[LargeFormat] Import duty and VAT ON Ebay purchases

[Michael Briggs]

On 06-Mar-2003 Jim Brick wrote:

> I've bought many things on eBay and retail mail order, from Canada, 
> England, Germany, etc. I'm in the US and have never paid anything in duty. 
> The mail folks just leave it on the front porch.

I wouldn't count on not paying duty.  When packages arrive by USPS, sometimes
they charge duty and sometimes they don't, with no pattern that I can discern.
The one time I had an international package arrive by UPS, not only was I
charged duty, but in the wrong category so that I was overcharged.  I was able
to get a refund from UPS with some effort.

US residents can look up the duty rates at
http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/tariff2001.asp
Generally, used or new has nothing to do with the duty, except of course in the
value of the item.   The exception is that items older than 100 years are duty
free as antiques.

--Michael