Advice on Shipping to STS (Duties and Fees)

Chronometer1511 · Aug 9, 2020

Dear all,

I have an Omega Marine Chronometer I purchased from a gentleman who had it serviced by STS a little over 1 year ago. New motor, crystal and cleaning as well back seal, reciept and service # from STS as proof.

I had not worn the watch much since purchase, but last week after wearing the better part of a morning it exhibited fogging on the inner crystal.

I contacted STS, gave them the workorder # and was advised to send it back so they could have a look at it.

Looking into it, insured at $2300, which is what I paid for it, customs and duties will come to over $600 USD just to send this to them and clear UK customs, not to mention potential duties/fees I incurr to get it back.

I’ve looked high and low and it appears STS really is my only option as to repair for this specific watch as even Swatch/Omega do not stock many of the needed parts.

I was informed as well, STS does not cover these import costs, even for potential Warranty related repairs.

I’ve looked at Fed Ex, UPS and USPS Global EMS, and cannot see a way around these fees without under reporting the value of the piece,..which if lost or stolen I’d suffer quite a hit.

Does anyone have experience as to best way/service to ship to STS from the states or perhaps advice as to a customs coding I’m missing for repair related work I could complete and enclose with the watch in order to ease the fee side of this and that would still ensure safe delivery?

Thank You in Advance.

MRC · Aug 9, 2020

I believe you should be able to have STS get a "Temporary Admission" for it, they must get other work from outside the EU and I would hope they understand the procedures. If you fancy trying to understand governmentese try this https://www.gov.uk/guidance/temporary-admission but if I was in your position I'd ask STS first. Be aware I have never had to try anything like this, STS are in an adjacent county to where I live.

janice&fred · Aug 9, 2020

If you are patient you might find someone you know traveling overseas and they could wear/hand carry the watch and ship semi-locally. We have done this countless times from USA-Philippines and vice versa, not to avoid customs duties but to make sure the watch got closer to it's destination instead of relying on limited insurance by fedex on the long haul. We only ever ship overseas via fedex.

watchyouwant · Aug 9, 2020

So, working fine and fogging up? Why go through all these troubles to return to sts? There is a problem with a seal. Ask sts to recommend a watch maker in your country , which they might know, have him exchange the seal and pressure test without the mvmt. Should be easy and trouble free for you. If special seals are needed, sts can ship the seals and the work can be done locally . No customs, no nothing. If sts missed something during your service, they can pay the local watchmaker direct .no headaches . Kind regards. Achim

Archer · Aug 10, 2020

watchyouwant
So, working fine and fogging up? Why go through all these troubles to return to sts? There is a problem with a seal. Ask sts to recommend a watch maker in your country , which they might know, have him exchange the seal and pressure test without the mvmt. Should be easy and trouble free for you. If special seals are needed, sts can ship the seals and the work can be done locally . No customs, no nothing. If sts missed something during your service, they can pay the local watchmaker direct .no headaches . Kind regards. Achim

Maybe you missed this in the first post...

"I contacted STS, gave them the workorder # and was advised to send it back so they could have a look at it."

Your plan is great, provided that STS agrees to it - many watchmakers would not.

C Chronometer1511
Looking into it, insured at $2300, which is what I paid for it, customs and duties will come to over $600 USD just to send this to them and clear UK customs, not to mention potential duties/fees I incurr to get it back.

I can't speak for STS in the UK, but when I get work from out of country there are ways of handling it where I am not out of pocket for a temporary import for repairs. As noted by MRC there should be a process for this that STS would follow, provided they are willing to.

At times I will get assessed duties and taxes as if I was buying it, and Canada Customs holds the money to ensure that I'm sending it back. I can either apply to get the money back once I have proof that the watch was sent back, or I can simply claim all this at the end of the year when I settle up with the government for taxes I've collected (which is what I do).

When a watch is sent back to the owner, there is paperwork that is filled out stating the value of the repairs. You will be charged taxes/duties on the value of the repairs, not the value of the watch provided that the paperwork is filled out properly. In this case the value of the repairs will be quite small if it's just replacing some seals. I would estimate that more than 1/2 of my business is from the US so I do this all the time and people don't get charged for the full value of the watch, only on the repairs and with the $800 de minimis value that the US has, many times there is no charge at all.

Cheers, Al

webvan · Sep 7, 2020

watchyouwant
So, working fine and fogging up? Why go through all these troubles to return to sts? There is a problem with a seal. Ask sts to recommend a watch maker in your country , which they might know, have him exchange the seal and pressure test without the mvmt. Should be easy and trouble free for you. If special seals are needed, sts can ship the seals and the work can be done locally . No customs, no nothing. If sts missed something during your service, they can pay the local watchmaker direct .no headaches . Kind regards. Achim

+1
Seems like a very easy fix as other than changing the seal or reseting it properly what are they going to do?

In any case it would be nice to know how this ended?

DON · Sep 7, 2020

When I had to send a dial out of country for a refinish. I had the company mark the package "Canadian Goods - Return"

Something more expensive. Take picture of watch with some identification (block out parts of numbers), picture of local paper name/date with watch and include with the watch to be returned with completed repair in case customs opens the package.

Make sure they know to mark it as a repair and return.

Best choice is to find someone local by posting your location

DON

Dan S · Sep 7, 2020

I assume the OP is in the US, since he mentions USD. Supposedly there is a specific US customs form that you can fill out for situations like this. I think it is mainly to avoid having to pay duty when it returns to the US, but it might also help upon arrival in the UK. I looked into it at one point but ultimately decided not to pursue it since it required me to go to a customs office, have the package inspected, and get it signed. So I have no first-hand experience with it, but based on my reading of this page, it seems relevant.

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-377?language=en_US

Davidt · Sep 7, 2020

It will also be an issue getting it into the UK.

UK customs are extremely keen and import duty is almost always levied at around 25-27% in total (import duty, admin etc).

I'm sure there's a way around it but in my experience it always required duty to be paid and then claimed back (something which I expect STS will be hesitant to do).

I'd contact UK customs for advise but sit tight for a long wait for a reply.

SkunkPrince · Sep 7, 2020

When I sent a Decca phonograph cartridge back home for repair, that's how it was marked on the customs form and it worked out OK. This was in the late 80s, though, so take that into account.

Advice on Shipping to STS (Duties and Fees)

Chronometer1511

MRC

janice&fred

watchyouwant

Archer

webvan

DON

Dan S

Davidt

SkunkPrince

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