i've never thought to ask this, but why do some of you out of USAers request when being shipped to that the value of the package be 10 or 20 dollars instead of the true value?

I think they have to pay a customs tax on anything over that value, I've heard of some people not being able to pick up their stuff from their respective post offices because of this.

I've also been asked to mark things as gifts for this very reason as well, I guess they don't have to pay taxes on gifts.

people in the UK get screwed on taxes when they go to pick their stuff up if the value is marked high.

yep this is true, it's kinda like paying sales tax in CA

in UK there's a VAT charge, which can be pretty hefty - i'm not sure what the figure is where something starts getting charged VAT, but also sometimes stuff goes through anyway.

also 'gift' makes it less likely to be checked by HMS i think, not sure if it makes it exempt if the value is over the threshold though

in new zealand it can be pretty high before tax (GST) gets added to it, something like 400$NZ, at least it used to be when I would get records in from the states. I know friends who have had to pay GST on getting things like guitars and other music equip. which is still beneficial because you get better range in the states and it still works out being cheaper.

oh yeah i think the rate here in UK is over 20%, so it's pretty big.. one of the companies also charges you a surcharge for holding it or something, fuckin' ridiculous if you ask me

you get charged VAT of the value (17.5%), then a handling fee which can be $40, then a processing fee $10-20 and you might get a re-delivery fee if you're not in when they deliver it. Plus they usually store it in way out west store rooms so you could be looking at an hour drive to pick it up.

I've had parcels go up by $100 due to customs

there's the answers i was looking for. thanks all!

Canada can be pretty brutal too. Although Parka's example has to be the nastiest I've heard!

Mark as a gift and you'll be the friend to many an international buyer.

damn......that's brutal!!

Brutal is an understatement, it's more akin to a ass rape.
As mentioned elsewhere, I don't think you'll find a single person from the UK on this board that has anything but deep seated red mist style hatred for parcelforce and their random charges.
I personally find that the most irritating element, it's random. If it was every parcel, fine, I could deal with it, but it is completely random and unless you are tracking it like an obsessive (which I do) you don't know until about 5 days later that it's stuck in customs when a little letter comes through your door. Then you have to wait another day or two.
This subject tends to send me off on serious rants, sorry.

in australia it doesn't seem to make a difference, but i might be wrong. i've had people on skullbrain send me stuff and write a madeup value ($10 used toy) and then i've had s7 write the true value/description (ie $250 toy). either way, i still seem to get it fine.

i have had to pay up to 80% value of an item because of this...

particularily the "processing" fee,,,which is £13/$26,,,added onto the tax amount they figure for the stated value...

it really hurts with lower priced items,,,one time i had something sent from japan worth 6500yen...

i had to pay £24/$48 just to get it from their grips...complete bastards...

to my knowledge,,the UK and canada are the worst for this,,i think US customs could give a shit...

i feel bad repeatedly asking this of people i am buying things from,,but i am just trying to avoid the burn...

this happen to me shipping to cananda one time i had no idea about the tax so
i put the real value of the item as thats what i wanted it issured at said it was werth $200 the person wrote me back saying they had to pay another $100 to get it due to the item being taxed and then shipped to the the person and they wernt there then there was a holding fee
just had a smooth transaction with the count( a little late on my behalf but he didnt have to pay anything) sent it gift and put the real value of the item
these thing already cost enough without gettin taxed id be pissed if every couple packages i had to pay extra for

I've had to pay duty on stuff, the first time I was getting something from Toy Tokyo and I think it came to something like $60 on a $90 toy. It's happened a handful of times since then, I think it might happen mostly on UPS things but I could be wrong.

Goods and services tax........ my nemesis. It can be a proper pain in the ass, sometimes they'll hold it in customs for ages before they actually mention that they have it! Meanwhile you're shitting it trying to work out what's happened to your stuff.

Everytime I ship to the UK or Canada I always ask about this. As far a I know dealing with customs and freight toys shipped to the US are tax free as long as its yours or a gift. So mark it up and hope it gets lost!

I think I have a ToyTokyo package currently waiting to be collected from Parcelforce with a $45 charge on it . . . bizzarely the documentation informing me it's there states it's come from Korea!

Regarding shipping . . . I always request reduced valuations and where possible a tracked service. Just on the off chance it does go MIA they should be able to narrow down where it disappeared . . . Damage is a risk, so bulletproof packaging is always appreciated!

have had 3 packages go missing with no idea where they are. definitely will be requesting tracking from now on.

really??

in all my years of having records and toys sent here,,nothing has ever gone missing...

i will shut up now before i hex myself

yeah, i'm not sure what's gone wrong but it's a bit gutting. I don't get stuff sent to my home address because it's not safe, so i get stuff sent to my friend's house who works from home... lots of other stuff has arrived so who knows

I've lost a couple pirates somewhere on the bottom of the atlantic, which was upsetting.
But happily aside from that I've always been ok.
Except when I have dealt with Italy. Never send anything to Italy, it is either stolen or beating with sticks as it passes through every single mountain village, regardless if it is out of the way or not. Always damaged or lost, presumably the lost ones were damaged as well, but we'll never know.
I suspect that the Italian post must employ lots of bent punk rock posties who like nicking vinyl of the round flat variety.