Value declaration when selling

Northernman

Most postal services do not cover/insure watche. Read the small print.

Declaring a low value is a good way to ensure that the shipment is not so interesting to steal.
Employees with the various postal and logistic services are not all "good guys" even though I am sure the vast majority is.

As for declaring incorrectly on a customs label it depends a lot what country you are in. I have understood from the US guys that it is a criminal offence ensuring you are guaranteed to get shot at dayrise, however in our "less developed" part of the world it is not taken as harsh.

padders

As you say it rather depends on where you are and perhaps it may help the discussion if you were to say where you are before offering a definitive opinion. It may be true that underdeclaring makes items less desirable to steal but as noted several times above it has negative consequences for insurance which rather negates this advantage (yes it is available from some services) and is in effect fraud so feel free to encourage people to having their shipments punitively charged. Do you also fiddle your tax return, why not, it is the same ethical breach after all?

Northernman

Don't worry. I pay my 45% income tax already. I also pay 25% VAT on all and everything I purchase.
My contribution to society is well taken care of.

It is fully possible to pay extra on customs if you receive an under-invoiced product upon receipt. This is a matter of how high moral you are keeping up, and I am not the one to pass judgement upon others, and find it a bit awkward to see other feels better qualified in that respect.

If anything I said in the quoted text seems definitive I beg you to point it out.

padders

Point taken and I agree that my use of the word definitive was unhelpful but was I using it is the negative sense in that to give advice without stating which jurisdiction it applied to was perhaps misleading. I note that you still haven't clarified this. It does sound like you are taxed to the hilt already but I have seen posts like yours in the past which suggest that the individual can pick and choose which taxes apply to them. I am happy to concede that this is clearly not what you are suggesting, though as I say which regime does apply to your advice is still not yet established...

Pradeep

I guess if the customer takes responsibility for the transport of the item, then you can indulge in valuing it the way he needs. If the parcel gets lost, its his baby.

oddboy

how would a forum reader (customs agent) be able to trace IP's from forum posts?

oddboy

I'm just saying that I don't understand how a customs agent reading the forum could do anything about it other than maybe initiating an investigation and bringing a demand for log data to the site operator... perfectly possible, just unlikely IMHO.

W West Slope

I think this is no different than people who use the friends/gift method on PayPal to avoid fees. Fraud is fraud and I would be very hesitant to do a deal with someone who suggests it.