BEWARE - shipping items home from overseas diving destinations can result in unforeseen costs

[billt4sf]

Assuming Bill doesn't plan to bring home artwork made from an illegal substance/plant/etc., my recommendation is to make sure the item is well sealed in your suitcase and then put it into freezer or an unheated outside building or container (Assuming freezing temperatures). You need to kill the weevil, etc.

Ask me how I know. LOL

Whoa! We'll do that. Thanks Chilly.

From Bali we head to S'pore for a week, our place has a refrigerator and I think a freezer, if it will fit. Good suggestion, there should be a thing somewhere where one can ask, like any question, and get an answer like right away. Awww, I probably wouldn't even bother to use it.

- Bill

 

[Marie13]

FWIW, the killer is often the brokerage fees. For instance, many know NOT to ever ship anything to Canada from the US using UPS because of the brokerage fees. However, sending the same item via USPS and Post Canada you may still have customs to pay but not brokerage fees.

The other item is to FULLY research the items you are bringing/shipping back to your home country. Duty schedules are on line for the US. Also one can call and obtain information. What I have found is that if one has done their due diligence and has that information listed on the shipping manifest that it makes the transaction much easier. The last time for me was of all things my UW Camera setup. The dealer in Germany and I along a chat with Customs had all the needed paperwork in place right down to the duty schedules. There was no duty and no brokerage fees. YMMV

I can almost guarantee that someone who is not a customs broker or has experience with the tariff will have no clue how to determine duty from reading the tariff. Something that seems very obvious often is NOT. The indents can lead you down the merry path to destruction. I had to be very careful of that when taking the customs broker license exam.

 

[Shasta_man]

<,Good suggestion, there should be a thing somewhere where one can ask, like any question, and get an answer like right away.>>

They use to call it a telephone and the answers were usually right but now it's called the Internet and the answers are usually wrong.

 

[StefinSB]

I went to Egypt and brought some nice artwork back with me in my luggage. Declared „artwork“ on the customs form and stayed under the (I think) $800 allowed per family. No issues.