| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
R. S. Refugee
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Location: Shangra La, ROK
|
 Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:00 am Post subject: If mailed to you at school, will customs drop the duty? |
 |
|
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this question.
If you purchase something (e.g., a notebook computer) and have it shipped to you at your PS address and perhaps have written on the package "educational equipment" is there any likelihood that customs will let it through to be delivered there without calling you down to pay a duty? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Christinateacher
Joined: 05 Dec 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:34 am Post subject: |
|
|
When I sent my laptop computer from Korea to the UK, they held it at customs because they were unsure about duty.
I had to fill in a form stating that it was personal belongings.
I think if you can mark it 'Personal Belongings' it will get through easier. I am not sure if Korean customs are as strict as other countries.
Where are you shipping it from? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
R. S. Refugee
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Location: Shangra La, ROK
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Christinateacher wrote: |
When I sent my laptop computer from Korea to the UK, they held it at customs because they were unsure about duty.
I had to fill in a form stating that it was personal belongings.
I think if you can mark it 'Personal Belongings' it will get through easier. I am not sure if Korean customs are as strict as other countries.
Where are you shipping it from? |
Anything I do this with will, most likely, be shipped from my home country, lovingly known as the evil empire by most of the inferior peoples of the world (note to the sarcasm-challenged: this is dripping with sarcasm). I trust that this reply isn't too obtuse.
PS. I drank a bottle of vino this evening so it may affect my communication skills. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
roknroll
Joined: 29 Dec 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
Just don't have it shipped directly from a company for starters. Have a family member or friend ship it to you under 'personal belongings'. Get them to keep the receipt with them (and take off any packaging that shows the product to be newly purchased--like the plastic wrap--have them open it and seal it again so it's obvious) so there's no proof that it's new and eligible for duty. I've done this with less valuable items and it has worked. I've also known someone who had merchandise shipped directly from the company (in the evil empire  ) and had to pay a mighty hefty duty fee.
Sending to the PS is a good idea for safety/security reasons (be the day i have anything valuable shipped to my apt). In my opinion, 'educational purposes' may not suffice in trying to avert duty charges. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
R. S. Refugee
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Location: Shangra La, ROK
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
| roknroll wrote: |
Just don't have it shipped directly from a company for starters. Have a family member or friend ship it to you under 'personal belongings'. Get them to keep the receipt with them (and take off any packaging that shows the product to be newly purchased--like the plastic wrap--have them open it and seal it again so it's obvious) so there's no proof that it's new and eligible for duty. I've done this with less valuable items and it has worked. I've also known someone who had merchandise shipped directly from the company (in the evil empire ) and had to pay a mighty hefty duty fee.
Sending to the PS is a good idea for safety/security reasons (be the day i have anything valuable shipped to my apt). In my opinion, 'educational purposes' may not suffice in trying to avert duty charges. |
Wise and thoughtful advice that I would certainly follow regarding having it shipped first to a friend and opened and re-sealed. Oh, and you're obviously not obtuse since you didn't have to ask what country "evil empire" refers to or ask if I meant Iran since, to any educated person (i.e., not brain-washed), it is obvious that Iran, whatever other faults it has, is NOT an empire. 
Cheers. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Zaria32
Joined: 04 Dec 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
| My daughter shipped me a brand new Dell from the US. It was marked "personal property" plus "new laptop computer" plus "$1500 value." No duty. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
R. S. Refugee
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Location: Shangra La, ROK
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Zaria32 wrote: |
| My daughter shipped me a brand new Dell from the US. It was marked "personal property" plus "new laptop computer" plus "$1500 value." No duty. |
Thanks for the feedback. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
| R. S. Refugee wrote: |
| Zaria32 wrote: |
| My daughter shipped me a brand new Dell from the US. It was marked "personal property" plus "new laptop computer" plus "$1500 value." No duty. |
Thanks for the feedback. |
my macbook was insured for 2500 and customs wanted to charge $500 import on it - and it was also marked "personal property" and I had it shipped to my dad who took out the paperwork first and threw in a birthday card and sent it to me - so you don't know what will happen.
but I had him send it thru Fed Ex to keep track of it and they have to move their stuff thru customs so I think it matters who is handling the shipping, that is, who you use to ship it here.
what FedEx told me, and I complied, was that if you have it dated in your passport that you entered K within the previous 6 months (sorry I think that's the time period!) you can write a letter to customs saying this was part of your personal belongings moving to Korea, with a copy of your passport page showing the stamped date of your arrival (and I had just come in from Bangkok so that was cool too) and fax it all to them. They released it, no charge.
in other words, you are moving here, you can only bring so much luggage so they allow you to ship some things also.
I wound up paying a hefty shipping charge but the thing is - if I could have bought it over here w/o the K on it, just English, I would have. You just can't so it's kind of screwed that one would have to pay extra for it - and I'm bringing it back home with me also - I think the customs charges are a bit of a sham, to say the least. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Netz
Joined: 11 Oct 2004
Location: a parallel universe where people and places seem to be the exact opposite of "normal"
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| moosehead wrote: |
| R. S. Refugee wrote: |
| Zaria32 wrote: |
| My daughter shipped me a brand new Dell from the US. It was marked "personal property" plus "new laptop computer" plus "$1500 value." No duty. |
Thanks for the feedback. |
my macbook was insured for 2500 and customs wanted to charge $500 import on it - and it was also marked "personal property" and I had it shipped to my dad who took out the paperwork first and threw in a birthday card and sent it to me - so you don't know what will happen.
but I had him send it thru Fed Ex to keep track of it and they have to move their stuff thru customs so I think it matters who is handling the shipping, that is, who you use to ship it here.
what FedEx told me, and I complied, was that if you have it dated in your passport that you entered K within the previous 6 months (sorry I think that's the time period!) you can write a letter to customs saying this was part of your personal belongings moving to Korea, with a copy of your passport page showing the stamped date of your arrival (and I had just come in from Bangkok so that was cool too) and fax it all to them. They released it, no charge.
in other words, you are moving here, you can only bring so much luggage so they allow you to ship some things also.
I wound up paying a hefty shipping charge but the thing is - if I could have bought it over here w/o the K on it, just English, I would have. You just can't so it's kind of screwed that one would have to pay extra for it - and I'm bringing it back home with me also - I think the customs charges are a bit of a sham, to say the least. |
I've only ever heard horror stories like this from people who use FedEx.
I did have a OLD peice of electronic gear shipped to me once that they tried to charge import duty on becuase my family member who sent it wrote something ridculous like "hardware sequencer computer". I just imported a page from Ebay to MSWord, edited the price to be $50, and went down with that and yelled at the postal clerk.
They got sick of me and gave me package, no duty charged. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Netz wrote: |
I've only ever heard horror stories like this from people who use FedEx.
|
I'm not sure why you call this a horror story - my nb arrived safe and sound, I didn't pay the huge customs charge and fyi, why would I downplay the value - ? that would be foolish, especially since it's a mac - which has to be shipped now in a plain brown box because they go missing so easily; I had it insured in case of damages - how could I justify $2500 if there was an invoice for less in there? or any invoice at all? (there wasn't)
and FedEx allows you to track every leg of the package online - you know exactly where it is at all times - pretty damn reliable if you ask me.
they might be a pain to deal with sometimes, but I've never lost anything thru them and that's what counts. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
