posted on October 18, 2001 08:14:52 AM new
A guy in Canada wins my auction for a high priced ($950) lens, calls me up and tells me to mark "used merchandise camera lens $20 value" on the customs form. I'm boiling! Any suggestions?
posted on October 18, 2001 08:21:27 AM new
If it is a used lense I would tell him "I would be happy to marked the item as a used lense but will not lie about the price." Lying on custom form can be a serious offense and with all the extra security surrounding the USPS right now it would be highly unadvisable to falsify a customs form. I always tell my bidders that a reciept for the item is included with the pacakge and if that item is pulled by customs for a check I want to be sure the form matches the price or it is possible they will not get the merchandise at all.
posted on October 18, 2001 08:22:39 AM new
Just politely tell him that your policy is to not lie on government forms. If "used merchandise" is still correct, you can agree to use that part of his request.
[ edited by captainkirk on Oct 18, 2001 08:22 AM ]
posted on October 18, 2001 08:45:01 AM new
It's not just Canadians. There are a lot of countries that have a tax on everything coming in to their country. I just had a Taiwan bidder say theirs was %12.5.
I respond with the following or something very similar;
“If I understand you, it is your request that I list on the Customs Form a figure less than the amount of the payment you are sending.
You must understand that the amount listed on the customs form and the amount of insurance shown on the same form must match. If you want the item insured for $XXXX that is the amount that will appear on the customs form.”
posted on October 18, 2001 08:48:50 AM new
I won't lie on the customs form, it is not my problem. They should take that into account when they bid, just like some auction buyers pay a fee on top of the hammer price. At the very least, they should have asked you before they bid, so you could have told them no and they could have made up their own mind.
posted on October 18, 2001 12:01:00 PM new
I had one Canadian buyer e-mail me before the auction ended (for something under $10) and then refuse to bid because I said I wouldn't mark 'gift' on the customs form. She said it wouldn't be lying, as she was going to use it as a gift to her son.
i told her there should be no customs fees on the item as it was (a handmade wall hanging) so it wouldn't matter what it was marked, but I guess to ther it was a matter of (lack of) principle.
posted on October 18, 2001 10:34:02 PM new
Lying on a Customs form is the least of your worries.
The reality is that as the seller you own this item until it's safely in the hands of the buyer. Which means you'll want to make damn sure it's insured for the full $950.
That said, it's rather difficult to expect a Canadian Customs agent to consider the lens "used" with a value of $20. Duh.
posted on October 18, 2001 11:25:09 PM new
I see this same topic come up over and over. I don't want to get into a discussion as to who jaywalks and who doesn't, and marking things sent to foriegn countries as "gift" and which of these evils is worse.
If you don't want to do that - mark as gift, or lower declared value, then fine .. that is your choice. But those that make some heavy moral judgements against those that ask if you would do this .... just who do you think is going to "come after" you? .. a Canadian, or British, or Japanese customs agent will show up at your door??? Your parcels going *out* of the US do *not* go through US customs. They go through the customs of the country you are sending it to.
As I understand customs offices for most countries (ie the countries that this topic comes up for), if the value of an item received is inspected, and thought to be suspect, it is up to the receiver to validate the declared value - not to the sender.
So, unless you are sending illegal items (ie perhaps weapons, or pornography, or other things that a specific country prohibits from being imported), it is the receiver of the package who needs to substantiate the declared value if asked, not the sender - not you.
Yes, you are suppose to declare the value of an item ... just like you are never to tell a lie, or run a yellow traffic light, or any number of other victimless "crimes." If you are uncomfortable about it .. fine. You want to do it your way, fine .. but sometimes the moral judgements I see made in the name of this topic .. sheesh ... it does get tiring to read this same thing over and over though.
posted on October 18, 2001 11:36:23 PM new
I know this topic comes up time and time again. Each seller can make his own moral judgement but each new seller or buyer reading this board should know the rules before putting their business in jeopardy.
This was a recent thread before the WTC disaster and now they will be checking packages even more carefully.
posted on October 22, 2001 11:22:29 PM new
AMEN squeeky!
The moralizing on this non-issue is so last year...
Yes, legally the sellers who want to declare the bid price value are correct, but that sort of mentality is the same that would turn in a neighbour for an illegal basement renovation. Its a victimless crime.
And by the way, if you sellers who so adamantly protest the under-evaluation of items for shipping add more to the value to teach your buyer a lesson, then you only prove yourself to be the liar you say you won't be... It doesn't make you a human moralist, but rather a mere life support system for a creep.
