bebop bonnie

We're going to Shanghai and Hong Kong next month. We're really looking forward to among many other things...shopping. Would appreciate any info or experiences about shipping purchases home from China. We really like to travel light so would prefer not to be burdended with much luggage. Thanks!

moondog

you can ship from any post office. sea mail is the only option that makes sense and takes about a month. i wouldn't ship too many fake purses/watches unless you're looking for a customs headache. incidentally, once i bought a suit in hk for around $400 and had it shipped to the us because i didn't have time to pick it up. when it arrived in oakland, i had to pay a whopping duty (maybe 100%, but i can't recall the exact number) just to get it. bottom line: keep your declared value low.

cost is $30-$40 for heavyish boxes.

ButIsItArt

Agree with moondog. At many China Post stations, there is a separate counter to buy boxes and packing tape, and to obtain assistance in packing. Cost is usually about $1-2, and is separate from postage. Sea mail is probably the most feasible option for most heavy, non-breakable items. The clerk will claim it will take 2-3 months to ship, but it is actually closer to 1-1.5 months. Keep the declared value low -- in other words, don't declare your goods using their corresponding US/Canadian/W European prices as a valuation basis. Also, don't ship DVD's, VCD's, or CD's via China Post; you could be setting yourself up for a customs imbroglio later. If you don't speak Chinese, it might also be helpful for you to have a contact in China assist you at the post office.

anacapamalibu

Its easy to set up a DHL account and ship your packages. Just go on-line to
www.dhl-usa.com

Air freight is not cheap. I try to bring back on the plane as much as possible as the baggage allowance of up to 140 bs or more can equal about USD800 in air freight costs.

EMS. postal is least expensive. More difficult to track and not as quick as UPS, FEDEX , or DHL.

Definately don't ship any fake products as US customs is on a high alert for fakes and will confiscate all the items in your package if they find any fake stuff. According to Customs regulations you are legally allowed to bring into the country 1 fake item of differing type..ie: 1 watch, 1 bag, 1 wallet, but don't think this applies to shipping..only transporting through port of entry.

moondog

ime, if you keep the fakes within reason, you shouldn't have any problems. since dvds are light, sometimes i just pack a bunch in a standard dhl mailer for y200 (or y100, if i happen to be in the presence of someone who has an account).

furthermore, you can be a little more agressive ex-hkg.

from both china and hk, dhl/ups are less likely to encounter customs issues, but they cost a lot more than sea mail.

anacapamalibu

[QUOTE=moondog]ime, if you keep the fakes within reason, you shouldn't have any problems. QUOTE]

Man arraigned on China DVD piracy charges
Randolph Hobson Guthrie, 38, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Shanghai last July and was brought to the United States earlier this month. A bond hearing was held in federal court in California, after which Guthrie was released on a secured $1 million bond. Guthrie was sentenced to 30 months in Chinese prison, fined approximately $60,000 and deported after serving his term.

MPAA spends a ton of money on IP enforcment. Not suggested to fool with them.

anacapamalibu

[QUOTE=moondog]ime, if you keep the fakes within reason, you shouldn't have any problems. QUOTE]

Man arraigned on China DVD piracy charges
Randolph Hobson Guthrie, 38, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Shanghai last July and was brought to the United States earlier this month. A bond hearing was held in federal court in California, after which Guthrie was released on a secured $1 million bond. Guthrie was sentenced to 30 months in Chinese prison, fined approximately $60,000 and deported after serving his term.

MPAA spends a ton of money on IP enforcment. Not suggested to fool with them.

bebop bonnie

Thanks, guys for all your help! I'm probably not going to do a lot of DVD's(maybe half a dozen)...and would love a few pocketbooks and maybe 1 or 2 watches....so it sounds like I'll be OK just bringing it back in my luggage....am I reading you right on that??? I guess my concern is also because I'm anticipating that once I see the profusion of things to buy that I'll want to get a little more carried away! So, in anticipation of that, I'm trying to consider my options. Again, thanks for your input..it's appreciated!

moondog

[QUOTE=anacapamalibu]yeah, i remember when that story broke on yahoo; kind of the opposite if "keeping it within reason"

jpatokal

Well, I don't think moondog was suggesting that you should, say, run an international piracy ring and keep a personal collection of 120,000 DVDs like this guy did.

gregorygrady

Like others have said, I'd try to bring as much of it back as possible in your luggage. Although I've heard you only have about a 5% chance of getting your bags inspected by customs upon re-entry to the US from Asia, my bags seem to get inspected at least 50% of the time. Maybe I look like a smuggler or something? I've been to Beijing and back 3 times in the last couple year and been stopped at customs 2 of those times (and I also get stopped often when coming back from other Asian countries for some reason). I bring back ~75-100 DVDs, about 5 purses, a few pairs of shoes, maybe 5 watches, 5-10 articles of fake clothing (Diesel jeans, Nike stuff, Adidas, etc), and ~ 10 pairs of sunglasses each trip. Surprisingly I have never had anything taken from me when customs inspects my bags and I know they must see the stuff. I normally bring empty CD cases (those big ones that hold 50 or 100 CDs) with me to China and take the DVDs out of the cheap plastic holders and stick all the DVDs in the CD cases. I figure that may throw Customs off a bit, especially since I throw a couple legit CDs on top. Then I stuff everything else in the purses and separate them and put one or two in each bag I bring back. Like I said, I've never had a problem re-entering the US, but maybe I've just been lucky. I don't bring the items back for resale, just for gifts and my personal DVD collection. And of course I would play stupid if caught. But at ~6-7 yuan (75-90 cents) apeice for the DVDs, you can't go wrong stocking up on your personal collection. I thought about selling them on eBay but wisely decided against it. As far as DVD tips: Buy old movies. The new movies that are still showing on screen in the US are crap quality on DVD, trust me. I'll be back in China in a week and a half, hopefully my luck continues. Just out of curiousity, has anybody here gotton caught with pirated goods and had it confiscated when returning to the US? If you prefer to not post it publically on this thread, a PM would be appreciated.

moondog

yes, one of my colleagues got nailed at pdx last year. although he was definitely not trying to smuggle anything (REALLY likes shopping), he had three of the largest suitcases i have ever stuffed with purses, ties, watches, dvds, you name it.

we was fined a hefty sum, which he got reduced (maybe even to zero well after the fact, iirc), and a lot of his merchandise was siezed. however, they did let him keep at least one item in each product category.

as another part of his punishment, he will get searched every time he enters the US for 5 years. consequently, he is a mailer now.

anacapamalibu

The US CPB claims he sold 2,000 pirated DVDs to the US. Set his bail at 1 million dollars. That's the same for murder.

Who wants to be the next to be made "an example"?

In Europe they will actually arrest you if they catch you wearing a fake Rolex through customs.

anacapamalibu

Correction...it was ICE. Immigrations Customs Enforcement