Ordering multiple Hikvision cameras in one order

[icerabbit]

I'm curious if other forum members have had any issues with customs / import duty, when they order two, three, four cameras at once from one of the sellers on aliexpress.

A small cam seems to slip under the radar or may simply fall in a basic category that is ignored due to small package size, low value, etc.

But, I'm wondering and a bit worried about combining shipping on a few different cams, or buying a 4-pack.

I've had substantial duty costs with average size packages to & from Canada & especially to Europe. Even true personal gifts, that had some value and you get hit with 20% on what they claim is the value + shipping. That's right pay tax on the shipping & insurance into Euro.

 

[hmjgriffon]

I'm curious if other forum members have had any issues with customs / import duty, when they order two, three, four cameras at once from one of the sellers on aliexpress.

A small cam seems to slip under the radar or may simply fall in a basic category that is ignored due to small package size, low value, etc.

But, I'm wondering and a bit worried about combining shipping on a few different cams, or buying a 4-pack.

I've had substantial duty costs with average size packages to & from Canada & especially to Europe. Even true personal gifts, that had some value and you get hit with 20% on what they claim is the value + shipping. That's right pay tax on the shipping & insurance into Euro.

I only ordered one cam from China and I didn't even think about duties. No one else said they had to pay any so I dunno if I would on multiple cameras, hell, since I know I can get one at a time for free, I can just do separate orders so they all come in a separate box, who cares? They will all get here just the same. Game the system man, it damn sure games you.

 

[icerabbit]

I hear you. I know I can do a handful of separate orders. Like order one a week. Haha. At the same I'd be happy for them to just ship one package, save them some work & cost. Be kind to the Julia and CCTV that offer us the chance to get cams we like

 

[hmjgriffon]

I hear you. I know I can do a handful of separate orders. Like order one a week. Haha. At the same I'd be happy for them to just ship one package, save them some work & cost. Be kind to the Julia and CCTV that offer us the chance to get cams we like

Do you pay duties on everything that comes in to Canada? This camera is the first thing I've ever had shipped from outside of the US so I've never had to deal with duties.

 

[camillo777]

I recently ordered 1 camera from aliexpress (Julia and CCTV) and unfortunately had to pay 30 euros of customs... am I unlucky?

 

[Bow94z]

I got two shipped and paid nothing but the camera prices to the US

 

[networkcameracritic]

Technically you should pay duties on all imported electronics from China, at least in the U.S. If you have gotten away with it, consider yourself lucky. Any other federal crimes you want to confess to in a public forum ?

 

[Bow94z]

Minimum thresholdsDuty is not charged if the value of the imported goods is up to US$200. (dutycalculator.com)


how does that work, do they send a bill or something?

If we buying these Cams at $104 shipped, what do you think it costs CCTV china to ship them

 

[icerabbit]

Federal crime?
Please make this thread self-destruct in another week then!

All I know from a past retail transaction with some value between Canada & US that customs/duty were involved. It really stinks when an order needs to cross the US-CAN border again for the return of defective item followed by the shipping of a new functional item. Duty ends up getting paid three times! Forgot what the item was. It's been 10 yrs or more and must have been some computer or camera item of $250 or more.

I also know that shipments into the EU get looked at closely. At least in some countries like UK, DE, BE, NL, ... in a little process called customs clearance, which typically takes 1-5 business days. I've had shipments lost to family members, without tracking & insurance. Last time I sent something valuable & insured to Europe 2-day it was >$100 shipping. The item was in limbo for at least 5 business days. Then > 100 Euros VAT and DUTY had to be collected from the recipient. No excuse / exception that the item was truly a personal family gift, not NIB commercial good, nor a retail transaction.

Very small packages to EU marked as gift and valued under 10-20 euros tend to go through without VAT & duty, I think.

Anyway. I thought there was some exemption or threshold for personal items shipped to the US as well, just like when you fly declaring items over/under a certain value. When it comes to shipped goods, I just don't know what it is, as I rarely order anything from abroad. Is it $50? $100?

 

[icerabbit]

Minimum thresholdsDuty is not charged if the value of the imported goods is up to US$200. (dutycalculator.com)

how does that work, do they send a bill or something?

If we buying these Cams at $104 shipped, what do you think it costs CCTV china to ship them

They drop off a note that you need to go pick up the package at the post office, where they present you with the bill. No money. No package.

Thanks for sharing that duty calculator. Looks like the threshold CN-US is $200.

I recall reading somewhere that China Post has super cheap international shipping to support the export of goods.

So, if a camera is listed for $105 with FS; I'd figure the breakdown might be: camera $75, profit $20 and $10 for shipping?

 

[networkcameracritic]

The duty for cameras from China I believe is 1.9%. For example, had a NVR with a few cameras, maybe $800 and was sent a bill for $15 by FedEx. What triggers it, who knows.

The sad thing with Federal crimes in the U.S. is you have to serve out the entire sentence. You get 10 years, you are there for exactly 10 years. My friend's brother is serving 12 years, 3 months. But they won't give you that much time, he stole $85m from the government, you are peanuts, LOL.