Sapphyre

Kinda of a story before I ask a question... Anyway here it goes.

Last week I crossed over from Ontario to New York to do some Christmas
shopping. Since postage is a whole lot more reasonable in the US, I
brought some stuff to mail with me, making sure all packages were not
sealed in case Customs needed to inspect any of them.

So I got up to the border and was asked the purpose of my trip. He
wanted to know if I was bringing anything with me. So I told him I had
about 30 Christmas cards and 12 packages I wanted to mail to my
friends. First question, are these friends in the US? I told him only
one of them was, but the rest were in Europe. He wanted to know where,
exactly (names of countries), then how I met them all, and the regular
questions (to see if they're really friends, that sort of thing).

He wanted to know what I was sending, and the worth, and also why I'd
mail some of that stuff from the US instead of Canada. (It's really
quite simple, Canadians are completely ripped off when mailing stuff. I
work at the post office and know all about it, so I checked charts
online and was excited that the money I saved alone on just the
Christmas cards, would cover my fuel).

Then I was asked if I did this often (brought mail to the US to send).
In hindsight, I got the impression that US Customs, the US Post Office,
and Canada Customs, are not at all happy with Canadians doing this. Not
because of me and my one time trip over there, but because people in
Toronto drive over once a week to do that, rent postal boxes to receive
and send eBay stuff, and abuse the system for their personal financial
gain rather than using Canadian resources.

Both customs seemed to be okay with it because I had other reasons for
going (as I so stated), and the mail was convenient (I tend to bring
over a few things every time I cross for some reason of convience, I
never drive there just to mail stuff). The US postal service employees
complained about "Canadians and their eBay" but seemed a lot nicer to
me and my large bag of mail when I told them it was Christmas stuff for
friends. I guess they don't like eBay sellers for some reason...

That leads me to a couple of questions...
I know bringing mail back and forth is something a lot of people do,
and it's known that people who live near the border do that. Is there
some particular reason why where I'm sending it matters? I understand
they want to know if any of it is USA Bound for customs reasons. Are
they bothered when people bring stuff they're mailing back to Canada?
(I didn't do this at all, just in case that was a problem for them.) If
it's International, does it really matter where?

Is there a limit on how much (value wise) I can bring in duty free if
it's leaving the US? I realize that you can't bring more than $10,000
in currency across the border, but I'm thinking in terms of... if it
was $400 in things, would that be a problem? A few times I've had a
package they did look at and ask questions about, to determine the
value, if I was being paid for it, if it was a gift, etc. More so if it
was USA Bound.

Just wondering...

Rj

"Sapphyre" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ups.com...
    > Kinda of a story before I ask a question... Anyway here it goes.
    > Last week I crossed over from Ontario to New York to do some Christmas
    > shopping. Since postage is a whole lot more reasonable in the US, I
    > brought some stuff to mail with me, making sure all packages were not
    > sealed in case Customs needed to inspect any of them.
    > So I got up to the border and was asked the purpose of my trip. He
    > wanted to know if I was bringing anything with me. So I told him I had
    > about 30 Christmas cards and 12 packages I wanted to mail to my
    > friends. First question, are these friends in the US? I told him only
    > one of them was, but the rest were in Europe. He wanted to know where,
    > exactly (names of countries), then how I met them all, and the regular
    > questions (to see if they're really friends, that sort of thing).
    > He wanted to know what I was sending, and the worth, and also why I'd
    > mail some of that stuff from the US instead of Canada. (It's really
    > quite simple, Canadians are completely ripped off when mailing stuff. I
    > work at the post office and know all about it, so I checked charts
    > online and was excited that the money I saved alone on just the
    > Christmas cards, would cover my fuel).
    > Then I was asked if I did this often (brought mail to the US to send).
    > In hindsight, I got the impression that US Customs, the US Post Office,
    > and Canada Customs, are not at all happy with Canadians doing this. Not
    > because of me and my one time trip over there, but because people in
    > Toronto drive over once a week to do that, rent postal boxes to receive
    > and send eBay stuff, and abuse the system for their personal financial
    > gain rather than using Canadian resources.
    > Both customs seemed to be okay with it because I had other reasons for
    > going (as I so stated), and the mail was convenient (I tend to bring
    > over a few things every time I cross for some reason of convience, I
    > never drive there just to mail stuff). The US postal service employees
    > complained about "Canadians and their eBay" but seemed a lot nicer to
    > me and my large bag of mail when I told them it was Christmas stuff for
    > friends. I guess they don't like eBay sellers for some reason...
    > That leads me to a couple of questions...
    > I know bringing mail back and forth is something a lot of people do,
    > and it's known that people who live near the border do that. Is there
    > some particular reason why where I'm sending it matters? I understand
    > they want to know if any of it is USA Bound for customs reasons. Are
    > they bothered when people bring stuff they're mailing back to Canada?
    > (I didn't do this at all, just in case that was a problem for them.) If
    > it's International, does it really matter where?
    > Is there a limit on how much (value wise) I can bring in duty free if
    > it's leaving the US? I realize that you can't bring more than $10,000
    > in currency across the border, but I'm thinking in terms of... if it
    > was $400 in things, would that be a problem? A few times I've had a
    > package they did look at and ask questions about, to determine the
    > value, if I was being paid for it, if it was a gift, etc. More so if it
    > was USA Bound.
    > Just wondering...

" would that be a problem?"

Of course it *could* be a problem. You are importing items to the USA. You
might be mailing them to another country from the US, but there is no
guarantee that's what you are doing. And I don't mean to imply you are being
deceitful, but not everyone is honest about their reasons for entering the
US.
BTW, you can bring more than $10,000 across the border, you just have to
declare it.

Al Curtis

<I realize that you can't bring more than $10,000
<in currency across the border

You're supposed to declare it....lol....but who would be dumb enough to do
that?

Sapphyre

RJ wrote:
    > Of course it *could* be a problem. You are importing items to the USA. You
    > might be mailing them to another country from the US, but there is no
    > guarantee that's what you are doing. And I don't mean to imply you are being
    > deceitful, but not everyone is honest about their reasons for entering the
    > US.
    > BTW, you can bring more than $10,000 across the border, you just have to
    > declare it.

I'm aware of that, but let's assume for a second they don't take my
word for where it's going, and assume it's sticking. What kind of duty
or taxes would the charge? I'm familiar with that in my own country
(taxes and duty, although moreso by mail than in person), never paid
tax to US Customs, so I don't know how they go about assessing that.

I also know they can have me take stuff out of each package and examine
every piece if they see fit to do so. It's one reason why I never seal
anything up and bring extra envelopes and tape. Just in case they want
to check it out. It has happened before (that a customs officer wanted
to see what I was mailing, not every package, but they sometimes check
a few out). In that particular instance, the items were staying in the
US, and she wanted to be sure they were "used books" that I was
sending, and she wanted to know why (to save postage), I guess they
don't want people selling stuff to US Residents and crossing over to
evade duty/taxes, but most of us are just saving postage.

S.

Sapphyre

Al Curtis wrote:
    > <I realize that you can't bring more than $10,000
    > <in currency across the border
    > You're supposed to declare it....lol....but who would be dumb enough to do
    > that?

Better yet, this day in age, who needs to carry that much cash anyway?
I would prefer just to do a bank transfer if I had that much cash to
transfer. (I will one day, as my retirement savings grows bigger...)

S.

Rj

"Sapphyre" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > RJ wrote:
    >> Of course it *could* be a problem. You are importing items to the USA.
    >> You
    >> might be mailing them to another country from the US, but there is no
    >> guarantee that's what you are doing. And I don't mean to imply you are
    >> being
    >> deceitful, but not everyone is honest about their reasons for entering
    >> the
    >> US.
    >> BTW, you can bring more than $10,000 across the border, you just have to
    >> declare it.
    > I'm aware of that, but let's assume for a second they don't take my
    > word for where it's going, and assume it's sticking. What kind of duty
    > or taxes would the charge? I'm familiar with that in my own country
    > (taxes and duty, although moreso by mail than in person), never paid
    > tax to US Customs, so I don't know how they go about assessing that.
    > I also know they can have me take stuff out of each package and examine
    > every piece if they see fit to do so. It's one reason why I never seal
    > anything up and bring extra envelopes and tape. Just in case they want
    > to check it out. It has happened before (that a customs officer wanted
    > to see what I was mailing, not every package, but they sometimes check
    > a few out). In that particular instance, the items were staying in the
    > US, and she wanted to be sure they were "used books" that I was
    > sending, and she wanted to know why (to save postage), I guess they
    > don't want people selling stuff to US Residents and crossing over to
    > evade duty/taxes, but most of us are just saving postage.
    > S.

The duty would depend on the item, the value, and the country of origin
(manufacture).

Sapphyre

RJ wrote:
    > The duty would depend on the item, the value, and the country of origin
    > (manufacture).

So I just tell them, and if they tell me to pull over and go inside,
then they're planning to assess duty/taxes? It's happened once before
(goods were destined to the US), a customs officer wanted to look at it
and ask questions about it (it was worth $60). The main question was
whether or not I was being paid for the item, or if it was really a
gift.

Do you know of the limit (value wise) before they usually assess duty
or taxes? In Canada it's very low, $20 I think (for most
shipments/imports). So paying duty is something I kind of expect to
have to pay, but the US seems to have a lot more tolerance for this
sort of thing, and lets higher value in duty free.

S.

Rj

"Sapphyre" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] ups.com...
It's happened once before
    > (goods were destined to the US), a customs officer wanted to look at it
    > and ask questions about it (it was worth $60). The main question was
    > whether or not I was being paid for the item, or if it was really a
    > gift.
    > Do you know of the limit (value wise) before they usually assess duty
    > or taxes? In Canada it's very low, $20 I think (for most
    > shipments/imports). So paying duty is something I kind of expect to
    > have to pay, but the US seems to have a lot more tolerance for this
    > sort of thing, and lets higher value in duty free.
    > S.

The question of whether or not you were being paid, relates to an
immigration issue, technically working in the US.
And usually anything that is less than $200.00 can be allowed entry per
section 321. Which basically means that it costs more to collect the duty,
than the amount of duty collected.

Sapphyre

RJ wrote:
    > The question of whether or not you were being paid, relates to an
    > immigration issue, technically working in the US.

According to US Postal workers, people from Toronto do this very
frequently (sometimes every week), and it's eBay stuff. People who sell
on eBay obviously get paid, so how do they get around this if they're
crossing every week with stuff to mail?

One question I was asked, was whether or not I "do this often"? In
hindsight, I'm trying to figure out what often means to them... I
suppose every week or even every two weeks is considered often. The
last time I mailed stuff in the US was in June, the time before was
February. Well three times a year I don't consider to be often. In
February, when I was asked if I crossed often, the officer agreed that
a few times a year is not often at all... most people only take little
vacations that often (like weekend trips somewhere on a long weekend).

I figure if they don't see that much of me, then it's easier to believe
that I'm mailing to friends, but if they saw me every week, it's kind
of suspicious. The guy asking questions asked how I knew people, so I
told him of the swapper's club I belong to, and then it makes sense
(that it's a hobby, not a job).

    > And usually anything that is less than $200.00 can be allowed entry per
    > section 321. Which basically means that it costs more to collect the duty,
    > than the amount of duty collected.

I guess I don't have to worry too much, and I do know some of my items
are duty exempt, so I guess that works to my advantage.

S.