US Customs/Import Tax

[roverite]

Quick question; Do you guys/gals in the US pay customs/import tax?

I really want the jp steels, but at £33 each delivered directly to me in the UK, they're a little expensive considering I want 4 or 5 of them. If I have them shipped to a friend in the US, will they have to pay any customs or import taxes? If not, it'd probably work out cheaper for me to ship the SB's to them, then have them ship them to me as a gift valuing less than £20.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ash333]

Short answer - no.

PS - nothing personal but that is how many UK ninjas have been operating in their acquisition of these steelbooks.

 

[Wreck]

I helped out Pud ... he got like 6 steels, no import or customs here for me ... but then he had to turn around and pay $25ish for shipping to UK if that works out substantially cheaper for you, then you could do the same. Even at 2-3 steels, I suspect shippign around $15+ fyi

 

[Horhay]

It's actually random, I've had a customs bill come to me for importing something a while ago. The price was around $100 USD, perhaps the amount in which you have to reach before the charge you these fees is different, but you can get customs fees.

 

[ferrari100]

I was anboyed whe i got charged £22 customs when i recived $90 of goods from ama.com.
Would have been cheaper to order items separately

On the flip side i was happy i got no charges on 8 blu ray steels from japan totalling
£240.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[SlimJim24]

I've never had customs charges on packages

 

[roverite]

Thanks for the replies, guys. It all sounds good to me =)

 

[Horhay]

I've never had customs charges on packages

My brother got a 34 USD custom fee for a freaking jersey he imported from the UK that cost him 79 USD.

So even when the the price is relatively low, US Customs will still send you a fee if deemed necessary. It's random, but it does happen. Not as often though, so that's good.

 

[FabFlick5]

Got hit once in recent years on a box coming in from Canada that was delivered by UPS, but have never had an issues when things have come via the USPS (post office). I think UPS, FedEx etc pretty much always charge it, but the post office rarely does. At least that's my personal experience.

 

[AirZonk]

I could be wrong about this, but it is my understanding that anything valued under $200 does not charged fees when importing to the US.

 

[apsmith21]

I could be wrong about this, but it is my understanding that anything valued under $200 does not charged fees when importing to the US.

Unfortunately not true. If it's sent by a courier, like a third party express carrier, you often have to pay their admin fees and a small customs fee.

So it really depends on the situation and how the package is being sent to you.

USPS can't be bothered to look at packages like that, so anything that's been transferred to them for delivery, I've never seen a fee.

UPS and FedEx, that can be a different story, depending.

 

[digitalbabe]

Yep, been hit with customs fees over the years-usually from France or Spain, but it all depends on the value, the courier, how the retailer marks it, and the customs office itself. Sometimes they are sticklers, and sometimes by the book. YMMV-but I've heard for years that we are assessed duties here in various situations and def have experienced it myself.