Batronix

[TopLoser]

Buyers responsibility to check for any potential taxes or import duties. The seller can't be expected to be aware of these for every country they ship to, they are charged at the point of import and the seller has no control of them.

Caveat emptor.

[VRS Varmint]

Do what you should have done in the first place: check what the import duties will cost you. AFAIK the 'value' you can import into the US without import duties/taxes is quite high.

Well in response to the snide preamble, I already stated that I have never ordered from the EU, only China. So "having done so in the first place" is paradoxical; I was not expecting it. I also stated that the seller made no mention with regard to possible import duties until AFTER the sale took place (it was in the invoice).

Finally [TopLoser], I'm not sure where the assumption that I was in some way blaming the seller for import duties came from, as it wasn't from anything I wrote, nor would it make sense to do so.

And for anyone that actually runs into the same issue, the The import duties appear to be about 1.7% for test equipment, plus carrier processing fees. If it doesn't get held up in customers, it's worth it.

[TopLoser]

"I also stated that the seller made no mention with regard to possible import duties until AFTER the sale took place"

Buyer beware, don't shoot the messenger.

[Howardlong]

Buyers responsibility to check for any potential taxes or import duties. The seller can't be expected to be aware of these for every country they ship to, they are charged at the point of import and the seller has no control of them.

Caveat emptor.

Absolutely right. As a seller I have 90%+ foreign sales, and about 35% go to the US. In 99.9%+ of sales I have no problems, if I may say the buyer has hopefully learned something, although import duties and taxes in the US aren't generally as punitive as they are in the EU for example.

However, if I may put this into perspective, Brazil has to be the worst. I had one instance where a $200 sale ended up with the buyer refusing to pay duty, which was in the region of 100%. The carrier then (a) charged me the Brazilian duty, (b) charged me for the privilege of sending the item back to me and (c) icing on the cake was that I had UK duties taxed on the my own returned shipment. I had asked the carrier to destroy the item in Brazil bearing in mind the 100% tax, but apparently I still had to pay the Brazillian duties anyway. That $200 sale cost me $300.

As an aside, people, please don't ask or expect foreign sellers to falsify the value of items for customs purposes. It may be common practice on China exports but elsewhere in the world not all of us want to attract the unwelcome interest of tax authorities, and falsifying customs value is a sure fire way to do that. After all, in the view of the tax man, if you fiddle that, what else are you fiddling?

[Galenbo]

So "having done so in the first place" is paradoxical; I was not expecting it. I also stated that the seller made no mention with regard to possible import duties until AFTER the sale took place (it was in the invoice).

15 years ago I didn't expect import duties when I bought a car airconditioning system in the USA.
But didn't blame the company for it. They also didn't mention it because it's none of their business.
Companies get paid, and send packets away.

[nctnico]

Do what you should have done in the first place: check what the import duties will cost you. AFAIK the 'value' you can import into the US without import duties/taxes is quite high.

Well in response to the snide preamble, I already stated that I have never ordered from the EU, only China. So "having done so in the first place" is paradoxical; I was not expecting it. I also stated that the seller made no mention with regard to possible import duties until AFTER the sale took place (it was in the invoice).

I guess you are also unaware it is illegal to kill someone?  You are supposed to know the laws of your country. 'I didn't know' doesn't hold up in any court around the world.

[atferrari]

However, if I may put this into perspective, Brazil has to be the worst. 

Try with my sad country and you will have something else to say. 

[Galenbo]

I guess you are also unaware it is illegal to kill someone?  You are supposed to know the laws of your country. 'I didn't know' doesn't hold up in any court around the world.

And then try to blame a company/organisation makes me think about a sad trend we see in society these days.

[HighVoltage]

I am shipping items from time to time to the USA and most of the time the package will be delivered to the buyer without ever being touched by the US customs.

On the contrary, when I am getting packages from the US, almost 99.9% of them are going to German customs and I have to pick them up and pay my duties, fees and taxes. But, compared to what I read here about south America, we are in paradise here in Germany and I should not complain at all.

[atferrari]

I am shipping items from time to time to the USA and most of the time the package will be delivered to the buyer without ever being touched by the US customs.

On the contrary, when I am getting packages from the US, almost 99.9% of them are going to German customs and I have to pick them up and pay my duties, fees and taxes. But, compared to what I read here about south America, we are in paradise here in Germany and I should not complain at all.

One awful component is not how heavy hand they have, but how arbitrary is everything and then...you are subtly offered a solution to your "difficulties".