Marking something as "gift".

[BadMoon]

In terms of marking the package as a gift, nothing wrong with that. You guys in the US are lucky not to have to deal with customs. I love my country, but I don't love that the government demands a cut when I'm getting GI Joe collectibles of all things. They can go f themselves as far as I'm concerned. I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for this - it's not worth the time and money for customs officials to look into it, and so what if they did? If it's not obviously from a company (like Sideshow or BBTS) what in the world would they have to go on in order to investigate?

So again you would rather inconvienence the seller and have them take all of the risk because you are cheap?

Again, I take major issue with that.

 

[Maglor]

I'm confused here. I always mark stuff as gift to help the seller. Are we talking about two different things here?

 

[BadMoon]

I'm confused here. I always mark stuff as gift to help the seller. Are we talking about two different things here?

I'm talking about the actual shipping. Not paypal.

 

[Maglor]

Ah, okay.

What was Chargersfan57 referring to in post #1?

 

[thenammagazine]

Ah, okay.

What was Chargersfan57 referring to in post #1?

Yeah, he wasn't very clear, was he? I thought it was sending Paypal as a gift, which should never be done anyway. He's talking about a seller marking a package as "gift" when mailing it internationally so that the buyer avoids VAT fees. Given that it's illegal, I'd say no to that as well.

 

[IronFingaz]

I order stuff online (movies, books, clothes...) and have it sent to a awesome board member who then sends packages to me as a gift with a lower value (for almost two years now) and i've only paid customs once and that was because it was a Blu-Ray player. They maybe stupid but not that stupid But i've also saved $2500+ in customs and handling fee's yess and there has rarely been any issues. The few times there has been i won and didnt have to pay.

I have also sent packages as a gift with a low value to other boardmembers and there hasnt been any issues there either.

I don't like doing it for Paypal. A seller should be able to shoulder the relatively minor cost for the convenience of getting paid so quickly and easily, and if you don't (as the buyer) you're not covered.

In terms of marking the package as a gift, nothing wrong with that. You guys in the US are lucky not to have to deal with customs. I love my country, but I don't love that the government demands a cut when I'm getting GI Joe collectibles of all things. They can go f themselves as far as I'm concerned. I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for this - it's not worth the time and money for customs officials to look into it, and so what if they did? If it's not obviously from a company (like Sideshow or BBTS) what in the world would they have to go on in order to investigate?

I agree with everything except the "i love my contry" part. I hate mine

 

[Darkmatter]

What are people's opinions on doing this? Is it generally safe? How many of you have done this before?

Thanks for the help freaks!

why put yourself out there and break the law for someone you don't know?

btw, you can only insure up to the declared value. as a seller, you're taking a hell of a risk that your item will arrive in another country without insuring it.

don't do it.

 

[Darkmatter]

Guys, how exactly do you believe marking 'Gift' on an item is going to somehow void your insurance? You buy and pay for insurance so that the item you are sending makes it to the recipient. It doesn't matter if it is a gift or not. You paid good money for the item, you bought insurance on the item when you sent it. Period. The Post Office isn't going to come back to you and say, "Oh, this was a gift..it must be worthless then". No, they are going to pay you for the insurance you purchased. I've sent a few hundred statues overseas and I always mark it as a gift. If it helps my buyers, great, but it doesn't cost me anything as long as the item is insured.

There is no reason why you cannot put "Gift" on an international package. I will say that shipping laws do say it is 'illegal' to say something is a gift when it isn't, but good luck proving that in court.

Changing the value is another matter. I don't change the value unless 1) I know the buyer very well, or 2) The buyer has paid me in a way where I know they cannot get their money back. By lowering the customs value, you lower the amount you can insure the item for.

you are right in a way. marking your item as a 'gift', even though illegal, cannot hurt the buyer and usually not the seller unless there is a problem and a claim needs to be filed.

it totally defeats the purpose because the most likely reason the buyer wants it marked 'gift' is to save on the duty or other imposed taxes by his country. HOWEVER, that tax is based on the declared value of the item. you can only insure the item for the amount of it's declared value. so marking 'gift' serves no purpose if the item is fully insured.

 

[Darkmatter]

I don't like doing it for Paypal. A seller should be able to shoulder the relatively minor cost for the convenience of getting paid so quickly and easily, and if you don't (as the buyer) you're not covered.

In terms of marking the package as a gift, nothing wrong with that. You guys in the US are lucky not to have to deal with customs. I love my country, but I don't love that the government demands a cut when I'm getting GI Joe collectibles of all things. They can go f themselves as far as I'm concerned. I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for this - it's not worth the time and money for customs officials to look into it, and so what if they did? If it's not obviously from a company (like Sideshow or BBTS) what in the world would they have to go on in order to investigate?

if an item costs $200 or more, we people in the US pay a tariff when receiving an item from overseas.

i have only seen this imposed by Fedex and UPS, but not USPS for some reason. probably because the item was not shipped USPS from overseas to america.

 

[thenammagazine]

if an item costs $200 or more, we people in the US pay a tariff when receiving an item from overseas.

i have only seen this imposed by Fedex and UPS, but not USPS for some reason. probably because the item was not shipped USPS from overseas to america.

I've ordered stuff from Asia on many occasions, even in bulk. It's been sent UPS, DHL and FedEx, the shipping has always been what was quoted and not once have any charged an import fee.

 

[Ragnarohman]

If the seller cant mark as gift and a 50USD value I usually dont buy from that seller.

All asian sellers are great at this, while some american sellers cant do it that much.

I dont see the problem, I make it clear that I take all responsibillity if any item comes damaged.

And regarding being on the cheap, in sweden, any item over 50USD I have to pay 25% importtax on the item+shipping....

 

[BadMoon]

I dont see the problem, I make it clear that I take all responsibillity if any item comes damaged.

That's only part of the problem. The bigger and more important issue is that it violates federal law in the US to mark goods as a gift that clearly are not.

You as the buyer cannot take all of the responsibility for that. Therefore a seller in my opinion should rightfully deny your request.

I feel your pain. Customs charges must really suck. However, you can't expect people to willingly break the law just because you don't want to pay whatever fees your country charges you.

 

[galactiboy]

I used to do the same thing until I found out you are breaking the law in doing that. So I have since stopped and specifically state in all sales threads and Ebay that I refuse to mark packages as "gifts".

Meh ... I also tend to drive 5 miles over the speed limit

So I'm guessing it's better to not take the chance? Galactiboy, did anything negative ever effect you for doing it?

Nothing so far... still doesn't always work as when you insure for full value marking it as a gift won't always get around customs.

 

[Darth Cruel]

So it's okay to break a law because others do it? No thanks. I will comply with the federal laws of my country. In the RARE instance that you would get caught it's the seller that would take the blame not the buyer.

As a seller I basically inform people ahead of time that I refuse to mark the item as a gift. If you are too cheap to pay customs please take your business elsewhere.

I was under the impression that, if I am mailing the item, and I mark it as a gift when it is not, that I am breaking the law of the country that I am sending the package to, not my own country. Am I mistaken?

 

[Ragnarohman]

I always wondered about this, if you buy from a private person, a used item, how come you have to pay tax for that item?

If its a store I dont blame them, if it's under the law to put the full amount then nothing can be changed.

That's only part of the problem. The bigger and more important issue is that it violates federal law in the US to mark goods as a gift that clearly are not.

You as the buyer cannot take all of the responsibility for that. Therefore a seller in my opinion should rightfully deny your request.

I feel your pain. Customs charges must really suck. However, you can't expect people to willingly break the law just because you don't want to pay whatever fees your country charges you.

 

[Darkmatter]

I've ordered stuff from Asia on many occasions, even in bulk. It's been sent UPS, DHL and FedEx, the shipping has always been what was quoted and not once have any charged an import fee.

both myself and another person i know have been charged 'duty' on items valued at over $200. me by fedex and him by ups. wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. maybe on those occasions, the shipper didn't pay the extra tax or fee and it was required to be received before delivery, therefore it was imposed on the receiver of the package. btw, neither originated from asia. just because you never experienced it, doesn't mean that it's not accurate artard. just wanted to say as board agitator, you're doing a helluva job.

https://www.itintl.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-import.html

so you haven't been paying your import taxes?

 

[BadMoon]

I was under the impression that, if I am mailing the item, and I mark it as a gift when it is not, that I am breaking the law of the country that I am sending the package to, not my own country. Am I mistaken?

Yes you are. I was under that impression as well. You can find all the information on it you want online. It is even against Ebay's policy I do believe to ship a good and mark it as a gift. I believe there is specific information on USPS's website as well.

Galatic I hear you! I tend to go well over the speed limit.
However, we are talking about comitting a federal crime. I know it sounds silly but it's the truth.

I find it interesting as well that people literally take time out of their day to hunt down auctions (recasts and what not) out of the goodness of their pretty hearts. Then some of these same interweb police will turn around and have zero problem breaking a federal law.

 

[ComputerFly]

Yeah, we wouldn't want the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT to miss out on their fair share of our income, now would we? Not that they don't take enough of it as it is.

 

[BadMoon]

Yeah, we wouldn't want the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT to miss out on their fair share of our income, now would we? Not that they don't take enough of it as it is.

That's a whole other debate. And since politics can't be discussed on this board I will simply say a law is a law. If you feel like breaking it good for you.

 

[ComputerFly]

I do, have, and will continue to do it to help out people who get taxed 20% on top of what they buy from me. If it helps, it helps. If it doesn't, I'm not out anything.

Internationals are my best customers.