Bricklink/BrickOwl - Discussion, questions, & answers

[BP]

Ouch

[Phil B]

Ladies and Gents,

I have a quote request from a 0 feedback BrickOwl buyer, account created 3hrs and 12 minutes ago, for the most expensive item in my shop. Wants to know if I ship to Denmark. I don't want to judge, but this feels like it might be an attempted scam. Shipping is about 50% of the total value of the order.

Do I politely decline to provide a quote?

Is there a way I can go through with this without exposing myself to all sorts of risks? I.e. how do I cover myself?

Thanks.

[Cozei]

I can't answer your scam question accurately, but the scenario doesn't seem implausible.

Is it not listed on BL?
I don't shop BOwl, but if I could only find a part there I'd make an account and place order. Seems like buyer is sensibly asking for international quote.

Rather rarified scammer that targets such a niche outlet as BOwl.

[Phil B]

32 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Ladies and Gents,

I have a quote request from a 0 feedback BrickOwl buyer, account created 3hrs and 12 minutes ago, for the most expensive item in my shop. Wants to know if I ship to Denmark. I don't want to judge, but this feels like it might be an attempted scam. Shipping is about 50% of the total value of the order.

Do I politely decline to provide a quote?

Is there a way I can go through with this without exposing myself to all sorts of risks? I.e. how do I cover myself?

Thanks.

Never mind .... His quote request was empty, and I realized I had a public note saying No International Shipping on the listing (that I had forgotten about), so this was an easy answer.

[minicoopers11]

That isn't abnormal.

[donbee]

I have an international dilemma. A Spaniard bought about $380 worth of poly bags from me. I mailed it first class. It has arrived in Spain and he claims it is being held by customs because I wrote the value of the Lego on The customs slip. He says he told me not to write its value, which he didn't and is upset that he had to give a "gift" to get his package from the post office. I don't know if he means bribe or fine.

I don't think I did anything wrong. I did mark it as a $400 "gift" on the USPS customs form. Are there some taxes or tariffs he was trying to avoid or something?

[RedBaron]

I had a similar issue with an order from Spain.  My buyer is from La Coruna.  The order was placed on August 7 and arrived in Madrid August 16.  They held it in customs for over a month, but he finally received the package.  He asked me about what I valued the order on the customs paper.  It finally turned out fine, but had me concerned for a while.  I played kind of innocent and ignorant of the customs laws in Spain.  I did not have any issues after that except for the long wait.

[Phil B]

5 hours ago, donbee said:

I have an international dilemma. A Spaniard bought about $380 worth of poly bags from me. I mailed it first class. It has arrived in Spain and he claims it is being held by customs because I wrote the value of the Lego on The customs slip. He says he told me not to write its value, which he didn't and is upset that he had to give a "gift" to get his package from the post office. I don't know if he means bribe or fine.

I don't think I did anything wrong. I did mark it as a $400 "gift" on the USPS customs form. Are there some taxes or tariffs he was trying to avoid or something?

I wouldn't have marked it as "gift". He bought it from you, it is commercial material with $400 value. Put it in your store terms. By lying on a customs form you commit fraud.

[Kevink24]

7 hours ago, donbee said:

I have an international dilemma. A Spaniard bought about $380 worth of poly bags from me. I mailed it first class. It has arrived in Spain and he claims it is being held by customs because I wrote the value of the Lego on The customs slip. He says he told me not to write its value, which he didn't and is upset that he had to give a "gift" to get his package from the post office. I don't know if he means bribe or fine.

I don't think I did anything wrong. I did mark it as a $400 "gift" on the USPS customs form. Are there some taxes or tariffs he was trying to avoid or something?

I wouldn’t have marked it as gift either; however, you did the right thing by writing the value on the customs form. I believe that it is a requirement, no matter what “category” (gift, sample, commercial, etc.) is sent. Each country is different, but in my experience when shipping international, there are taxes associated with certain dollar amount thresholds.  The buyers generally are required to pay the customs taxes/fees associated with their purchase, not you, but it does help to have it in your store terms (like Phil said) so that they understand too.

For example, I have shipped a few items to the UK, and each time UK customs will hold the shipment for as long as it takes till they receive their tax money from the purchaser. I had one item sit in customs for a month and a half till the buyer paid the fees. Understandably, the gov’t wants their portion that is owed to them.

Your Spanish buyer more than likely had to pay some form of customs fee/ tax for their poly bags, not some bribe or fine, and is trying to be a bit dramatic. I wouldn’t sweat it. You did the right thing by listing the value.

[donbee]

I wouldn't have marked it as "gift". He bought it from you, it is commercial material with $400 value. Put it in your store terms. By lying on a customs form you commit fraud.

I was wondering about that.
I usually mark gift on it for domestic stuff. Never really considered it a big deal except for international. But I thought as long as it's under the value limit, it didn't matter.

[DadsAFOL]

This debate has thrived on BL since way before I started 7 years ago.  Always mark it correctly.  One tip I learned that I will pass along: for description use "plastic toy parts" not "Lego".  Seeing "Lego" may tempt thieves in the postal/customs process to open the package.  Also from time to time some customs agencies stop "Lego" packages to check for counterfeit items, although its been a while since I've heard of that happening.

Definitely mark as merchandise.  The HTS Tariff code is 9503.00.00 and supposedly adding that on the form helps expedite processing.

As for the value, be accurate, but don't include shipping.  Include any discounts or coupons you've given.  if you are going to round, round down.  In the case above, if the actual value was $380 and you put $400 on the form, the buyer had to pay import tax on $20 unfairly.  So the amount you put on the form matters!

Sadly the costliest limits are shipping to the UK.  Any value over £15 (~$25) gets hit with a 30% tax PLUS an "administrative fee" of £7 to collect that tax.  Unfortunately may buyers in the UK aren't aware of this restriction.  Its been suggested for years that BL add a popup warning when a buyer checks out like "you acknowledge you may be responsible for customs duties upon receipt of this order".  But typical BL, no action to improve it.  EU threshold is supposed to be €100, but some countries are lax about collecting it, so its hit or miss.  Germany and Italy are pretty consistent with enforcement.  Canada is also $100 threshold, also inconsistently collected.

[Val-E]

9 hours ago, donbee said:

I have an international dilemma. A Spaniard bought about $380 worth of poly bags from me. I mailed it first class. It has arrived in Spain and he claims it is being held by customs because I wrote the value of the Lego on The customs slip. He says he told me not to write its value, which he didn't and is upset that he had to give a "gift" to get his package from the post office. I don't know if he means bribe or fine.

I don't think I did anything wrong. I did mark it as a $400 "gift" on the USPS customs form. Are there some taxes or tariffs he was trying to avoid or something?

They woud have bought from you hoping to save Spanish Value Added Tax of 21%. If you declare real value over 20 USD on the bill/transport docs, customs at the Spanish Postal Service here will stop it and charge VAT and customs duty. Doesn´t matter if it´s labelled gift, it´s the declared amount that counts.

However, If he asked you not to declare the value, I think you should have either accepted or told him straight out you were not going to do it. As a customer, I would expect that from my seller same as if I asked them to ship it in a sturdy box and they did not say no but sent it in a plastic bag.

Edited October 8, 2016 by Val-E

[donbee]

They woud have bought from you hoping to save Spanish Value Added Tax of 21%. If you declare real value over 20 USD on the bill/transport docs, customs at the Spanish Postal Service here will stop it and charge VAT and customs duty. Doesn´t matter if it´s labelled gift, it´s the declared amount that counts.
However, If he asked you not to declare the value, I think you should have either accepted or told him straight out you were not going to do it. As a customer, I would expect that from my seller same as if I asked them to ship it in a sturdy box and they did not say no but sent it in a plastic bag.

He didn't ask me anything about declaration. He must have forgotten. Has a rating of over 500. I figured he was well versed at this. I've shipped to several countries. At least 20 times. First time I've had this issue.
Though I've only shipped to Britain and Ireland in Europe.

[donbee]

This debate has thrived on BL since way before I started 7 years ago.  Always mark it correctly.  One tip I learned that I will pass along: for description use "plastic toy parts" not "Lego".  Seeing "Lego" may tempt thieves in the postal/customs process to open the package.  Also from time to time some customs agencies stop "Lego" packages to check for counterfeit items, although its been a while since I've heard of that happening.
Definitely mark as merchandise.  The HTS Tariff code is 9503.00.00 and supposedly adding that on the form helps expedite processing.
As for the value, be accurate, but don't include shipping.  Include any discounts or coupons you've given.  if you are going to round, round down.  In the case above, if the actual value was $380 and you put $400 on the form, the buyer had to pay import tax on $20 unfairly.  So the amount you put on the form matters!
Sadly the costliest limits are shipping to the UK.  Any value over £15 (~$25) gets hit with a 30% tax PLUS an "administrative fee" of £7 to collect that tax.  Unfortunately may buyers in the UK aren't aware of this restriction.  Its been suggested for years that BL add a popup warning when a buyer checks out like "you acknowledge you may be responsible for customs duties upon receipt of this order".  But typical BL, no action to improve it.  EU threshold is supposed to be €100, but some countries are lax about collecting it, so its hit or miss.  Germany and Italy are pretty consistent with enforcement.  Canada is also $100 threshold, also inconsistently collected.

Thank you for clarifying so much for me. I didn't expect to sell $300 worth of Lego on BL when I first started. Let alone in a single order. Nor did i expect to depend so much on international sales. I'll update my policies and invoices.

[Val-E]

3 minutes ago, donbee said:

 

He didn't ask me anything about declaration. He must have forgotten. Has a rating of over 500. I figured he was well versed at this. I've shipped to several countries. At least 20 times. First time I've had this issue.
Though I've only shipped to Britain and Ireland in Europe.

I´m sorry, I misread your OP! My bad.

Every country has different rules. If you had used DHL, it would have had a customs clearance fee regardless of the value as that´s how they roll here. The Chinese always use the national postal service and declare 20 euros max to get around it.

[longshot]

Just stated to navigate BL and need some advise on simply parting out a set to know the current value of the pieces VS selling as a set without adding it into inventory. I tried to create a wanted list but it didnt show any pricing? Right now I have zero inventory cus I mostly sell sets new/used but will be slowly populating pieces into my BL store. 

Thanx as always guys

[SpaceFan9]

For a quick answer, you can use the built-in part out calculator: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp

For a more accurate comparison, I part out the set into the BrickStock software, and update the prices based on the price guide.  Once in brickstock, you can adjust prices as you want, export the inventory, and then upload it to bricklink for sale.

HTH

[Phil B]

20 minutes ago, longshot said:

Just stated to navigate BL and need some advise on simply parting out a set to know the current value of the pieces VS selling as a set without adding it into inventory. I tried to create a wanted list but it didnt show any pricing? Right now I have zero inventory cus I mostly sell sets new/used but will be slowly populating pieces into my BL store. 

Thanx as always guys

Go to Catalog->Price Guide, type in the set number in the "Parts" section and there you go. Alternatively, for better control, download BrickStock and do Ctrl-I-I, enter the set number (including "-1" at the end) and once loaded, do Ctrl-A Ctrl-G to get the current prices.

[longshot]

Thanx..........I'll give it a shot. I cant promise not to screw this up and be asking more questions though.........LOL

[longshot]

Is there a way either through bricklink or brick stock to look at a parted out set a see what the percentage of that group of parts is "in demand" verses just collecting dust with a perceived value?

Thanx

[Phil B]

17 minutes ago, longshot said:

Is there a way either through bricklink or brick stock to look at a parted out set a see what the percentage of that group of parts is "in demand" verses just collecting dust with a perceived value?

Thanx

Not that I know - you would need to go part by part and look at the price-guide statistics (which is easier in BrickStock as it is displayed in the left sidepane when you highlight an item). I have written custom software that gives me those kinds of statistics though, I'm sure others have done so as well.

[longshot]

Yeah unfortunately that is way above my knowledge of computers. I use the programs well enough but as far as writing software.........yeah not my thing.......lol

When you say price-guide statistics, what info does it give you?

[Phil B]

6 minutes ago, longshot said:

Yeah unfortunately that is way above my knowledge of computers. I use the programs well enough but as far as writing software.........yeah not my thing.......lol

When you say price-guide statistics, what info does it give you?

It shows you how often a part or set has been sold (first column under New or second column under Used), as well as how many parts/sets are currently offered for sale (third/fourth column). If you filter by currency you get more info on your particular country (although some people list in USD, and countries other than the US use USD as their listing currency). A popular part will have many sales as well as many listings. A desired part (able to fetch higher prices) will have a high sales/listings ratio.

[longshot]

Gotcha..........Thanx a bunch. 

[gregpj]

On 10/8/2016 at 10:02 AM, DadsAFOL said:

Canada is also $100 threshold, also inconsistently collected.

Items received in Canada are duty/tax exempt when the value is less than $20 on commercial goods and $60 for gifts. You're right it is inconsistently collected but that inconsistency is more common when it's coming from a non-English speaking country (and the postal delivery person is too lazy to figure it out). Also, the more realistic threshold is about $30 for commercial goods.

When Canada Post collects the taxes/duties, they are also supposed to collect a $9.95 CDN administration fee. This has also been inconsistent in my experience but they've been more consistently collecting of late.