Customs Fees??? (getting a bass shipped)

Mikeus · #1 10-09-2007, 04:42 AM

according to Australian Customs website...

"All goods (except for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if their value is $1,000 or less"...

otherwise its 10% on whatever the value is.

ok, im a total newbie to buying from overseas. so my questions may be blatantly stupid but: how can they know what you paid for the item?

also, would it be safe to get a bass shipped without a hardcase? they will pack it in a box and its insured.

Jezz8me · #2 10-09-2007, 04:44 AM

i'm gussing you need to supply some form of documentation when shipping or just write the value on the sheet u have to sign

Mikeus · #3 10-09-2007, 04:53 AM

hmm i hope thats true because i will just write $999.00 lol!

Valuation:
"While there are several methods of valuing goods for Customs purposes, the method most applied (transaction value) is based on the price actually paid (or payable) for the imported goods subject to certain adjustments.

A major condition for using the transaction value is that there is no relationship between the buyer and seller which may influence the price.

Valuation of imported goods can be complex and importers are urged to seek advice from a customs broker or to contact a Customs Information Centre"

hmm i hope thats true because i will just write $999.00 lol!

Mark Latimour · #4 10-09-2007, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeus

hmm i hope thats true because i will just write $999.00 lol!

Valuation:
"While there are several methods of valuing goods for Customs purposes, the method most applied (transaction value) is based on the price actually paid (or payable) for the imported goods subject to certain adjustments.

A major condition for using the transaction value is that there is no relationship between the buyer and seller which may influence the price.

Valuation of imported goods can be complex and importers are urged to seek advice from a customs broker or to contact a Customs Information Centre"

hmm i hope thats true because i will just write $999.00 lol!

Put yourself in the position of the customs officer. You may not be Einstein, but you know that the limit for duty is $1000Aus. You see a package that says its a bass guitar and its value is $999aus. Do you think:

a) That looks legitimate, its quite convenient that its $1 under the limit, but such is life. I will let it go through; or

b) That looks suspicious, why don't I hold this up in customs and get the buyer to prove the value by providing me with a transaction receipt that proves the price of $999 claimed. Remebering that lying on a declaration is a criminal offence and can attract penalties.

You should ALWAYS declare the exact value, but if you are not going to, at least think about using a value that is slightly LESS suspicious than $1 under the limit. Also, the limit applies per package shipped as I know, therefore lets say you imported a $2000 bass as two packages, a neck and a body. THink about it.

One final point. If you delcare and undervalue then you will only be insured for the lower value. If your $3000 bass gets destroyed in shipping and you claimed it was only worth $999 to avoid customs charges, you are out $2001.

Mikeus · #5 10-09-2007, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Put yourself in the position of the customs officer. You may not be Einstein, but you know that the limit for duty is $1000Aus. You see a package that says its a bass guitar and its value is $999aus. Do you think:

a) That looks legitimate, its quite convenient that its $1 under the limit, but such is life. I will let it go through; or

b) That looks suspicious, why don't I hold this up in customs and get the buyer to prove the value by providing me with a transaction receipt that proves the price of $999 claimed. Remebering that lying on a declaration is a criminal offence and can attract penalties.

You should ALWAYS declare the exact value, but if you are not going to, at least think about using a value that is slightly LESS suspicious than $1 under the limit. Also, the limit applies per package shipped as I know, therefore lets say you imported a $2000 bass as two packages, a neck and a body. THink about it.

One final point. If you delcare and undervalue then you will only be insured for the lower value. If your $3000 bass gets destroyed in shipping and you claimed it was only worth $999 to avoid customs charges, you are out $2001.

you have a point there...i better play it safe since theyre not shipping it in a hardcase

so is it just the shipping fee from the seller and customs that i have to pay?

Jezz8me · #6 10-09-2007, 05:20 AM

yea but if it is a customs officer who knows nothing about bass you may as well be shipping a $10,000 bass nd passing it off as a $200 + $100 shiping from rondo

Mark Latimour · #7 10-09-2007, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jezz8me

yea but if it is a customs officer who knows nothing about bass you may as well be shipping a $10,000 bass nd passing it off as a $200 + $100 shiping from rondo

They have a book with a lot of common bass values in them that they can check against. But, what I have seen them do a few times is forget about valuing the bass and make you provide a copy of your eBay or paypal receipt or money order that shows how much you paid for it and any email correspondance. That is why you should NEVER tell a seller to undervalue on shipping because if they see you do that you will get a fine and might get your goods confiscated.

Mikeus · #8 10-09-2007, 05:35 AM

thats true too...but the insurance thing comes into play there and im not going to know if its been damaged or not untill i sign on that dotted line.

no doubt they will open it up and poke around in the control cavity too..all part of the deal though

theNoseBleedKid · #9 10-09-2007, 06:58 AM

I'm not advocating this by any means but;

I've heard that you can declare the proper value of the bass and then claim it was being returned from warranty repairs or some such.

Obviously there are some serious holes if they bother to investigate, but thats the risk you run. Theres nothing suspicious about warranty returns and sending....

Mikeus · #10 10-09-2007, 07:20 AM

id think that they could easily check that up.

im still going to play it safe. but would like to read about any other ways out of the fees...my Aria Pro II CB 1000 is looking to be about AUD$1500 brand new all up. shipped in hardcase, customs fees with free set of strings and strap from Melody Shop in japan i cant for the life of me get it any cheaper than that.

**DeanT** · #11 10-09-2007, 07:45 AM

It doesn't pay to try to put on over on the Customs people. They hold all the cards. It's a pain to have to pay fees and duties on your bass, but the 10% or so is worth it in the end. Just chalk it up to the fee for buying your bass overseas. If you piss off Customs, they can confiscate your bass. Then you'll be out a whole lot more money. They can make your life hell trying to get it back.

Mark Latimour · #12 10-09-2007, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeus

id think that they could easily check that up.

im still going to play it safe. but would like to read about any other ways out of the fees...my Aria Pro II CB 1000 is looking to be about AUD$1500 brand new all up. shipped in hardcase, customs fees with free set of strings and strap from Melody Shop in japan i cant for the life of me get it any cheaper than that.

Two small packages of a neck and case candy in one and a body in the other weigh and are valued at significantly less than a new bass in a case. Its not difficult to do things legitimately if you think about it. But you have to lose the case.

Mikeus · #13 10-09-2007, 09:18 AM

the bass is neck through.

i dont really want the hard case. is it 100% necessary for shipping? one seller has assured me that it will be fine without a hard case.

bass_ke · #14 10-09-2007, 05:45 PM

If you don't provide a receipt or Customs believe the good's are worth more, they will get it valued themselves

Also if you do under declare the amount of the good's you have committed a smuggling offence under S.233(1)(A) of the act and can have a GST/Tax penalty imposed depending on the extent the goods were undervalued

Things like Guitars that have potential to be worth a stack will most likely get a closer look at post as well

theNoseBleedKid · #15 10-10-2007, 12:34 AM

No hardcase is needed, I've had 2 guitars shipped to me from Japan without hardcase and shipped one myself, its totally fine ASSUMING bubble wrap is used in apocalyptic quantities.

bass_ke · #16 10-10-2007, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theNoseBleedKid

No hardcase is needed, I've had 2 guitars shipped to me from Japan without hardcase and shipped one myself, its totally fine ASSUMING bubble wrap is used in apocalyptic quantities.

Was it from Ishibashi?

I'm looking at buying a Jazz Bass off them in the future

How did you find it if so?

theNoseBleedKid · #17 10-10-2007, 02:55 AM

Yes it was form ishibashi. Communication is ALWAYS SLOW as of time differences and they only have limited English speakers.

However, once I've made payment and we've done emailing shipping is very prompt and service top notch. Their packaging and couriers are absolutely amazing and I've not had a problem with either transactions.

Mikeus · #18 10-10-2007, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theNoseBleedKid

No hardcase is needed, I've had 2 guitars shipped to me from Japan without hardcase and shipped one myself, its totally fine ASSUMING bubble wrap is used.

that seems fine to me, but do they wrap it in apocalyptic quantities when you ask them to?

Quote:

Originally Posted by theNoseBleedKid

Yes it was form ishibashi. Communication is ALWAYS SLOW as of time differences and they only have limited English speakers.

However, once I've made payment and we've done emailing shipping is very prompt and service top notch. Their packaging and couriers are absolutely amazing and I've not had a problem with either transactions.

Ishibashi had nothing when i enquired with them. the dealers ive had correspondence with are:

Melody Shop
Kurosawa & Co Ltd
Gakkido

all telling me between 5-7 days and or 1-2 weeks max shipping time. that seems unusually fast

anyone dealt with them?

theNoseBleedKid · #19 10-11-2007, 04:04 AM

Well Ishibashi used EMS, which took 3 days to get here, and another for Aussie post to get them to my door, after customs had been sorted. So depending on what service they are using it could be accurate, request EMS if you can, well priced for the best service, IMO and IME.

Bubble wrap is always used, the business don't want to deal with broken parts and insurance, and neither do you. bubble wrap is dirt cheap and really effective, mostly they use a soft case, bubble wrap the hell out of it, place it inside a bubble wraped cardboard box then tape the life out of it.

ehque · #20 10-11-2007, 04:13 AM

FWIW, i shipped a 2000USD+ bass across borders to get it upgraded. They wanted to tax me on the whole thing. So, what i did, I declared the value of the package as the value of the upgrade, and i paid my taxes due. (I WANT to pay the tax, i just don't want to be charged over and above what i should be paying.)

As a result of the under-declaration, the shipping company would also only insure up to the cost of the upgrade (which was about 700USD). So i decided, i'm not going to insure that. And the bass came fine.

YMMV.