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

I'm going to do that. I don't ever want to get to the scary place I was a few weeks ago where I had to find £90 otherwise my doll was going straight back to Texas In fact, it might even be better to add at least 17.5% of the value of your doll to your savings marker, so you know that you will have the largest chunk of the fees available, should HMRC pick up on you.

 

I think there's a difference between asking a manufacturer marking down a doll and a private seller/retailer to mark down. If it does get lost or damaged then it is far less costly for the manufacturer to replace than it would be for a private seller. If the companies are happy to replace missing or damaged dolls/items I don't see a problem with under declaring the value. Please bear in mind that it is usually the sender, not the recipient who has to apply for compensation if a parcel is lost or damaged, which is why I draw a distinction between private sellers and doll makers.

Are the doll producers insuring them for the full value anyway or are they keeping the shipping charges low, to encourage customers and expecting to replace missing/damaged dolls every so often? After all, the cost to them to replace the doll is not the same as the price you paid for it.

I suspect part of the reason a lot of customs payers have such a resentful attitude to customs charges is because they often seem arbitrary and the officials sometimes don't take the time to check if the value is in UKP or USD. (Hands up anyone who's been had the dollar amount of their parcel treated as pounds?)

If we received a good service there would probably be less bad feeling, but when we read of or experience, damaged parcels, lack of delivery, (my postie has now decided I am so psychic I can tell whether there is something to sign for by the sound of his footsteps down the path, so he no longer bothers to ring the doorbell if he wants a signature!) sheer idiotic carelessness, (I have had a parcel left balanced on the top of my gate, in plain view of the street by one postie) and ever rising prices, it's hardly surprising we feel resentful.

There was something on another thread that mentioned marking items as 'returning to owner after modification/repair' which meant the item could be declared and insured for it's full value. Some may still find this wrong but it may be a way for those who don't have moral objections to circumventing what they believe to be an unfair tax, to ship fully insured. I would think it would only work with private sales and not sales from companies.

 

It is the company right doing to put down the exact info and amount. if they choose to lowered on their own, they will be held responsible if anything happens (most of the time never as they know and pack them good)

If a buyer ask them to lowered, the buyer will need to be responsible and not be upset at company period. As they are doing you a favor and breaking the law for you.

If i asked a company to NOT lowered the value (which i did once) and if they did not listen (which they did not, shocking) then they surely be held responsible. As i asked them to not break the law or take risk and they choose to do so. Tough!

All the China and Korean companies have all lowered the values no matter what i have asked, so it's their choice apparently. So Far, great packaging so i never had a problem before, hopefully never in the future also.

The only company that put the full value is Volks. I ordered over 5 dolls and all have been full value and in YEN too. I am not sure if they lowered the value if you ask.

I also bought from many Japanese shop and they lowered the value, not sure if they always do that or they just can't remember the exact amount as they only lowered by very little. sometimes less than 500 yen on large packages. ( i am including them as these also sell doll/stuff too)

AS for the insurance as some mentions...not sure in other country but in the US, EMS covers first $100, anything after that cost you quite a bit. So if they are the same , and charges you , let say $60, EMS cost only like $40 and declared $50, that is all it cost. As even if you pay for more insurance, you can only get what you declare. Trying for the full amount will get you in alot of trouble. Defrauding the PO is quite serious.

For those who buy second hand doll, the seller can put and "pre-owed" or "used" and sometimes it will get by custom. I was told this and many have ask for this. Which is legal as something i have owned and passing it on. Even if the doll/item is still in original package, i did own it for an amount of time.

 

OK... I'm confused..

1. Why are some people in the US talking about getting charged when dolls, toys, outfits, etc. don't carry Customs charges??? I've never had to pay anything, no matter what is marked on the package...

2. Why should I be concerned (living in the US) whether a company or a seller is marking their packages lower? There is no difference in Customs, since there ARE no customs for those in the US. Doesn't this only cause problems for the company if some sort of laws are being broken?

3. Covering lost or damaged packages. What does Customs forms have to do with it? Isn't it the sender that needs to make claims for packages gone astray? I know that I've had to file the claim with FedEx when they tore up a package I SENT. I've never tried claiming anything as the receiver of a package. IS that what happens???

4. How does Customs Declarations have anything to do with making a claim anyway? Don't you need to have INSURANCE for that??? I was pretty sure they were separate things. That Customs only had to do with actually charging customs fees, not at all with making any claims if something is missing or damaged. Is this wrong???

It is my experience that companies will replace dolls broken in shipping and missing dolls, or wrong or missing items NO MATTER WHAT IS MARKED AS VALUE. So I'm just wondering what the big deal is--for those in the US, where there are no Customs charged, anyway!?!

COMMENT: If I were in another country and didn't want my things held up in Customs and hoped not to be charged huge amounts (even though I know I could expect them), I think I would prefer things to NOT be held up and myself not to be charged huge amounts... And will not companies try and replace things gone missing anyway??? (I've had wrong dolls replaced and missing shoes sent to me by companies...) It is different when it is private sellers, of course. Companies have more of an ability to cover expenses as part of doing business, after all. But that's still to do with INSURANCE rather than CUSTOMS, isn't it??? If you have no insurance on the package then the seller won't get anything back even if they put full price on the package-- right??? Or wrong??? I DO understand problems with Customs forms not matching any papers required by Customs. Other than that... Well, since I don't need to deal with Customs, I'm sure I can't see all the problems.

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Separate Questons--
Does anyone worry that putting the true/high values on packages can make the packages more tempting for thieves???

OR make it more likely to get caught up in customs where the package may be opened and damaged??? Or at least seriously delayed or maybe lost???

 

Most companies ship via EMS, which does come with insurance. However, I was curious and asked my local postman about insurance and customs forms a couple of years back. What he said was that if a customs form declares something's worth as $50, it doesn't matter how much insurance you have on it, you're only going to get $50 back if you file a claim should be be damaged or lost. As a private seller, I refuse to mark down value because that is a risk I am not willing to take.

I live in the US so I don't have to worry about customs fees and I do not like it when companies mark down packages of mine. What I do to prevent this is I leave a comment in my order that explicitly asks them to declare the items for their full value when they are shipped.

 

Possibly stupid, noob-ish question incoming:

Why would you mark down the value at all? Is it to help deter thefts? Is it so customs just glances at it and throws it on the pile, instead of tearing into it? Is it to cut down on costs?

I've been wondering this since I first started looking around at company's websites.

 

In some countries, we have customs tax. For instance, in the UK, if we buy a product from outside Europe, we are charged a certain percentage of the total value of the item being imported. If the value listed on the package is lower than it actually is (commonly doll companies mark expensive items like actual dolls down to about $10) then it would slide under customs' noses and we wouldn't be charged as consumers. If it's listed as its actual price - i.e. $950 -- then we'll most likely be hit with a horrible fee!

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to mark packages down, however.

I hope that answered your question ... sorry I can't list any proper percentages or further detail for you, I find it a bit confusing myself ^^; And the customs charges seem to be so arbitrary sometimes! And then there seems to be a completely random "handling fee" that's a nasty one too. But I think I've heard of some people never getting charged on their correctly-marked packages! Lucky!

It makes it really hard to think of purchasing a very expensive doll, since the actual amount of money you'd end up paying for a doll of value over $1500 would be sky-high ... like, hundreds of dollars. Yuck.

 

Just to expand on what Kateb said it's generally VAT we get charged for items imported from outside the EU (plus a handling fee) VAT in the UK is charged at 17.5% of an items value so it's understandable why so many want to avoid it if they can.
Unfortunately it is illegal to mark packages down in this way (and its you as the recipient that is responsible in the eyes of the law) but I've yet to actually hear of anyone being caught out.
That all said though I think the threshold for import taxes has gone up in the last few months so now we can import goods around worth around £100 ($180ish) before the taxes kick in now if I remember correctly.

 

My doll got hit with a customs charge even after the doll was marked down, I'm really glad it was otherwise it would have been way loads more to pay had they put his real price.

 

Non-EMS, private carriers (such as FedEx, UPS, DHL) charge what they call a "brokerage fee" on international deliveries. The idea (perfectly reasonable in theory) is that the carrier shouldn't have to absorb the cost of customs duties, and so asks the real buyer to pay for that cost instead. The nasty little twist is that these carriers charge the "brokerage fee" even when the items in the package, such as dolls and doll clothes, are exempt from US Customs duties.

 

That is why I only send international trades or sold items via USPS, at least I know the addressee isn't going to get charged for extra fees. I'm in the US so not sure if it actually matters, but just in case.

 

Ohhh, that makes sense. Thanks guys! I didn't even realize you had that problem. I can completely understand wanting to mark down the value of a package.

 

I think the new tax level might start in December. It'll be so good once it goes up.

 

It seems rather idiotic for people that have asked it to be marked down to be outraged by the following chaos, as they themselves hath brought it.
-Although, if the company marks down the price without the consent of the customer, then I can understand the fury the customer might hold over the company, when they can't claim what they paid for.
Honestly, sometimes, in situations like these, we simply must listen to logic.

If you break the rules, be prepared to face the consequences.

If you want that doll bad enough, you will have no qualm about paying the taxes.

And for the love of Sanity, if a company enjoys its entrepreneurship, they should never take a needless risk such as that.

 

I don't think anyone is getting 'outraged' for being charged after a parcel's marked down (especially as it's far lighter a charge than it would be if it had been marked at full price) and like I said I don't think there's been a single case of anyone within this hobby getting caught out for it, or if they have not to any dire consequences. o.O

I'm not sure about other countries but in the UK it's the recipient that's held responsible for the value marked on a package. It's really no skin off the companies noses at all if they mark it down, many of them just do it because they're asked too so often.

 

Well, the whole "risk of losing your money when sending a doll with a lowered value" has lost its relevance to me since I've learned that the Post (the french one, I'm not sure if it's the same for EMS or other national Post, but I highly suspect it is) pays you back only if you have a bill to prove the value of what was sent.

Even if you suscribe to all sorts of optional insurances and declare the real value. They don't care for what is written on the box. You have to prove it.

So, I guess the company can provide proof of the value of the doll, but what about the second owner of the doll? The third owner? Proving the value of the doll becomes more and more diffcult.

I'll go as far as to say that, in some cases, marking the real value increases the risks that it might get stolen (a $600 parcel sounds really interesting, doesn't it? more than a $50 one).

 

United states post office - you have to prove that the item was worth, what it is insured for also, if you try to make a claim.

 

A US seller sent my Souldoll Hye via USPS and I still got charged. I don't think it actually matters which courier takes the parcels to the UK anymore because parcels from America are getting targeted more and more.

 

I have actually had a problem with having a doll marked down. I didn't ask the company to mark the doll down, it was well within the customs range for my country. However, my package WAS left on my doorstep and my signature falsified by the delivery man.

It was hard to launch a complaint on my package being left when it was marked at a mere twenty dollars. I did file a complaint about the forging of a signature, but it was awkward complaining about the package and not being able to explain that it was actual a doll worth several hundred dollars.

 

everything that i buy from overseas is been marked down...save me alot of tax....the only fear is that my parcel may be lost and i cant claim insurance on it....lucky my home country is pretty safe.