US Customs duties question...

[JB in SC]

I am considering a Wee Ti, but have a question on the amount of US duty I would pay. I couldn't really find a duty percentage that applied specifically to flashlights.

Would a US buyer mind giving me an idea of what duties they paid on their Lummi flashlight?

Thanks,
JB

 

[MKLight]

JB,

Hi! I've purchased several Lummi's and have never paid any type of duty. BTW, I live in Pennsylvania.

Take care,
MK

 

[JB in SC]

MK,

Thanks, I appreciate the info...

JB

 

[MKLight]

JB,

Hi! No problem. You'll really enjoy your new Lummi(s)...which ever model(s) and/or metal you purchased or are considering. They are really great little lights from a nice guy!

MK

 

[JB in SC]

I ordered a Wee Ti without tritium.

 

[commodorewheeler]

I've never been charged duties before when buying anything from overseas. From what I've read on the customs forms that I got when buying stuff internationally before, it appears that for most consumer goods, you don't get charged import duties in the US unless you import more than $10,000 worth of stuff in a single year. I could be wrong on this, that was just my understanding of what was said on the customs form.

 

[MKLight]

I ordered a Wee Ti without tritium.

Congrats! You'll enjoy it! I have a Wee Ti without Tritium, too. It is much smaller than you probably imagine. Amazing how much light comes out of it with any of the emitters (25, 50, or 100 lumens).

 

[MikeSalt]

Consider yourselves lucky, in the UK, we get really stiffed. Let us assume we bought two Fenix E01s from the US. At $15 each, they are $30.00 (£19.38) for the pair, 38 pence above the threshold for import. Now, they want the Value Added Tax at 17.5%, so the goods now cost me £22.77. BUT, then the post office charge a handling fee of £8.00! So the order would cost me £30.77 in total, which is $47.59, or +59% on the original cost. Swindling Swines!

 

[Erasmus]

The US policy seems pretty relaxed. In Belgium : if you buy a 100$ flashlight, you'll pay 17% import duties (for portable lighting devices). Then you'll pay 21% VAT over the last total. Plus some 10 EUR administration costs for the post service. ((100x1.17)x1.21)+10=151.57 or a little over 50% taxes

EDIT : this doesn't count for Lummi lights of course, since they're also located in Europe. Only for import from outside Europe

 

[Henk_Lu]

In Luxembourg, they are very relax as well. First, they only check parcels with a real high value, above 100$ for sure. Then, private goods are free for import tax up to 150 €, only 15% VAT is due. Still, if you are lucky, your 200$ parcel may pass.

The best idea is not to buy anything outside the EU that is declared higher than 99$. :naughty:

As for Lummis, I can get as many as I want, inside the EU everything is free as long as it's for private use...

 

[MikeSalt]

Since Luxembourg seem pretty relaxed, we ought to get our parcels sent via you. Even with the added postage it would still be cheaper.

 

[Henk_Lu]

Since Luxembourg seem pretty relaxed, we ought to get our parcels sent via you. Even with the added postage it would still be cheaper.

If it was that simple... As a civil servant, I wouldn't surely start with such operations. Though it's pretty legal, other problems could arise. Luxembourg is small, somebody could think there's some sort of a business running there. There's always a risk in sending something over the postal way, if something happens to the parcel, the sender will have a hard time. Last, but not least, my wife (who works for the postal company) would be happy to get and to send out parcels constantly!

Perhaps this looks like a business idea to somebody else? :thinking:

On the other hand, we need somebody in USA to get our Surefires (and other exportation restriced brands) via...

Oh, I guess all this is very OT here in the Lummi forum. Perhaps it would be better to close this thread now?

 

[MikeSalt]

It would be too much hassle. I don't buy much from outside of the EU these days, so the import duty is not so bad

 

[mattheww50]

I am considering a Wee Ti, but have a question on the amount of US duty I would pay. I couldn't really find a duty percentage that applied specifically to flashlights.

Would a US buyer mind giving me an idea of what duties they paid on their Lummi flashlight?

Thanks,
JB

Import duty on flashlights to the USA depends upon where it was manufactured, and ranges from free to 35%.

Observation:
On shipments under about $200, it rarely pays for customs to bother with the paperwork to collect the duty, especially if it is a postal import. So for low value imports, especially if they less than 4 pounds and arrive as 1st Class Packages (green customs forms), I am not sure they even bother to look at what it says. Since these parcels cannot be insured, they assumed to be low value.

Customs just doesn't bother with them.