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USA duty fees for EU Speedmaster purchase

G
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I will be in Portugal for two months this summer. I’m in the market for a white dial Speedmaster. I reached out to the OB in Lisbon and was told I would have to go on the wait list, and that the cost is €9100, bit with in-store VAT refund of 17.5%, that brings it to €7507.50, which works out to $8144. Obviously a touch over the current US prices, but the exchange rate fluctuates daily obviously.

I know I would be responsible for duty when coming back to the US but I’m not familiar with the cost or process. Is there anybody who has done this before that can give me an idea of what it involves?
 
gatorcpa
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Are you shipping it back to US or keeping it on your wrist when you arrive? Two different procedures.
gatorcpa
 
G
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gatorcpa gatorcpa
Are you shipping it back to US or keeping it on your wrist when you arrive? Two different procedures.
gatorcpa

I would bring it back with me. No shipping.
 
Evitzee
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How do you know you will clear the wait list in Portugal while you are there? Too many moving parts, just buy in US.
 
G
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Evitzee Evitzee
How do you know you will clear the wait list in Portugal while you are there? Too many moving parts, just buy in US.

I don’t know that I will. I’m just investigating options. If I happen to catch the Euro at a favorable rate at the time it could be worth it.
 
Evitzee
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As a visitor you probably won't clear the wait list, but you can try. I cleared Immigration/Customs in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, there were no Customs agents around, no paperwork, no nothing, just walked out. Legally you owe duty, but they really aren't interested in collecting it. How much effort you want to put into the exercise after an eight or nine hour flight is up to you.
 
G
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Evitzee Evitzee
As a visitor you probably won't clear the wait list, but you can try. I cleared Immigration/Customs in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, there were no Customs agents around, no paperwork, no nothing, just walked out. Legally you owe duty, but they really aren't interested in collecting it. How much effort you want to put into the exercise after an eight or nine hour flight is up to you.

My wife is a Portuguese citizen, as are our kids. Maybe that gives me a little more of an edge over a true visitor during our conversations back and forth but I doubt it. We live in Philadelphia actually, but fly out of Newark because we like to fly on TAP.
 
gbesq
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If you ship it back via DHL or FedEx, you’ll definitely be assessed duty and their administrative fees - best case, figure on at least several hundred dollars on an 8k watch, and possibly more. If you ship it via EMS, it might slip through, but for watches valued above $2,500, US Customs starts to take notice. If you wear it back, it’s anyone’s guess. You’ll also owe PA use tax at 6%.
 
Donn Chambers
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G g-rex
I will be in Portugal for two months this summer. I’m in the market for a white dial Speedmaster. I reached out to the OB in Lisbon and was told I would have to go on the wait list, and that the cost is €9100, bit with in-store VAT refund of 17.5%, that brings it to €7507.50, which works out to $8144. Obviously a touch over the current US prices, but the exchange rate fluctuates daily obviously.

I know I would be responsible for duty when coming back to the US but I’m not familiar with the cost or process. Is there anybody who has done this before that can give me an idea of what it involves?

I’ve purchased two watches overseas and imported them to US (two separate times). These were times when the Euro and GBP were weak, so the price was cheaper than buying at home, so worth it.

I declared both and paid duty. The amount was 3% of the sale price minus my $800 personal exemption. Once they used a 1-1 conversion for GBP, so win for me. Technically, they should have used different rates based on the price for components of the watch, but the officers told me that was too much of a hassle so just used the standard 3% rate for normal items.

Make sure to either have cash in US dollars or a personal check to pay the fee — the two places I entered (NYC and DFW) did not take credit cards and only cash or check.

If you don’t declare and they catch you (rare but a possibility), you lose the watch AND pay a hefty fine (like $10k hefty). Not worth the chance to save a few hundred bucks in duty charges.

Also, make sure you have plenty of time in transit to cover the additional time this will take. It took over an hour to process me both times, much of that waiting for them to get someone who knew how to work the payment system!
 
gatorcpa
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G g-rex
I reached out to the OB in Lisbon and was told I would have to go on the wait list, and that the cost is €9100, bit with in-store VAT refund of 17.5%, that brings it to €7507.50, which works out to $8144.
If you are going to take the watch with you out of the store, don’t count on getting the VAT refund. I know there is a time limit on airport refunds of VAT when you leave the EU. They can give you more details at the Lisbon Boutique.

You certainly don’t want to be in the position of not being able to get an EU VAT refund and also be liable for US customs and possibly your state use tax when you come back.

For that reason, you’d likely be best off to order through a U.S. Omega Boutique. If your name comes up while you are in Europe, you can always charge it and pick up the watch when you return.
gatorcpa
 
Larry S
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I’ve purchased four watches in person in the EU. Two vintage and two new. The vintage, not subject to VAT, came home on my wrist, so did the new ones. The boxes rode home in carry on luggage. I recovered the VAT immediately on one new watch and on the other, the Paris AD had to intervene on my behalf but I was refunded after a month or so. In both cases the AD needed my passport to complete the paperwork. No one bothered me upon arrival in US.
Edited:
 
GrussGott
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G g-rex
I will be in Portugal for two months this summer. I’m in the market for a white dial Speedmaster. I reached out to the OB in Lisbon and was told I would have to go on the wait list, and that the cost is €9100, bit with in-store VAT refund of 17.5%, that brings it to €7507.50, which works out to $8144. Obviously a touch over the current US prices, but the exchange rate fluctuates daily obviously.

I know I would be responsible for duty when coming back to the US but I’m not familiar with the cost or process. Is there anybody who has done this before that can give me an idea of what it involves?

Just did this in December for my 2nd time and here are the main points:

(1.) Ensure you get the filled out VAT paperwork from the OB - they should be good about it.

(2.) Ensure you know EXACTLY where the VAT refund desk is in the airport before you leave for the airport, and ensure it'll be open, etc. Worst case you can use a vendor like Global Blue and mail it, but they'll take a healthy fee for that service so it's best to skip them and just go direct to the VAT refund desk at the aiport.

(3.) After you deplane in the US, you'll go through customs where they'll ask if you have anything to declare, you say yes and show them the watch and receipts. They may OR MAY NOT charge you duties. For me this past December they did not, but YMMV.

My 2 cents is the reason to buy the watch in the EU to bake some fun memories into the watch and have it be a memento rather than to save $$. I wouldn't do it any other way, even if I had to pay VAT and US tax, but swings & roundabouts.
 
Donn Chambers
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GrussGott GrussGott
Just did this in December for my 2nd time and here are the main points:

(1.) Ensure you get the filled out VAT paperwork from the OB - they should be good about it.

(2.) Ensure you know EXACTLY where the VAT refund desk is in the airport before you leave for the airport, and ensure it'll be open, etc. Worst case you can use a vendor like Global Blue and mail it, but they'll take a healthy fee for that service so it's best to skip them and just go direct to the VAT refund desk at the aiport.

(3.) After you deplane in the US, you'll go through customs where they'll ask if you have anything to declare, you say yes and show them the watch and receipts. They may OR MAY NOT charge you duties. For me this past December they did not, but YMMV.

My 2 cents is the reason to buy the watch in the EU to bake some fun memories into the watch and have it be a memento rather than to save $$. I wouldn't do it any other way, even if I had to pay VAT and US tax, but swings & roundabouts.

Good point about the VAT desks in the Airport. And don’t be surprised if you get the runaround because they don’t want to process the paperwork. I bought my watch in Vienna, took the paperwork to the airport, had to wait for the office to open, then they wouldn’t stamp it — because I was exiting the EU via UK (pre-Brexit). When I got to LHR, took forever to find the desk, and they refused because I should have had it done in Vienna! Forced me to use Global Blue and the mail slot next to the desk — I still suspect some collusion here, because they conveniently had pre-paid envelopes. Took 6 months to get refund and by the time the fees were taken out it almost wasn’t worth it.
 
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