Anyone ever ship anything to China? Import fees the same regardless of carrier?

[fuzzybabybunny]

I'm shipping a laptop to China. The person in China actually says that certain shipping companies somehow get charged less import duties than other companies. For example, he says that FedEx always gets charged duties while USPS sometimes doesn't.

Uhhhh... can anyone confirmed? To me this doesn't really seem to make sense - all packages should be going through the same customs checkpoint, right? And all of them probably would be scanned by XRays for electronics and such.

 

[2timer]

I wouldn't doubt it at all. That's how stuff operates in China. The odd Communist government/market economy means that these local party bigwigs can bend the rules for whatever company they are cozy with, and it's usually tolerated.

I once received a care package shipped from my family when I was studying abroad in China. It had been opened and rifled through. That kind of stuff happens all the time, sadly.

 

[Sluggo]

Weren't you just there?

Is there some doubt in your mind that corruption runs rampant?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Weren't you just there?

Is there some doubt in your mind that corruption runs rampant?

No.

I'm simply trying to find the cheapest way to ship this laptop to China and pay less import fees without knowing someone on the "inside."

 

[2timer]

No.

I'm simply trying to find the cheapest way to ship this laptop to China and pay less import fees without knowing someone on the "inside."

Inside connections are how virtually everything gets done in China. It's called guanxi.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Inside connections are how virtually everything gets done in China. It's called guanxi.

I know. I'm Chinese.

Look, maybe I'm not being clear. All I'm asking is, do carriers like USPS simply get checked less at customs and I have higher odds of having my package waved through, or are they all the same? If they're all the same I might as well just pick the cheapest shipping method (TNT Express / Economy).

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

I wouldn't doubt it at all. That's how stuff operates in China. The odd Communist government/market economy means that these local party bigwigs can bend the rules for whatever company they are cozy with, and it's usually tolerated.

I once received a care package shipped from my family when I was studying abroad in China. It had been opened and rifled through. That kind of stuff happens all the time, sadly.

My mom (who lives in England) once had family ship Trassi (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Dictionary/T/Trassi-6023.aspx) to her. When it arrived the package had been opened and customs had included a note that they thought it had probably gone bad

Due to to the popular myth that drug hounds can't smell the drugs when packaged in spices or coffee that's still reasonably popular for smuggling drugs. Which means that packages containing food often are inspected closer by customs. They seem to have given up on Dutch licorice though. Last time when they encountered that in my luggage on my way to England saying it was licorice was enough to stop them from wanting to even look at it. Guess they're not fans of the stuff.

 

[miadavies]

No.

I'm simply trying to find the cheapest way to ship this laptop to China and pay less import fees without knowing someone on the "inside."

How much would/will you cost for this ship?

 

[cafayzieg]

I wouldn't doubt it at all. That's how stuff operates in China. The odd Communist government/market economy means that these local party bigwigs can bend the rules for whatever company they are cozy with, and it's usually tolerated.

I once received a care package shipped from my family when I was studying abroad in China. It had been opened and rifled through. That kind of stuff happens all the time, sadly.

I wish it will be better and better on shipping.

 

[BrokenVisage]

I'm getting a lot better at guessing these fuzzybabybunny threads, it's always 1 of 3 things: a question about China, a question about how to do something on the cheap, or something completely off-the-wall.

 

[jaedaliu]

not really answering your question, but you can undervalue your shipment and pay less customs that way.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Find someone who is flying to china.
Have them bring the laptop and then have it "stolen"

 

[DaWhim]

How much do you expect to pay?

i ship a lot to china, so you can do it by 2 ways:

don't use fedex/dhl/ups, the custom see you have the mean to pay for what they charge (easily $150+), they will certain inspect the package and give the receiver a bill for import duties.

best bet is usps prority international. got tracking. first pound starts at around 40usd, so it will cost 60-70usd for this. cross your finger for not getting duties. it will be hit/miss.

import duties will be 17% VAT + 10%-35% whatever they feel like your item is worth. i would say 20% on consumer electronics.

if you want the 3rd way, i can handle it for you for a fee, i can ship it to a friend in hk by dhl (will take 3 days), then he carries it into china and mail it from there since he goes to work in china pretty so often..

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

How much do you expect to pay?

i ship a lot to china, so you can do it by 2 ways:

don't use fedex/dhl/ups, the custom see you have the mean to pay for what they charge (easily $150+), they will certain inspect the package and give the receiver a bill for import duties.

best bet is usps prority international. got tracking. first pound starts at around 40usd, so it will cost 60-70usd for this. cross your finger for not getting duties. it will be hit/miss.

import duties will be 17% VAT + 10%-35% whatever they feel like your item is worth. i would say 20% on consumer electronics.

if you want the 3rd way, i can handle it for you for a fee, i can ship it to a friend in hk by dhl (will take 3 days), then he carries it into china and mail it from there since he goes to work in china pretty so often..

Thanks. This is the kind of information I'm looking for. Not sure what the other posters here think I'm asking...

So FedEx UPS and DHL are sure to get scanned? So I guess not all packages get scanned? What about the customs form? I feel like I should he declaring the contents truthfully and the value or else risk fines. The package is 9.7lb and the laptop is worth $1100. So regardless of if it gets inspected or not, based on the fact that the form is being truthful they'll just charge the standard duties?

I'm using a freight forwarding company and the cheapest shipping option is actually going to be TNT.

And does shipping to Hong Kong have cheaper import duties?

 

[DaWhim]

Thanks. This is the kind of information I'm looking for. Not sure what the other posters here think I'm asking...

So FedEx UPS and DHL are sure to get scanned? So I guess not all packages get scanned? What about the customs form? I feel like I should he declaring the contents truthfully and the value or else risk fines. The package is 9.7lb and the laptop is worth $1100. So regardless of if it gets inspected or not, based on the fact that the form is being truthful they'll just charge the standard duties?

I'm using a freight forwarding company and the cheapest shipping option is actually going to be TNT.

And does shipping to Hong Kong have cheaper import duties?

I told you the logic, when the custom see you are paying very expensively for the shipping, they will want to look at it and charge you import duties. it just happens alot more.

pretty much all packages get scanned, how hard to do it with today technology? if you are shipping consumer electronic, you will have a VERY high chance. the chance of catching an iphone is so high that shipper will just ask you 100usd to pay in advance for import duties if you want to ship it.

good luck, if you try to save money on shipping. i personally would NOT ship a $1100 laptop to have it go through the chinese custom. my chinese shipping company here won't ship consumer electronics either. do let me know if you get taxed though, if you attempt it this way.

company like TNT doesn't care about import duties, you or whoever getting the laptop will be paying the bill or let the custom confiscate it if you dont pay up.

hk has no import duties. if you want me to handle it, you can PM me.

the cheapest way will be if you know a friend that will be going to china, have them carry it for you.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I told you the logic, when the custom see you are paying very expensively for the shipping, they will want to look at it and charge you import duties. it just happens alot more.

pretty much all packages get scanned, how hard to do it with today technology? if you are shipping consumer electronic, you will have a VERY high chance. the chance of catching an iphone is so high that shipper will just ask you 100usd to pay in advance for import duties if you want to ship it.

good luck, if you try to save money on shipping. i personally would NOT ship a $1100 laptop to have it go through the chinese custom. my chinese shipping company here won't ship consumer electronics either. do let me know if you get taxed though, if you attempt it this way.

company like TNT doesn't care about import duties, you or whoever getting the laptop will be paying the bill or let the custom confiscate it if you dont pay up.

hk has no import duties. if you want me to handle it, you can PM me.

the cheapest way will be if you know a friend that will be going to china, have them carry it for you.

How do the customs officials know how much you paid for shipping?

Based on the price quote from the freight forwarding company, USPS International is actually one of the MOST expensive when you factor in insurance and all that. TNT is $60, all insured.

So basically, with electronics, it doesn't matter which shipper you pick. All the boxes get scanned and the ones with electronic content are the easiest to spot and the easiest to tack on additional duties to. So I might as well just declare the item truthfully and pick the cheapest shipping method.

I don't know a friend going to China. Three people have suggested that to me and I'm not sure why - for the vast majority of people there's no person who they trust who just happens to be going to China in the next week. Sure, it's a great idea, but the possibility of having that as a solution is as close to nil as you can get.

 

[DaWhim]

you think the custom is stupid? it doesn't take a smart person to figure out when the airway bill has a BIG ass logo of either fedex/ups/DHL, in your case, TNT.

i have given you enough information, go try it, i want to know how your result is with TNT.

I can only tell you there is a very good chance that when they see it is a laptop, they will open it up, look up the MSRP on the laptop, tell you to pay 17%VAT + 20% import duties of the MSRP or whatever price they feel like this laptop worth. oh yea, i don't think they will return the package if you dont pay up.

you can also spend $1000 on a round trip ticket to bring in the laptop to china. take your pick.

SHIP IT AS YOUR OWN RISK.

 

[Born2bwire]

Ahh Hong Kong, long live open port. It was cheaper for me to import Chinese made electronics from the US. Most of the Mainlanders would take stuff back across the border, but it seemed like a crapshoot when it came to electronics. Once or twice they would make them pay the duties even if the items were opened and out of the boxes.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

you think the custom is stupid? it doesn't take a smart person to figure out when the airway bill has a BIG ass logo of either fedex/ups/DHL, in your case, TNT.

i have given you enough information, go try it, i want to know how your result is with TNT.

I can only tell you there is a very good chance that when they see it is a laptop, they will open it up, look up the MSRP on the laptop, tell you to pay 17%VAT + 20% import duties of the MSRP or whatever price they feel like this laptop worth. oh yea, i don't think they will return the package if you dont pay up.

you can also spend $1000 on a round trip ticket to bring in the laptop to china. take your pick.

SHIP IT AS YOUR OWN RISK.

So it has nothing to do with the expense of the shipping and handling, but rather the perception of expense and the logo of the shipping company. Like I said, USPS is the most expensive for shipping this laptop, not FedEx, UPS, or TNT.

Regardless of shipping company, electronics are probably going to be scanned, easily identified, and rummaged. There is no way to get electronics past the border since it shows up so easily on an X-Ray. Basically, shipping any electronics to China via any carrier looks to be a surefire way to add VAT to your purchase.

For laptops, there is no Chinese Duty and Consumption tax. There is a 17% VAT.

So the $1000 laptop will be $1170 + $80 shipping = $1250

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Ahh Hong Kong, long live open port. It was cheaper for me to import Chinese made electronics from the US. Most of the Mainlanders would take stuff back across the border, but it seemed like a crapshoot when it came to electronics. Once or twice they would make them pay the duties even if the items were opened and out of the boxes.

So I can't really pay someone in Hong Kong to help bring it over and ship it, because they have a good chance of failing and getting hit with customs duties anyway?

 

[DaWhim]

So it has nothing to do with the expense of the shipping and handling, but rather the perception of expense and the logo of the shipping company. Like I said, USPS is the most expensive for shipping this laptop, not FedEx, UPS, or TNT.

Regardless of shipping company, electronics are probably going to be scanned, easily identified, and rummaged. There is no way to get electronics past the border since it shows up so easily on an X-Ray. Basically, shipping any electronics to China via any carrier looks to be a surefire way to add VAT to your purchase.

For laptops, there is no Chinese Duty and Consumption tax. There is a 17% VAT.

So the $1000 laptop will be $1170 + $80 shipping = $1250

im getting tired of arguing with you.

usps has 3 class of service. first class international will cost you $30-40. there you have it, the cheapest way to ship. no tracking, no insurance.

just because you think the $1000 laptop is $1000 is not how the custom determine that. they can go with the price of 1500. i don' t know how they determine that, i have yet to got hit with import duties.

 

[Soundmanred]

How much would/will you cost for this ship, matey?

 

[DaWhim]

How much would/will you cost for this ship, matey?

it doesn't matter, I am looking for his next thread that his package got hold by the chinese custom and they to extort huge amount of money for import duties!

hey, here is a easier solution, but the laptop in china!

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

im getting tired of arguing with you.

usps has 3 class of service. first class international will cost you $30-40. there you have it, the cheapest way to ship. no tracking, no insurance.

just because you think the $1000 laptop is $1000 is not how the custom determine that. they can go with the price of 1500. i don' t know how they determine that, i have yet to got hit with import duties.

Laptops have no import duties in China. Maybe that's why you haven't been hit. Because there aren't any.

Here's the cost of freight forwarding from a company that gets economies of scale from shippers and gets better rates than you or I could ever hope of getting. And no, I'm not shipping this thing without tracking or insurance.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/Paragon_Media_Storage/Shipito.jpg

And I'm not handing it off to some stranger to take it across the border.

You still want my business at getting this laptop across the border for a fee? Because you're doing a shitty job of selling it with your attitude. You can forget it.

 

[2timer]

Dat guanxi.