Shipping to the USA...advice.

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Gar787
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Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by Gar787 »

Afternoon all.

As I am 14 posts short of being able to post this on the Sales Forum I thought I’d ask for advice on here if that’s acceptable?
I am about to sell a watch to a guy who lives over in the USA (East coast) and I’m trawling through the minefield of which currency exchange, shipping companies and insurance to use.
Hopefully one of the members with experience in this field can offer some advice. Also, what is the likelihood of duty being demanded once stateside? The watch is not ‘brand new’ so will this make any difference at all?

Thanks in advance,

Phil.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by Viognier »

If the value of the watch exceeds $800 USD the buyer will have to pay duty.

Is the buyer a forum member here?
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by MichaelMD »

I would just make sure the value of whatever you are sending to the buyer is $799 or less and you should be able to avoid the headaches
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by albionphoto »

I can't recommend a company to use for shipping to the US as I have only ever shipped from the US. However, the advice of Viognier and MichaelHD is correct. Keep the value below $800 dollars. This is the point at which excise duty becomes an issue.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by exHowfener »

You haven't said what the value of the watch is so this may be superfluous: Whilst not paying import duty is an advantage, for the sake of completeness it should be pointed out that a false declaration can lead to the item being confiscated ... and of course should the item be lost in transit, you will only get back the value you declared. Your choice.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by albionphoto »

exHowfener wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 12:56 am You haven't said what the value of the watch is so this may be superfluous: Whilst not paying import duty is an advantage, for the sake of completeness it should be pointed out that a false declaration can lead to the item being confiscated ... and of course should the item be lost in transit, you will only get back the value you declared. Your choice.
Good points, well made.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by Gar787 »

The watch value is considerably more than $800! Don’t know if I can insure it for its full value and declare it as a lower value for the purposes of duty (which may lie with the buyer) and could see me digging an even bigger hole for my self.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by jkbarnes »

There has been discussion on a number of other threads about insurance for shipping watches. The long and short of it was to read the fine print about what is and is not covered by insurance, who’s providing it, and the full coverage of the insurer from point A to B. The take away from all that for me is that I don’t think I’d ever sell a high value watch that needed to be shipped internationally. Just to risky. Irrelevant I suppose, as I don’t have any high value watches anyway!
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by H0rati0 »

In my (limited) experience, the only way to ship high value watches with full insurance anywhere (well nearly anywhere) is DHL Express. It ain't cheap but will get the job done, in most cases within 48 hours.

I have used it a few times and have received (shipped internationally) a couple of watches from Chrono24 dealers where it seems to be the weapon of choice.

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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by FloridaPhil »

I would absolutely not use DHL. Every single time I have had a delivery sent to me in Florida by DHL, it's been a total nightmare. My preference, by far, is Fedex 2 day. with full insurance. They will bill you in your home currency so no currency exchange is required.

Payment of duty is on the recipient, not you. You simply need to establish that fact with them before shipping and Fedex will take care of 99% of the process.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by rkovars »

Fedex has a maximum declared value of $1000 on jewelry and watches. You really have to read the fine print. Many people have been burned by this and often the clerks do not give the right information.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by H0rati0 »

rkovars wrote: Fri Feb 12, 2021 9:40 pm Fedex has a maximum declared value of $1000 on jewelry and watches. You really have to read the fine print. Many people have been burned by this and often the clerks do not give the right information.
As do UPS. DHL Express is the only worldwide service I have found that will fully insure and it appears that Chrono24 dealers agree. It may well be that cheaper DHL services do not pass muster but my experience with Express has been very satisfactory. YMMV.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by Gar787 »

Many thanks gents. The watch is now enroute to the US and your sage advice was taken and much appreciated.
Phil.
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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by H0rati0 »

Gar787 wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:36 pm Many thanks gents. The watch is now enroute to the US and your sage advice was taken and much appreciated.
Phil.
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As a matter of common interest, how did you decide to ship in the end? Anything additional to share from your research?

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Re: Shipping to the USA...advice.

Post by Robotaz »

rkovars wrote:Fedex has a maximum declared value of $1000 on jewelry and watches. You really have to read the fine print. Many people have been burned by this and often the clerks do not give the right information.
That’s declared value, not insurance.

If you can use EMS to ship to the US, it provides real insurance.
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