious about both sending and receiving, so it's all good.
 
Gene Martin said:
Seems like Europe has value added taxes, other countries don't.

Gene
Click to expand...

Value Added Tax is another word for Sales Tax, which is what it's called in the USA.

I have NEVER had a buyer in the USA who had to pay any duty or taxes on a knife they bought from me and I shipped to them. US Customs apparently does not care one bit what you buy or how much it costs.

Over here.... fergetaboutit. They subject every purchase to import duty and sales tax.
 
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