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

I know that many true bjd devotees but straight from China, Japan and Korea, but as a newbie I try to look only at dolls available in the US. I've ordered some shoes from China (still waiting for them to arrive, which is another reason to buy stateside) but I don't think there will be customs issues because the value of the items is so small, comparatively. As a whole, asking a seller to undervalue an item to avoid duties and taxes is opening up a big nasty can of worms that I wouldn't care to face, and if the seller is willing to do this it might make me question his integrity overall. No, thanks. Truth only, please.

 

I agree with Eksdee - I'm saving up for my first BJD, and being in the UK have to factor in the cost of it probably being caught by customs. If the value was marked down and something did go wrong it would be dreadful and you would probably end up out of pocket.

 

I really dont get one thing - why .. WHY ... people are worried about THEY do something wrong? Its the seller who marked the item, its the seller who set the price. So why bother. Its neither your fault nor your responsibility. If your are so .. how do I say it ... lawfull, then just go to the customs with the package and tell them the truth. Maybe they will even not laugh and take your money.
Also if package will be lost or damaged it has nothing to do with the lowered price. Seller just has to return your money back. At least its what I've experienced so far - on like more then 300 packages from all over the world but mostly China and US.

 

Wow, I won't claim to be without sin, but I just don't get the whole finding ways to get out of paying taxes or duty charges thing. You (corporeal not at any individual) are purchasing something from another county. Your country levies taxes on items purchased from other countries. You pay the taxes. End of discussion. I had 2 bad experiences as both a seller and a buyer on eBay several years ago that jaded me, I'm afraid. One of them had to do with someone trying to bully me into reducing the declared value of an item so they wouldn't have to pay taxes.

It's wrong to expect someone to risk legal action and/or fines just so you don't have to fulfill your legal responsibilities. To me it's no better than the 19 year old who flashes a fake ID to get a drink at a bar without any thought about the fines that bar could pay because of his/her actions.

 

I can understand the temptation to ask for things to be marked down but the risks involved really aren't worth it. In some cases it will put the company in a bad posistion and I can imagine it would also effect the value of how much it is insured for.

 

Hmm .. its not really the topic though, but what if I DONT want to pay for nothing, and I wont pay. I dont step out of the law. I just get my pakage, and its price is within limit. I'm not interested how and why. Its not my responsibility.
Also I dont see anything wrong in all this. Same as if 19 old drinks. He/she is old enough.
And one more thing - marked value does not affect anything. Its the tale sellers made up. You can insure pakage of any value for any amoount of money. The insurance will affect the price./

 

In the United States, a 19-year-old is NOT old enough to drink. Therefore, there is something very very wrong with a 19-year-old walking into a bar with a fake ID. It's quite illegal. I don't know what the drinking age is in the Czech Republic, but substitute any age a couple of years younger than the legal drinking age in your country for the analogy to stand.

Also, just to satisfy my curiosity really quickly since I might be misunderstanding you -- are you saying that all sellers who claim they won't mark a package down are just making up the idea that you can't insure a package for more than you declared?

 

Some consider it a "reasonable" risk. When it involves large sums of money, it's a risk that I am NOT willing to take.

 

I was sincerely surprised when a recent order I made from DollMore was marked down. The order itself was a small couch and scaled guitar worth about $35 before shipping, and it was tagged as a doll outfit worth $20. I had to laugh at the idea that one little doll outfit would need such a giant box, but I was still surprised that DollMore marked it down wihout me requesting it or even mentioning it.

Customs isn't nearly as anal in the US as it is in the UK or certain other European countries, so I didn't understand why they did that. It's as if certain companies feel pressured to mark their goods down now.

 

I understand why people want to lower the value of the packages. In Portugal, usually we pay about 2/5 of the total value of the package (shipping included). Order lower than 22€, usually don't pay any taxes, up to 45€ I think that don't pay custom taxes but pay VAT, over that count about 40% of the order to pay in taxes. Oh, almost forgot, sometimes they put extras €€€ on the customs forms, by "accident". Already happen to me twice, I complain, and their resumed answer was "You can't count, we are right and you are wrong".
That's why I prefer to buy from European Union, we don't pay taxes from that countries. Luckily FairyLand have official retailers in Europe, even that I pay more for doll, I save on taxes, because it's a package from the European Union, so I don't pay any taxes. I buy on Wind Dolls (France).

 

In all the countries I lived its 18, somewhere its ok for 10 year old to buy it, doesnt meat its legal thou, its just ok there. And I know about weird US laws, I dont say they are wrong ot something. Just wanted to make point that laws differ form country to country.
My point is insurance is not directlu linked with real price of pakage.
You can insure package for any amount.
Also if pakage is makred for 200$ instead of 600$ and, for some reason, is lost, seller has to return to you amount you paid, not the ammount was written on the box.
From my practice it is this way. Maybe you experienced different problems thou.
Also only 2 or 3 out of around 200 packages we ordered for past 3 years were lost. And we damanded full "money back" - sure thing we got them all back. Most of the pakages were not dolls, but mostly electronocs and RC staff.

 

I'm well aware that laws differ from country to country. The point of the analogy Kirahfaye made had nothing to do with the actual drinking age in any given country -- or really, with drinking at all. She was making an example of the sort of attitude that leads a person to request/do something outside the realms of legality for their own benefit, without thinking of the problems they could be forcing someone else to go through if they get caught.

I experience no problems. This is partially because I refuse to mark packages down, and I can't insure them for more than I have them marked at. The USPS will not permit packages to be insured for more than they are declared to be worth. It's not a myth in my country, it's a cold hard legal fact. It may be otherwise in some countries, but in the USA this is how it is -- and since I ship from the USA, I'll be abiding by their laws when I post things internationally.

Incidentally, the whole "the seller has to return the full amount even if that's not what's marked" attitude is exactly why I refuse to mark a package down. Let's say, for example, that under your scenario you purchase a $600 doll from me, but ask that I mark it at $200 for customs purposes. The doll goes missing in transit. You demand your $600 back from me...but USPS will only refund me $200 for the lost parcel since that's what I declared it at. I am now out both a doll AND $400. I'd rather be able to at least get the value of the item back from USPS if something goes wrong, rather than be screwed out of both item AND the money paid for it. That's what Kirahfaye was referencing; that mentality doesn't even remotely take into account the issues you're putting a seller through by doing that. So thus.

I think I've mentioned it before in this thread but for me personally, it's purely about covering my own ass as a seller -- both legally and financially. I don't have any need to ask for anyone to mark down a package shipped to me -- but nor will I do it for anyone else. It's for their safety and mine.

 

In Sweden, the custom fee on plastic toys are 4,7%. Not too bad. Then, there's the sale tax, on 25%. It's 25% for almost everything in this country. Every time I pay something, 1/4 of the amount I pay goes straight to the government.

The thing is, most people don't realize this when they just buy a sandwich. But when you get a receipt from the customs office, with the amount you has to pay to government, then it feels like a shock. But all items sold in the country is charged with this fee, it's not exclusively for dolls or products made in another country. That's why we get money for going to school... Cheating the system doesn't really help with anything. If you don't like the high taxes, then vote for another party in the next election

 

In situation like this I cant be concerned what seller will receive and what he wont. I payed, I didnt get goods. I want money back. Its pretty natural.
I dont know how it works for sellers, since I never was "on the other side"
Most sellers I've dealt with never had any problems with marking down value, I could even say noone of them had.
Also here tax is, officially, 20%, but if those customer people will have bad mood or something it can eventually turn into 35% for some reason. Then they will recalculate item's price, how it should be in their oppinion, then they will find out new currency exchange rates and .. wow .. tax is 50% .. and try to prove you are wrong. They dont care whats written in invoice you have, or whats written on the box. Thay have thier own vision.
Maybe after we relocate again I will find nice customs and will change my mind.

 

Your attitude is exactly why I refuse to mark down packages. You want to break the law and then not pay the consequences when something happens.

Customs and taxes exist for a reason. They are what keep our respective countries going. I hate to say it, but for a lot of Europeans who complain about customs and VAT vs the US which does not tax importing dolls....we don't have nationally funded health care or government subsidized higher education available to whoever applies for it. What do people think pay for these sort of programs?

I understand it's frustrating, but it's a fact of life. Death and taxes. Suck it up and move on.

 

Try to think like the seller for a minute. Using Tez's example, if you were out a doll and $400 wouldn't you be upset? And angry? You're right: you paid for an item you didn't get. But you also didn't pay to have that item insured.

It's like buying a really expensive TV, tying it to the top of your car, and driving down some dirt roads. The TV might be fine until you get home. But if the TV breaks you 1) can't blame anybody but yourself and 2) have no way of getting all your money back.

Anywho, I'm with Tez on this one. I never ask companies to mark down the value of the package. If the package is lost or damage it just pisses off both parties. If the item is cheap (or really hard to damage, like clothing) I might not ask for insurance. But I sure as hell will when I'm buying a doll.

 

I really-really do not want to argue. I could tell a long and interesting tale about taxes, and where and how they are spent, what do those close to power buy for your taxes, and why people pay (or do not pay) - but I dont want to. It is not the point of discussion.
We all are right in a certain way, or, either we all are wrong. Also we all chose for ourselves what to do in certain situations. When people buy, they can chose from whom they buy, and how.

 

I hate hate hate the custom offices! I don't mind paying taxes for something I have ordered, but their opening hours are horrible. I am a student and I don't have a car yet, but even If I had I could not pick the packages up - simply because the office closes at 2pm, while I'm still at school (every day) It's closed on weekends too so basically I have no chance to get my stuff! It's annoying; the people there aren't really nice and I'd always be at risk of paying extra money for storage at the custom office (after ten days you have to pay for each day that you have not picked up your goods).


As for companies marking down the value of the package, I would never ask for it but honestly?! I am grateful for every doll that makes it through to me without getting stuck at the freakin' custom office! It's unbelievably annoying to find the time to pick them up and imho it really takes something away from the excitement

Other than that, everything else has been said before. It's illegal but if a company does it without me having asked them I am not to blame for anything!

 

In these situations, is it right for ANYONE, in any case, to be angry with the company?

No. You're asking them to break several federal laws to save you money, you're soliciting a crime. Gee, it might be a bit risky. Go figure. However, I don't appreciate companies which give in and do it, because then people feel free to ask the rest of us to do the same.

Is it really proper to expect the company to put themselves out for you by marking the package down?

Again, of course it isn't. Times are tough and it's hard to pass up a sale, but people who try to coerce vendors into illegal actions are wrong. Period. If you can't afford the customs, you can't afford the product.

Why, in instances of the package being marked down by request, do people blame the resulting customs chaos on the company?


Because they're the kind of people who would engage in illegal activity to begin with... I doubt they have a very strong sense of personal responsibility or ethics. Why not pitch a fit and try to get out of your own mistake? It might work.

 

This thread makes me laugh. I didn't realize how many people (who don't live in countries with high custom fees) support the taxation systems of other countries. Maybe their country should adopt similar fees.

In theory, yes, I think it is right that people pay taxes on out of country purchases. I live in Japan at the moment and the fee is 5% plus a fee of 200-yen. But, I trust the Japanese postal system. They also an English line I can call and they will deliver packages promptly. Items rarely get lost. I like the postal system here.

I have heard horror stories in places like the UK where customs officials will overcharge because they think they can. Or, in this thread, someone mentions (in the US?) where fingerprints were left on a doll's face. I've also heard of a situation in Australia where they searched a doll for drugs and ripped its head off and cut open a cloth body ruining the doll. And, I have shipped dolls back to Germany for REPAIR and the company was charged for receiving that doll even though they didn't buy it and were going to return it back to me. And we aren't talking $50. We're talking hundreds of dollars in fees for accepting a doll that was fully insured for repairs. The company didn't buy a thing.

Yes, right is right. And yes, wrong is wrong. But, sometimes the way different countries and some individuals working in customs handle mail isn't always with integrity. There are postal workers who will steal. There are postal workers who will leave boxes in the rain out in the garden. There are postal workers who will spill food on your items. Why should people pay for a service that is less than satisfactory? Do you tip when you get bad service at a restaurant? I doubt it.

So, I understand the whole marking down of packages. Sometimes it is better to "sneak a package through". Do I think it is "wrong"? No. But, from a selling perspective it is important to insure higher value items so that both seller and buyer are covered. We don't live in an honest world, unfortunately. For lesser values, though, I'm not going to gripe if someone requests a $40 item be marked down for $20 and termed gift provided they are willing to accept the risk. Sometimes, there is a bigger picture.