keenlyside
New Member
I have recently completed a shipment of a Sansui BA-5000 and BA-3000 to Echowars for refurbishment (yes, I am very, very excited!)
This involved me shipping these units from Vancouver, Canada to Missouri, USA.
Needless to say I was a little nervous of a couple of things:
- Loss or Major Damage By the Shipper
- Duties and/or taxes being charged on the value of the gear when I am not selling them, just getting them refurbished.
So, I did a big pile of research, which (on Echowars suggestion), I am sharing with our community for (hopefully) everyone’s benefit.
So, what did I learn from my experience:
Duties and Taxes
At first blush it appeared the key to this was that there are two different ways to declare the value of a shipment. The waybill’s ask for a “Declared Value for Cartage” (insurance) and a “Declared Value for Customs”. One may think that for my situation where an amp has a value of X but you are shipping it to someone for refurbishment that you can say the Cartage Value is X and the customs value is zero (or if the refurbishment is complete, this value could be the cost of the refurbishment itself). The problem is that the Customs value cannot be less than the Cartage Value. Also, the Customs value cannot be zero, even if the Cartage value is zero (i.e. no insurance). So the key here is not in the “values”
The key is in “Purpose of Shipment” and/or “Type of Export”. If your waybill has a “Type of Export” entry you can state “Temporary” in the case where you are sending it over the border but it will be coming back. If your waybill has a “Purpose of Shipment” field you can state that is “For Repair/Refurbishment and Return” and/or “Ultimate Destination Canada” (or wherever you are originating the shipment from). Any of these options will trigger customs to not charge duty because you have described the shipping transaction as one to which duty/taxes does not apply.
Note: You will also need to fill out a Commercial Invoice which is a separate document from the waybill. Put all of the same language onto the Commercial Invoice in-case customs does not read the waybill
When the item is on its way back, use similar language indicating the item is on the return leg of this trip and state clearly the amount paid for the refurbishment (you should then be charged only on the value of the refurbishment).
Insuring a Shipment
The only safe position to be in when making a claim for loss or damage on shipping insurance is if the item is new, in the original packing material, and is being shipped from a business to a business. If the shipment is a used item, or is in a non-original box, or is a personal shipment it “cannot” be insured. Yes, they will take your money up front but if you have a claim they may exercise one of these outs.
Insuring a “vintage” item in shipment triggers even more restrictions, some of the carriers specifically exclude any vintage items from coverage. Again, they may not state this when you are purchasing the insurance.
I asked many people why the heck it matters what the item was, or how it was packed, if they lose it. The most intelligent answer I got was “Well sir, that is our policy”
General
The damm carriers are all the same. None of them have their policies in writing. If you want to ask a question you can only get an answer verbally! I asked a couple of times, after getting an answer to a question, to get that in writing and was told no each time. To make this worse, when you are getting a verbal answer on an issue there is no guarantee that the next person will answer the same way. I lost track of the number of times I heard “I don’t know why that person told you that but they were wrong and I am right”. Very frustrating.
Always ask for the full name of each person you speak with (in person or on the phone) and write it down. This is the only way you can try to hold the carrier responsible for what their employees tell you.
I hope this is helpful. As always, your experience may vary. Advice offered in good faith and the AK spirit….
Cheers, and thanks to Echowars for the prompt to share. My items arrived in good shape and no duties or taxes!
John
This involved me shipping these units from Vancouver, Canada to Missouri, USA.
Needless to say I was a little nervous of a couple of things:
- Loss or Major Damage By the Shipper
- Duties and/or taxes being charged on the value of the gear when I am not selling them, just getting them refurbished.
So, I did a big pile of research, which (on Echowars suggestion), I am sharing with our community for (hopefully) everyone’s benefit.
So, what did I learn from my experience:
Duties and Taxes
At first blush it appeared the key to this was that there are two different ways to declare the value of a shipment. The waybill’s ask for a “Declared Value for Cartage” (insurance) and a “Declared Value for Customs”. One may think that for my situation where an amp has a value of X but you are shipping it to someone for refurbishment that you can say the Cartage Value is X and the customs value is zero (or if the refurbishment is complete, this value could be the cost of the refurbishment itself). The problem is that the Customs value cannot be less than the Cartage Value. Also, the Customs value cannot be zero, even if the Cartage value is zero (i.e. no insurance). So the key here is not in the “values”
The key is in “Purpose of Shipment” and/or “Type of Export”. If your waybill has a “Type of Export” entry you can state “Temporary” in the case where you are sending it over the border but it will be coming back. If your waybill has a “Purpose of Shipment” field you can state that is “For Repair/Refurbishment and Return” and/or “Ultimate Destination Canada” (or wherever you are originating the shipment from). Any of these options will trigger customs to not charge duty because you have described the shipping transaction as one to which duty/taxes does not apply.
Note: You will also need to fill out a Commercial Invoice which is a separate document from the waybill. Put all of the same language onto the Commercial Invoice in-case customs does not read the waybill
When the item is on its way back, use similar language indicating the item is on the return leg of this trip and state clearly the amount paid for the refurbishment (you should then be charged only on the value of the refurbishment).
Insuring a Shipment
The only safe position to be in when making a claim for loss or damage on shipping insurance is if the item is new, in the original packing material, and is being shipped from a business to a business. If the shipment is a used item, or is in a non-original box, or is a personal shipment it “cannot” be insured. Yes, they will take your money up front but if you have a claim they may exercise one of these outs.
Insuring a “vintage” item in shipment triggers even more restrictions, some of the carriers specifically exclude any vintage items from coverage. Again, they may not state this when you are purchasing the insurance.
I asked many people why the heck it matters what the item was, or how it was packed, if they lose it. The most intelligent answer I got was “Well sir, that is our policy”
General
The damm carriers are all the same. None of them have their policies in writing. If you want to ask a question you can only get an answer verbally! I asked a couple of times, after getting an answer to a question, to get that in writing and was told no each time. To make this worse, when you are getting a verbal answer on an issue there is no guarantee that the next person will answer the same way. I lost track of the number of times I heard “I don’t know why that person told you that but they were wrong and I am right”. Very frustrating.
Always ask for the full name of each person you speak with (in person or on the phone) and write it down. This is the only way you can try to hold the carrier responsible for what their employees tell you.
I hope this is helpful. As always, your experience may vary. Advice offered in good faith and the AK spirit….
Cheers, and thanks to Echowars for the prompt to share. My items arrived in good shape and no duties or taxes!
John
