Asking doll companies to mark the value of your package down..?

Well I got charged £22.02 customs fee for a box of 6 underwear and socks so any boxes marked down are just fine with me!

Ask for asking the companies some refuse to do that. If the doll is damaged you can't claim back your full amount for it and that's the reason they won't.

 

I guess the question is, how much are customs fees generally? I order a lot of things on the internet and I've never had to pay a fee for it so I'm always quite lost when people talk about these things. Do you only incur a fee once the package is valued over a certain amount? You can still insure the package for more money than you mark it down on the form as, right?

 

I did it, knowing all risks it implied @o@ but customs let me in peace XD

Here the limit is around 120 euros ... a bit more, I dun remember correctly u_u ... but if they feel like they can catch a packet marked 70 euros and make you pay fees ... seems they try to cheat using the old limit that was 25 euros if still right ..... 25 euros as limit was totally ridiculous but hey they still use this one to rob you ..... we have so sweet customs .....

 

If someone marks the package down, that is their own responsibility.
I think the major issue is that some companies will do this automatically, so if a package is lost/damaged, it makes things a lot more difficult (Like the issue with Layla, one of the B&G sellers).

Maybe there should be a checkbox on the ordering page, or have to leave a note in the comments section of the order if you want it marked down/not marked down.

Fortunately, while I have been dinged by customs once or twice, they've only ever opened one of my packages, and that was for two PVC figures. Everything still arrived safely. I think I'd have a small panic attack if I got a doll and the yellow 'opened by customs' tape was on it. >< Especially if it wasn't insured properly.

 

I didn't ask for SOOM to mark my package down (my Vesuvia was sent to me) but they did (for something like 77 euros). Which meant I only had to pay 38 euros in custom fees. I shudder to think what I would have been charged if SOOM had marked the full value on the box...

 

Fortunately, "Dolls and Doll Parts" do not get charged tax or customs fees in Canada. Occasionally I get a $10 'customs processing fee' when I recieve a doll, but that hasn't happened in a couple years. I really don't see the problem with paying customs fees or tax on anything I get in the mail; it's such a small percentage, anyway. :/

It is understandable that a company might mark the package down slightly, just enough to cover the replacement cost if the package is lost (ie. the cost to produce another, not including profit mark-up). But what really irks me is when companies mark down the dolls to such a low value--without my asking them to--that if the package was lost... it would be a bit of trouble.

Personally, I had a group order of six dolls go MIA then discovered that the company had only insured the whole package for $20. THAT was a tough situation to resolve.
(When the replacements finally came, they were marked as "free gift $0") - -'

If companies do mark down their dolls for shipping, and how much of a markdown, it should be displayed clearly on the websites. I find that a number of companies do not display this information and I do not assume that they all mark down packages, because, well... not all of them do.
Volks Japan, for example, declares the full value. And many North American dealers declare full value as well.

As a buyer paying full price for an item and paying for shipping and insurance, I am not doing anything illegal. And if I do not ask the company to lie about the contents or value of the package, then I expect them to uphold their moral end. Or maybe I just have too much faith in humanity.

Although, if other members here are especially concerned with their dolls being marked down; I've had no issue when I've asked companies, like D.O.D, to declare full value and label the package contents clearly (ie. "doll" instead of "gift"). My most recent order arrived declaring "Doll and Doll parts-$325". It felt good to know that the company cared enough about my purchase to ensure that I wouldn't get screwed over if something went wrong in transit.

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ETA:
I noticed the debate over sending heads etc. for customization and paying fees on it?
There's something you can do; declare/insure the head for FULL value and mark it as "Doll parts $[value]" then write in big letters "RETURN ITEM FOR SERVICE" under that and check the "other" box (not gift or merchandise). Both customer and customizer can do this; and it's 100% legal. No fees or anything.
It tells the post office that a valuable item is in transit, but it is not a direct sale. Much like, say, mailing your high-end watch to an overseas factory for repair.
The post has a system for these situations, you just need to know how to use it.

 

I pay extra for insurance when I buy second-hand - the risk of something happening is too great for me I never ask people to mark them down, and I hunt high and low for the right TARIC codes so I shouldn't get charged anyway. That said, I keep my mouth shut when a company marks my parcel down, since I don't ask them to and if the parcel is lost/damaged/stolen/whatever I believe it's their responsibility to cover the cost, insurance or no, and will fight that to the bitter end

But in fairness, from what I hear along the grapevine, the UK has pretty high and ruthless customs charges, so I don't feel guilty

 

We pay 25 % on all purchases from abroad that cost more than $30. We even pay 25% on the shipping cost which is totally ridiculous.... Enough to break a doll-collectors heart

 

I think this sums up the feelings of pretty much everyone in the UK, well said! My combined customs fees so far would be enough to buy an averagely priced MSD, and that's even WITH the packages being marked down in value. I get hit nearly every time, in fact I'm waiting just now to see how bad my charges are going to be for a body Parcelforce is currently holding hostage.

 

I've never asked a company or a seller to do this...but I'm increasingly happier when companies do Being crippled by a thieving government I didn't vote for is not fun. Roll on a general election.

 

Customs is random Leannarchy, I've had one out of four dolls stopped. Why not stop all, why stop one if the other were fine? My Super gem cost £25.25, the underwear cost £22.02. There is no sense to it. They either get you or you don't. It's a 50/50 chance, some are lucky, some are unlucky.

 

I personally wouldn't want a company to mark down my doll's value, but I wouldn't mind it if it were marked down when it came to clothes/shoes/underpants/etc. But I'm crazy enough to pay extra for the shipping and customs, just to make sure that everything goes a-okay with a major purchase like that.

 

I just asked the company where I'm getting my doll from to mark down my doll, and also write properly that there are doll accessories in it together with the doll.

I think that, they are mostly sent by EMS, which has never failed me, and they are good at packing them. And judging from the many responses I've heard, the possibility of the doll being lost or damaged is much lower than the possibility of being ridiculously high charged custom fees.
I'd have to pay at least $160 in customs, while the doll cost $600. It's ridiculous and I am at least willing to take that risk, since it's almost no risk at all.

Let's say, I buy 5 dolls and I lower all of their prices. One gets lost. Then I'll still have more money in the end than if I had properly written the value on all of them, and got charged "proper" charges.

That's how I think.

Now I'm not stupid enough to lower the value too much. I don't mind paying a little bit of charges. So if my doll gets lost I'll still get over $100 back (which still hurts, though), while the charges if I receive my package won't be more than $30-$40 which I can live with.

Here in sweden we get charged for anything that's marked as a Gift and is worth more than $60. the charging is 25%. This is just ridiculous. I'd agree to a 25% fee if the item was over $1000 , since that's a lot money being sent outside our own country, but no. I feel so... powerless. =( This is probably the worst thing with collecting bjd dolls...... I guess I'll try to look for european second hand dolls in the future.

 

UK customs is having a laugh I think.
It is so so SO silly.

I got charged £22 for a dollmore order of a wig not too long ago.
I wrote to dollmore as they'd put 200,000 next to where it said shipping O_O
Do you think this had something to do with it?
The customs charge was more than the wig it's self!

 

putting X value on a package,does not automatically make the package insured. The value you put on the packages is merely used for making you pay custom fees and nothing else. if a package without tracking and insurance is lost, it will never be found nor will you get your money back regardless the value put on the box.
If a package declared 1000euro is caught (which it will be for sure), the customs would demand a receipt and other proof of value (they think that X value is still not high enough i suppose). Sometimes proof of value is not available due to various reasons. if you are lucky they will send it back to sender or just keep it forever. i am all for marking down!

 

It's quite tricky ^^ though i can't blame the company if the customs stopped my parcel. Simply put, customs are evil. The first anything i bought online was stopped at the customs. Since i didn't know that i will pay, the lady at the customs lessen the price that i have to pay, so i spent around php1,135. W/c means that it's up to the one in the cashier how much you will have to pay. My friend w/c lives in a different city (i live in the capital of my country) also ordered the same item yet she only paid php35! It's so unfair! The friend of the friend of mine bought a bjd and she she paid php2,000++ w/c is a really big amount of money! So i'm pro-marking down~ And i don't even think that customs here entertains insurance or something. They're corrupt!

 

I don't like companies or sellers marking down the values of their products, for I think it shows lack of seriousness when it comes to business. For once, it's illegal. What can I think of a company that incurs in illegal activities? Yes, I'm aware I'm making it sound like they were criminals or something, but if it's about that lack of seriousness I'm talking about, it's the same for me if a company marks down a package valued at thousands of dollars all the same as it were a $10 little package.

That's also why I've made my mind about not asking companies to mark down my orders. If I think a company who do so isn't trustworthy nor serious, what can I say about me, if I were to do the same? Keeping things fair for all sides, though I must admit it's been all the more appealing to me at least once. According to our laws *sighs*, any package with a total price over $100 must pay custom taxes, and for BJDs (which are labeled as "toys"), said tax is 30%. Over the grand total, not for individual items sent in the same package (meaning, if you buy 20 miniatures costing $5 each, you'll still have to pay $30 in custom taxes if they're packed in one single box). It doesn't appeal to me to pay $180 in taxes for a $600 BJD, I must say it, but as I wrote... let's keep things fair.

In the meantime, though, I'll keep on ranting about those custom laws. No wonder so many sellers refuse to ship to my country: apart from our postal service being HORRIBLE, I can well imagine those sellers facing outraged clients who complain because they didn't know they had to pay taxes.

 

I wouldn't like to ask a company to mark the package down, on the off chance it was caught, but then again I was raised catholic, and feel guilty about the smallest thing!

Also, customs don't always stop your dolls, so you don't always have to pay taxes, which is good, and since I consider myself a lucky person, I'm hoping that will be the case with the doll I've ordered recently.

As for blaming the company, if you make a decision then you have to deal with the consequences, It's the price of free will. People shouldn't complain if they create their own negative situation

 

Seems that I have little choice in the matter if I read many of these posts. As I ordered from Luts... The value is about $540(385euros) but it seems that Luts almost always marks down the value anyway. I've already calculated that the worst case scenario I will pay well over 125 euros at customs... Fff... I pray that everything will go well, really. (He hasn't even shipped yet and I'm fretting xD (LOL))