Mailing to another country

[Autumn]

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place, but I checked around the forum and couldn't find anything on this subject.

 

How would a person go about mailing say a pattern book or a skein of yarn or something of that sort to another 'viller' who is in a different country? Is it even allowed without paying import fees etc. Or do you send it as the 'gift' that it is and can just send it regular mail?

[deedes]

I just sent some things to a fellow Cville person in another country, and all I had to do was pay the proper postage, and fill out a Customs Form. I think there was a box on the form that said gift.

Hope this helps.

[Krakovianka]

If there are going to be customs fees, they will have to be paid by the recipient. It's unlikely that anything you send personally will be held up by customs. I've lived abroad for 12 years and had customs fees three times. It's more likely to happen if the package contains an invoice from a firm where you purchased something, is shipped via courier (Fed Ex, for example) instead of the regular PO, or is something electronic.

 

In most countries, packages valued at under $25 are customs-free. (This is not true for some third-world countries.)

 

If your package is labeled "gift" and doesn't contain an invoice, it shouldn't be a problem in most places.

[tnkycrochetnut]

for asking this question. It's something I haven't given much thought to. Just thought you went to the post office and paid proper postage. Didn't realize there maybe just a little more to do besides that.

[Tampa Doll]

Make sure that one the custom form you mark it as a gift.

You will still have to list what it is, but this seems to aleviate any question on the tax or fees.

[Autumn]

Thanks all!

[darski]

Every time I have mailed crocheted items I have just sent it on. There was never a about taxes etc. But I am sending finished items and not a book or something.

 

I have a friend who is on missions in Hungary and there, everything is taxed. Old used needles or would be taxed at her end.

[RoseRed]

I know with mailing to the UK that if you put the total value of the box at $50 or higher they will have a huge import tax. It just happened to a friend of mine.

 

I don't know what pounds converts into dollars but a $50 value box was 25 pounds in tax.

[texasredhead]

My postman just said when I am sending crochet stuff to just put $1 as the value on the package. I have never had to pay anything extra. Just postage as usual.

[Krakovianka]

25 pounds tax for a $50 value is approaching 100% tax, which is pretty much what they charge here if you have to pay it. Or worse. Once, I ordered some items that were 70% off--great deal, and made the shipping charges to Poland worthwhile. Well, the order was shipped via courier instead of via PO, which means customs got it first. They wanted me to pay 100% tax on the original value of the items, and not on the price I had actually paid. I refused and let them send the items back to the company--and I will not order from them again. We can also get charged customs on the cost of the shipping!!! I HATE having anything get caught up in customs, and will go to great lengths to avoid it if possible. But, personal items mailed as gifts are usually quite safe--and from the shipping end, you don't really have to worry about anything but postage (which is bad enough).

[Needle Arts]

Thank you for the additional information. I sent a package to New Zealand and just had to fill out custom form as gift (a pattern book).

[Miss Crochet]

I speak from experience here - the guys in the customs office are now on good terms with me! - if you are sending stuff abroad, please mark the little green customs form as a gift and make sure the total value is not more than $25-$30 (you may have to check with your post office what the limit for the value of a gift is.)

 

Sometimes the real value of the parcel is more in real terms but I'd mark its value lower, in accordance with what you think it's worth - to the maximum $ amount allowed as a gift (I think it's about $25, but I'm no longer sure). An example: you are regifting yarn you bought years ago but never used: the yarn isn't of great value to you because it's a few years old, however the customs office doesn't see it that way, it sees the present real/dollar value of the yarn. If necessary, remove the yarn labels so it's clear to a customs officer that you are sending something used/secondhand (otherwise they assume the recipient has ordered it or bought it on Ebay, and s/he has to pay duty).

 

Always enclose a greeting card! The main thing is, it has to be clear that it's a present and not something the person has ordered and paid for. I've had a problem with RAOKs because the customs office couldn't understand that it was not something I'd ordered and not a gift for a specific occasion, especially if the parcel contained no card or note. Believe me, it's hard to explain the concept of C'Ville's RAOK system to a couple of po-faced German customs officers - they keep saying "But why did they send this? Is it a gift? Is it your birthday? Did you order it?" etc! Scary stuff!

 

And finally, if you are doing a swap, don't mark the parcel as a swap. A swap is a trade of goods that have been bought and therefore duty has to be paid!

 

But on the positive side: a skein or two of yarn won't be stopped!