@minijunkie
@katlover1952
Most Shipping Companies are emphasizing two relevant changes.
1. @katlover1952 Filling in the accurate Country Of Origin is mandatory. The "Point of Origin" or location of the shipping centre isn't acceptable regardless of the advice of the Canada Post employee who misinformed you. Most items used to make it thru customs if you put "Unknown" for the COO provided you had an accurate descriptionbut I wouldn't do that right now.
In the 80's I sent a rental drumset from Vancouver to Seatle. I got a call from the US Border Patrol. They detained the band set to play in Seatle. They wanted to know the COO of the muffliing blanket I had put in the bass drum (just a wool blanket). They were probably just looking for a reason to search them.
One thing you could do is group all your items that have no COO into a category for "Domestic Sales Only" where a COO isn't required. If you use business policies this is very easy to do. You will just lose the US market for those items.
2. Accurately Identifying the contents of the package.
To avoid theft in transit most of us put generic descriptions on the items. Today I checked with SHIPPO USA for updates. This is what they have to say about Descriptions.
" Warning:
When declaring items, it is critical that you are not vague in describing your item.
If the Custom Agency cannot determine what is in your package, they reserve the right to hold it for clarification, return the package, and/or discard the package.
Examples of vagueness include descriptions such as: "gift," "bottle," "box", and "supplies."
To ensure your package successfully makes its way through customs, please be descriptive as possible and do not leave your description open to interpretation.
I still wouldn't put "Jimi Hendrix Autograph" or "Taylor Swift's Tambourine" on the customs form. Sellers may want to revisit their own policies. Maybe put "Entertainment Autograph" or " Tambourine" instead as not to ask for it to go missing. Something that is an accurate description but not an attention getter. I would definately go to the trouble to find the full HS code if it is beyond the typical 6 digits.
* @minijunkie
@minijunkie wrote:
Yeah I’m just unclear what the guidelines and amounts are. The thing that’s tripping me up is the de minimis exec order this week specifically talks about goods of Chinese origin.
Your not the only one who is confused... LOL
I think the De Minimis will be in negotiation for awhile. Goods under $800 going into the USA from Canada have been exempt and the change on specific countries is what you mention.
There is also the de minimis for goods coming FROM the USA into Canada which is CAD $150 for customs duties and CAD $40 for taxes. When Trump says things are unfair he's not totally wrong. Canada has yet to say if we are changing our incoming de minimis.
It's out of my control. It's out of eBay's control. All eBay is saying so far is "you can't include these costs in the item's purchase and shipping price. Make sure to let international buyers know this in your listings."
It's between US Customs and the buyer.
