Are import duties still an issue?

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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by watchaholic »

Looking into this a little deeper, I will begin with the painful task of removing my foot from my mouth.
It appears that according to the Commerce Dept, that watches are not treated as cars. DUH, nothing could be THAT simple. Appears you may well need individual dollar amounts for all the various parts listed on the DHL form. A long standing policy put in place by people more knowledgeable than I and certainly far above my pay grade. No where to get these but from the manufacturer. Maybe a barrage of requests to CW will help get their attention. We do have confirmation this is being looked into, but this may take a few days.
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by tikkathree »

Rice & Gravy wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 2:49 pm As a US resident the customs duties would bring the out of pocket costs back up to full retail price if purchased with a voucher and makes it the watch less appealing from a value perspective for me. Still a good value to be sure, but not as good as before not paying duties. Do CW put the full cost of the watch or voucher price as declared value when sending them?

And that's pretty much how I view the prospect of importing a pre-owned watch (or anything else) from your beautiful country. I avoid any potential disconsolation by shopping elsewhere. Ho hum. :thumbdown:
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by Kip »

Having dealt with DHL/customs many times, you can fill out the form as follows and it will be sufficient.
customs worksheet.jpg
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by Lavaine »

The need for a "worksheet" to calculate duty speaks to the nature of the taxation system more than to the broker (in his case DHL). While there is no love lost for Canadian Customs, and the incredibly generous $20 exemption they give us on imported goods before duties and taxes are assessed, at least our calculations are relatively straightforward by comparison. Watches without precious metals or gem stones are assessed a 5% duty. No additional calculations needed. I'm not sure how the average consumer is supposed to make the calculations requested in the above form. Besides, if it is answered honestly, the numbers wouldn't add up. An $800 watch would probably have values along the line of Leather strap $10, case $30, movement $100. The rest of the cost is comprised of all the other costs to go into the manufacture and sale of a product. The only way to complete the form in a satisfactory manner is by making up some numbers that add up to the declared value of the piece.
While this doesn't excuse DHL charging the wrong duty, whether out of laziness or incompetence, it does help to explain it. Neither DHL or CW can be blamed for the complexity that is the tax system.
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by Evanspa »

I spoke to DHL and confirmed that the shipper-Christopher Ward- did not provide an HS code. Customs requires a code, so they just picked one. So this falls squarely on CW in my opinion. It is their business and customers
But also partly my fault for not questioning it before forking out the money.

DHL will gladly do an amendment, for a $90.00 fee HA!

At this point I am just going to cut my losses, send the watch back.
Unfortunately, I feel CW has lost a potential customer for life due to the negative feelings I now have toward the whole transaction.
Not to mention the watch head itself wasn't anything special.
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by ScofieldReturns »

Kip wrote: Thu May 16, 2019 9:28 pm Having dealt with DHL/customs many times, you can fill out the form as follows and it will be sufficient.

customs worksheet.jpg
cool thanks!
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by nordwulf »

DHL is a very small company in the USA without their own nationwide delivery network these days. Using Fedex or UPS for shipments to the USA would make things go a lot smoother but they don't seem to understand that.
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by morrisonds »

When I ordered my new Mk3 on 1 May, I used the DHL app to track the progress of my watch across the Atlantic. When the package hit Customs at JFK airport, the app simply popped up a “pay this amount” line, for $140.70 USD. When I paid that amount via credit card on the DHL app, the package moved through Customs immediately. I had my watch the following day (in Philadelphia)

Seemed pretty easy to me.
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by ScofieldReturns »

morrisonds wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 4:26 am When I ordered my new Mk3 on 1 May, I used the DHL app to track the progress of my watch across the Atlantic. When the package hit Customs at JFK airport, the app simply popped up a “pay this amount” line, for $140.70 USD. When I paid that amount via credit card on the DHL app, the package moved through Customs immediately. I had my watch the following day (in Philadelphia)

Seemed pretty easy to me.
you paid an absurd fee...

when i saw that number my first thought was "that can't be right". some digging revealed it indeed wasn't right. just goes to show that what's easy is rarely ever what is right
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by watchaholic »

Sounds like they fleeced everybody.
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by H0rati0 »

Lavaine wrote: Thu May 16, 2019 10:10 pm The need for a "worksheet" to calculate duty speaks to the nature of the taxation system more than to the broker (in his case DHL). While there is no love lost for Canadian Customs, and the incredibly generous $20 exemption they give us on imported goods before duties and taxes are assessed, at least our calculations are relatively straightforward by comparison. Watches without precious metals or gem stones are assessed a 5% duty. No additional calculations needed. I'm not sure how the average consumer is supposed to make the calculations requested in the above form. Besides, if it is answered honestly, the numbers wouldn't add up. An $800 watch would probably have values along the line of Leather strap $10, case $30, movement $100. The rest of the cost is comprised of all the other costs to go into the manufacture and sale of a product. The only way to complete the form in a satisfactory manner is by making up some numbers that add up to the declared value of the piece.
While this doesn't excuse DHL charging the wrong duty, whether out of laziness or incompetence, it does help to explain it. Neither DHL or CW can be blamed for the complexity that is the tax system.
Customs has always been a nightmare, whatever the jurisdiction. The systems are designed for the benefit of the state and secondly, professionals moving goods in bulk and not for dealing with the public. Lots of ambiguity almost always leads to errors accumulating to the benefit of the state :shock:
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by mvlow »

I received an update from Mike France today. As you can see from the included email CW is communicating with DHL to try to sort out the issue. I appreciate Mike taking the time to follow-up so quickly. As soon as I get any more info, I will pass it along in this thread.

Screen Shot 2019-05-17 at 10.14.44 AM.png
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by Lavaine »

nordwulf wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 12:34 am DHL is a very small company in the USA without their own nationwide delivery network these days. Using Royal Mail for shipments to the USA (and Canada)would make things go a lot smoother but they don't seem to understand that.
Fixed that for you.
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by ScofieldReturns »

Glad they are at least making the effort to smooth things over. Today's update: my paperwork has been forwarded and us under review. Looks like I wouldn't get my trident in time for the weekend...
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Re: Are import duties still an issue?

Post by ScofieldReturns »

Update: dispute finalized, final import duties: $22. Yeah, that's much better lol
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