Anybody have experience with shipping used watches from an EU country to the US? I have heard that FedEx and the other carriers are very diligent about collecting duty (this is a profit center for them). However, packages from a foreign postal service that transfers to the United States Postal Service will often not be charged duty. Anybody have any experience on this? What would be the duty on $5,000 watch?

 

The duty is complicated, because there are many factors/ variables buried in the rules. Literally a couple dozen pages of tables that break it down by movement type, presence of precious metals, etc.

That being said, I have had 2 watches shipped from Australia and one from the EU, and none were tagged for owing import taxes/ duty. I believe EMS (Australia) and DHL (EU) were used by the sellers.

 

What were the value of the watches?

 

It is true that watches shipped through the USPS are rarely tagged for customs, while those shipped with FedEx and other couriers are.

A couple of points:

It is not merely a "profit center" for Fedex, it's the law.

Duties on vintage watches coming into the states are very low in comparison with other countries, assuming that the shipper knows how to use the system.

 

I agree it's the law but Fedex collects a fee for this service so they are making money on collecting the duties as well. I think the USPS has come to the conclusion they do not have the manpower and would lose money on each transaction if they aggressively monitored the shipments.

 

interestingly on my last few from europe. . dhl definitely does but fedex has not

at any rate up to 10k its pretty small dollars

 

Yea and it’s stupid to risk loss by not declaring ... Penny wise and pound foolish. Fedex is completely trustworthy and easy to work with. Agree what we pay is peanuts compared to what EU citizens pay.

 

well without knowing exactly how the customs schedule works (its obscenely complicated), one question is if you declare the correct value and use a registered shipper like fedex or dhl. . if they don't charge you customs i assume you're clean at that point without other obligations ?

 

They charge a fee because they facilitate the process significantly. The fact that the USPS is broken, like so many fundamental services in the U.S., is irrelevant. If you are going to declare goods, FedEx streamlines the process considerably, and it is well-worth the extra charge.

 

Customs misses a lot of small shipments, but the penalty if they are found to have been shipped with a dishonest or incomplete declaration is severe. FedEx collects the highest amount the customs might be if it is targeted for collection, plus FedEx's own fee. Sending it postal service to postal services and fully declaring it means the recipient might have to be pay the customs fee, but might get lucky. On the other hand, postal service loss rate is probably higher. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

 

How does this work? Say the seller shipped with FedEx/DHL. Do you then pay FedEx/DHL the duty owed when they come knocking at your door to drop the package?

 

You get a bill.

 

A bill from customs or you pay to DHL/FedEx (which then pays to customs)?

 

From carrier.

 

You will have to pay on delivery if you do not have an account. If you have an account (with FedEx, for example), then they will simply charge you.

 

$2,800 - $6,500 USD range.

 

I got shipment from Japan to USA. FedEx I did not pay anything and EMS I did pay between 6-7% and had to write a check before i could get the package.

 

I'm from Europe and I sent watches in US with postal services without insurance and nobody asked for the values of the watches so the person from US can say it's a gift or I don't know declare a lower value and doesn't have to pay custom fees..Instead when I received watches from US and the seller declare the value of the watch here they put me to pay about 24% of that price...

 

I agree about USPS. I don't recall this ever being an issue.