Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pixykat222]

I'm trying to get a computer set up over here and I'm in need of some help. The prices back home are just way too cheap to pass up. For instance, I caught a 35% sale from Dell and got a E8400 for a mere $128, and that same CPU is going for about 250,000 Won off Gmarket. Long story short, I'm trying to find out shipping information on the computer. I've taken the advice (and common sense) to buy a case, power supply and monitor locally since they are all the biggest and heaviest parts of the computer.

One of the posts here said that the items should be declared Used. Another said to declare the items value much lower than they are. I've been trying to read through http://english.customs.go.kr/ but it all seems to be very legal-ese technical jargon. The "How Much Should I Pay" link at the front redirects me to the Korean homepage after the first step (Add Items); I don't know if that's the fault of their webpage or my laptop, but it won't load properly in either Firefox or IE.

The actual price I pay for all the computer parts will be about 700 USD, from Dell.com and Newegg.com. However, I was planning on having my friend take most of the items out of their boxes to save on space (while keeping them in their anti-static wrapping, of course). At this point they could certainly pass as used, so should they be declared as such? Does that actually save money?

I'm not concerned with finding a way to get them out of the US (USPS seems good and cheap), I'm concerned with paying extra fees and waiting 2 months to get the items here in Korea. I'm also concerned about any possible restrictions on electronic components; I don't want to be like that guy who imported regular US vitamins and then got thrown in jail because they had some rare herb that's banned in Korea.

One last thing: I saw a post that said you don't pay duties if you are shipping over your personal computer and it's within 6 months of your arrival in Korea. Is this true? Where can I find this kind of information? I've only been here 1.5 months so this would be a great deal for me.

[egrog1717]

Just a suggestion - have your friends ship the item as a "gift"... I've imported a couple of parts of my laptop from Hong Kong this way in the last month or two and it hasn't been a problem...

Might want to send them in 2 or 3 different packages though (Not sure if there is a value cap on what you can send as a gift without paying duty on it)

[Dude Ranch]

I wanted the Sony PRS 505 ebook reader but they dont sell it in Korea (this was just before the explosion of ebook readers hit the market earlier this year)

so I got my dad to order it to our house in Ontario, open up and take it out of the box, use it for a week, remove all stickers and labels, and then just ship the actual unit, instruction manual and cd, without sending the box, wrapper, receipt, etc. this way it was 'used' and I didn't pay any taxes. shipped via UPS and took 5 days to get here

don't know if this helps but it worked for me

[pixykat222]

Thanks for the two replies. Dude Ranch, your father just went to the local UPS, paid them, and then you got the package at your door 5 days later? Did you have to declare a price, and if so, did you undervalue the declared price since it was now "used"? And lastly, was that 5 day shipping an expedited service or regular old standard? I've messed around with UPS.com and their service seems incredibly expensive, especially compared to USPS.

Any other specifics would be great. If I can avoid large charges I'll be a happy camper!

[Dude Ranch]

I dont know what he put for price, I think the full amount and insurance. And yes it was the regular service, cost about $80, took 5 days

then again its pretty small, box was only like 20 cm by 10 cm, and weighed like 2-3 kg

[moosehead]

[Dude Ranch]

the customs people even opened the package up (saw the blue customs tape on it when I got it). didn't have to pay any extra fees

[pixykat222]

Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll be getting some used computer parts before too long! Now to price shop between USPS, UPS, and FedEx...