The Easy Way To Buy Watches In Foreign Countries Without Bad Surprises. A Quick Guide.
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- Do you have to pay customs? Do you have to pay VAT? Does shipping work properly between continents? And how to calculate all costs in advance?
These questions I will answer in this video. Topics are limits import duties, shipping and more.
A quick guide, very easy to use.
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I use the tactic of; wear it on the plane , ship the packaging/boxes with airmail. In the Netherlands we have import fees from 1 euro and for watches specifically we pay 25.5%..
I do the same, with cameras too lol
this is the most trustworthy dude on the internet!
The de minimis limit in Canada is a mere $20.00 For countries other than the USA from which the limit depends on whether the goods are shipped by post or courier (UPS, DHL, etc.). Often, if a parcel arrives by post and is above the limit, it gets through the system with no tax or duty added. Couriers, of course, collect duty and taxes as well as adding a hefty processing fee.
This has been my experience as well. I was fortunate that Canada Post let my prize package get through with no charges.
The limit is supposed to be $100 CDN I usually still make deals buying from Europe or Japan but the worst are DHL who charges you 50$ on top of taxes & customs for "brokerage fees" that's just fraud. I insists sellers don't ship with DHL and it's fine.
The de minimis limit in the USA is not supposed to change by carrier. It is $800. Sometimes the carriers try to cheat you because they only get to charge extra fees if they also collect tax, but it is $800.
Tim your channel is the best way to start my weekend as these episodes drop Friday night in aus thanks mate
Glad to hear that, thank you!
Thanks for the link to the Import Duty Calculator. I knew the US allowed up to $800 USD (after a lot of research through convoluted government documents) but this will definitely make a difference for any watch purchase above that limit. Just received a watch from a Spanish business that was slow moving through customs but otherwise, all went well.
Cool that the Moels watch made it to my hometown of Vancouver 😊
Nomos is wise to currency and country variations. They will price the watch at the retail price where you live to protect their retailers.
Some years ago I tried to buy a light modifier for watch photos from the US because it was very much less there but they always switched to the U.K. web page.
Brexit has ruined the importing part of the hobby because some EU firms will not remove the VAT at their end so no matter how much I like the watch I will not pay VAT twice. I note that while Italy may have lower prices shipping costs can be very high.
Very good information as always Tim.
It wasn't Brexit, it's a knock-on effect of the American banks forcing the world's banks to use the "know your customers" b.s that ostensibly was introduced to stop international money launderers but actually only affected normal people and small businesses who need to move small amounts of cash overseas. The immediately available way to do that is with watches, gold, and other luxury goods - which of course means they lowered the threshold for duty fees when importing goods.
@@MiaogisTeas I have bought watches from all over, Japan, China, Argentina , US for example. Every time I paid 20% vat on import, so nothing new.
My point is when I bought from within the EU I paid that country’s vat as part of the vendor’s price. Post Brexit I am asked to pay the vendor’s vat in addition to 20% on import.
That is not supposed to happen but it has to me more than once. Naturally I refused to pay it.
I'm the UK, I have given up on buying anything from the US and Europe. Too expensive and the shipping companies are a law unto themselves with their handling charges.
Blame Brexit.
Those shippers aren’t taking the piss, it’s genuinely a lot harder and more costly to get things in and out of the UK.
Brexit is killing UK manufacturing. We should apply to rejoin the single market.
@@tayne5009 I live in Australia. I have also experienced shipping companies charge whatever they like and there's not much you can do about it as they hold your goods as ransom. The freight industry is fraught with corruption and take advantage of govt loop holes and incompetent customs.
If possible, I try to buy from within the EU to avoid crippling VAT, customs charges and import fees. Sadly, many interesting watches I fancy are JDM-only, so I always need to think of an unavoidable 25% surcharge.
I feel you. I think I paid like 1000 euros already importing stuff from Japan.
BeNeLux tax & import from the very first cent plus administrative costs of Euro 12.00
Even had a colleague paying Euro 12.00 administrative costs to get a British £ 5.00 magazine !
Thanks for this Tim. I've always looked at watches from Japan but never taken the plunge as I was always unsure of import.
I’ve imported from Japan to the UK recently. The Yen was so weak that the total cost was still very attractive.
Thanks for this interesting and informative video.
Thanks for watching, Robin.
Tim, perfect style combo with that ascot and plaid jacket. Fantastick!
8:02 Dial looks pretty good, case and crown looks like pure Chinesium, and the strap looks like "vegan" leather aka plastic. I hope I'm wrong and you have the same person making cases for you as the dials.
The craziest import situation has happened to me last week. I bought a watch from Singapore with free DHL shipping. DHL customs agents then asked me to pay VAT on the cost of transport. When I gave them my "transport fee: 0" invoice, they have requested seller's transport invoice and I had to pay VAT on that. Do you believe I hve grounds for complaining to their main office?
Thanks for the tip about CW, was thinking about adding one to my collection for my birthday but was reluctant due to the customs charges to the EU. I'll give it a go and see what comes out.
Regards from Ireland!
Alex
I live in Brazil, here we pay extra 96% as taxes from products abroad. 60% as import taxes another 26% ( changes from state to state) as a state tax.
Very useful ...thank you 👍
The Netherlands: you'll pay, VAT and the cost of billing you. Also it takes weeks, upto months to pass customs.
Tim's made it. The channel gets spamverts!
Great information, thank you
Anything over $2400 into the U.S. they want your tax ID# or social security, but I don't remember paying any extra cash!
What happens if I import a christopher ward watch to US, pay customs duty, and then return the watch? Can I get the custom duty refunded back to me?
In EU you pay VAT regardless of the value of the item, even if it's only 1€ .... been like this since last year july.
Do you have to pay VAT taxes if you are sending watches out for repair or recieving gifts Just curious my friend if not is sounds like a possible loop hole Just curious my friend 👍
Canada: $20. 100% screwed tax wise for imports.
Thank for the usefull info! But I think that this trick with CW is not properly right. The price difference between € and £ is probably to cover the custom expenses... Can I ask you if you have ordered from CW this way? I am afraid that if I do that CW won't cover the custom expenses ( and VAT) so i will have to do it myself, which would be much more expensive... what is your opinion?
Yes, it was confirmed several times by members of the German Uhrforum. Does work ;-)
@@CasebackWatches This is great! Very kind of you to share this info. Thanks.
@@CasebackWatches I have tried it and it really work for Germany! Thank you once again!
Tim, can we vote for this years Christmas song? 🎸
Of course 😀
Hi Tim, do you know what happens when you bought a watch abroad, payed your VAT, but after some time you need to send it out for repair? Do you need to pay double VAT or is there a way to avoid a double VAT charge?
Sorry, I never had that case. I'm not sure.
If you are in the UK, there is a customs form you can use to ship your watch off for a repair in another country.
The guy I wanted to use decicded to move to Carcasonne in France because of Brexit, but I am not sure I would trust anything valuable with UK customs right now. These people are officious and love charging you handling fees for doing their job. Even if duty is minimal or non-existant, the risk of handling fees and encountering an idiot in an office makes me just ... say ... no.
Brexit's so stupid.
AFAIK you can send stuff with temporary export and then you don't pay anything. It's specifically for such cases.
Tim, you forgot to mention that Germany has a very good public health system.
Not anymore
Canada has a $20 import limit. Ridiculous!
Sorry, but the information presented here is partially incorrect. In all of the EU (and so also in Germany) there are no more "limits" where you do not have to pay VAT. Since July you have to pay VAT from the first Euro on.
True, thanks for the correction.
european taxes are disgusting
That doesn't seem quite right. In the United States at least, a watch isn't just a watch. It's a movement, a case, and a strap, each of which is taxed at a different rate. So you can't just enter one number to get the duty on a watch. Also, I doubt very much that watches from Germany are exempt from import duty. In fact, I'm quite sure they're not.
That's not a realistic scenario. It would prevent any form of trade. In case of a B2B transaction it might be more complicated, but a normal consumer has to state the number of the good. There is a large catalogue where you can find everything from watch to T-shirt.
And watches from Germany are not exempt. But the limit up to which you can buy the watch duty free is relatively high.
@@CasebackWatches I put $10,000 into your tool, and it still showed $0, and same if I put in China or Japan. It's simply wrong for the United States. The limit for Germany is the same $800 as everywhere else. And that is indeed the scenario. Watch the video I posted in my other comment. Often the shipper (DHL, FedEx, etc.) will send a "worksheet" asking you to break out the prices of the components of the watch, if the seller didn't did themselves (pro tip: it pays put the bulk of the value in the movement, since it's taxed at the lowest rate); I haven't done it myself, but I've heard numerous reports.
czcams.com/video/YG5PX31mDUw/video.html
Most Americans have no idea how easy they have it without the import taxes and the VAT...
We do have import taxes, or duty. And you are supposed to pay sales tax to your state, even if many get away with not doing so (eBay and Chrono24 will add sales tax to the price of the traction). And you pay the import tax every time you buy an import good in the US, whether you know it or not. The tax is built into the price.
Well, the tax might be "built into the price", but us, Europeans, pay taxes on top of that. So your reply is proving me right: you just have no idea how nice you have it.
@@whereisvanuatu We pay tax on top of the import duty too. It's called sales tax. It's collected at the till if you buy retail, and you're supposed to pay it if you import (which PayPal and Chrono24 will collect). So we pay two taxes too, and no, I didn't prove you right, if you read more carefully. Though it is true that our sales tax is generally lower than your VAT, and our duty free limit is higher. But you have universal health care and free higher education.
I am sorry, but did you watch the video? The online tool is clearly stating that you don’t have to pay a dime over the $1500 you just paid for the watch while I owe almost a quarter of its value in taxes. Granted, there might be other categories of goods you would pay taxes for, but we’re talking about watches here. And yes, you’re right about health care and education, but don’t get me started on the wages we, inhabitants of the former Eastern Block, get and what we can buy with those wages. Really don’t want to go there, so take my initial comment at face value, strictly on the discussed topic.
And if you see my other comment on this thread, that tool is wrong. You can’t tax watches with just one number, and watches are not duty free. We pay import duty if the price is over $800.
This isn't a very useful video. It's basically only useful for importing watches under $800 into the US. The rest of us don't get any value from it.
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