US Customs might not even bother collecting.
It sounds to me like the repair issue is not relevant in this case, since the clock will not be returned to Canada. It is being imported into the US in its current condition. The lack of servicing is perhaps relevant to the current value. You will need to fill out a watch worksheet. This is the DHL version I happen to have on hand.
It sounds to me like the repair issue is not relevant in this case, since the clock will not be returned to Canada.
A Canadian friend has sold a Hamilton model 21 marine chronometer to a collector in California. What are the considerations regarding shipping this chronometer, and avoiding “problems” with U S Customs? I have been told that if such an item is shipped as “antique clock for parts or repair” it should avoid problems. Does anyone have helpful suggestions?
Both were under $500 declared value
And that is the key statement. US Customs doesn't care until the value is more than (if I remember right) $2500.
Compared to what our UK and EU friends are seeing, I’m not complaining.
But even then we have it pretty light. I had a $6.5k camera system shipped from AU to US via UPS and got a bill a month or so later for the customs handling of $85. Compared to what our UK and EU friends are seeing, I’m not complaining.
Which shipping service you go through can drastically effect how efficiently it goes through Customs. I bought a watch from Italy and it was shipped through Fed Ex and it disappeared for ten days into their Customs office in Memphis (the center that all international FedEx items must go through). I could get no answer as to when it might be released...not even a month. I finally declined delivery and had the watch returned to the shipper. At the same time, someone else bought a watch of equal value from a dealer in the UK. The watch was shipped by DHL. The total time, from when picked up at the seller's, to when it was on the wrist of the buyer in Los Angeles, was 3 days, including Customs. That is because it went to Customs in Los Angeles, not the giant FedEx hub in Memphis. The duty on the watch was $42.
Yep, right now US Customs is a hit or miss affair, often depending on who's handling the customs clearance in the US. In February I had a watch sent from a dealer in Japan via DHL, while the plane was still in the air over the Pacific I received an email from DHL Customs agent informing me of the duty due on the watch, they provided a link so I could pay by credit card and the watch got to me in a total of five days. In March a watch from eastern Europe via FedEx got to Memphis on Friday, cleared customs the following Monday and just disappeared for five days. After contacting them about the 'lost' package they did a trace and a callback from an agent at the Memphis hub said they were experiencing a 5-10 day delay AFTER a package leaves customs until it moves back into the FedEx system for delivery. Total shipping time ended up being fourteen days. Last month I ordered a watch print from the UK, sent via Royal Mail which then transferred to USPS once it got to the US. It got to the International Postal Center in Chicago on April 28th and just today, fourteen days later, I got an update saying the item is now moving again. It was sent on April 25th and if I get it tomorrow it will be about eighteen days in transit. Frustrating, but there isn't much you can do but have patience. Some shippers are just more efficient than others.
Sounds like my nightmare...but DHL seems to shine and deliver in a timely way in all these examples.
