Import fees

tonkadub · December 2023

Did some research and found ….

The International buyer will be paying the sales tax for the state in the US that the item is delivered to.

if you did not have to pay sales tax in the past then you probably live in one of the few states that do not have sales tax .

billyshakes · December 2023

if you did not have to pay sales tax in the past then you probably live in one of the few states that do not have sales tax

I wish that were so, but Virginia definitely has sales tax.

strombolimusik · December 2023

Also, if being shipped UPS, Fed Ex or anything other than USPS, watch out for outrageous "brokerage" fees! They can really get you on that, as much as 20%. Much of Japan ships via EMS which, in Canada at least, becomes Canada Post and might switch over to USPS when it arrives in the US, but apparently EMS "Premium" becomes FedEx, so beware of that.

Are you buying a Stringphonic? I would go straight to Harry at the factory. I've been considering buying one and have communicated with him. He's very communicative and will give you all the info.

Good luck!

JasonS · December 2023

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/116375#Comment_116375

I may be misremembering but I think that's an eBay thing. If you order directly from a Japanese shop or luthier you wouldn't pay tax directly as that shop would have no taxation obligations to the United States. You'd be expected to pay the taxes yourself by the end of the year if you live in a state where that is required.

Shipping from Japan should be through EMS. In my case EMS packages have usually been delivered by DHL. I've never been hit with brokerage fees from DHL.

geese_com · December 2023

I do not have anything to add regarding import fees, but since we are talking about buying something from Europe or Japan and having it shipped to the US I thought I would share some useful info.

I bought something from the Netherlands that was shipped in mid-October via Dutch Post (then eventually through USPS) and it did not get delivered to me until almost 60 days later. My best guess is that it got stuck in customs for several weeks due to it being peak shipping season here in the US. This has happened to me before when getting something shipped from Europe around the end of the year.

I got something from Europe in March and that came in less than two weeks. Most likely because customs and shippers in general were not overloaded due to the holidays.

billyshakes · December 2023

Yeah, I bought some Schnuckenack CDs from a German ebayer a few years back in late October-early November. Supposed to arrive in early December. Nearing 30 days after expected arrival I had to put in a claim. Trusted the guy, but I wanted to be covered. When they ended up coming in February, I had to send him back the money he had refunded me, almost 3 months after they were supposed to arrive. Thanks for adding your story, I just thought it was a "supply chain" anomaly.

tonkadub · December 2023

thats what I thinking Jason . If I bought directly from seller I would not have been charged the sales tax like I was from eBay .

I guess I’ll just have to see what other fees I get hit with and when it shows up.

tonkadub · December 2023

Strombolimusik- how would I get in touch with Harry directly ?

strombolimusik · December 2023

Sure, Harry Takemoto, email is: guitar@stringphonic.com

I'm not sure they always have a stock but get the feeling they do smallish production runs of ten or so at a time -- maybe someone else here knows? You can tell him which model you're interested in and he'll let you know.

I was going to buy a 503 Basic but decided to try to find a luthier made instead, which has not been easy in my price range!

Let me know if you end up buying direct, I'd like to know how everything goes.

James