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  • fuckedgaijin ‹ General ‹ Gaijin Ghetto

Need info on shipping crap to the states

Groovin' in the Gaijin Gulag
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Need info on shipping crap to the states

Postby devicenull » Fri Oct 01, 2004 8:03 pm

I already know the prices from the local post, and I now need to know if there are any weird regulations that I should be aware of. Basically I found a way to make money (idiots in america who want shit and are willing to pay double the cost), and I need to know what crazy things are involved in the shipping. Looking at 30kg per shipment... If I do this right, I rake in about $1-2k per shipment and still manage to keep the prices "sane".

So, my questions:
1. Any weird taxes I need to be aware of?
2. What is prohibited?
3. What is not a good idea to ship anyways?
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Postby Blah Pete » Sat Oct 02, 2004 9:44 am

What kind of stuff are you shipping? Books? electronics? food?
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Not that I'm a Kinder Egg Smuggler or anything

Postby Kuang_Grade » Sat Oct 02, 2004 11:01 am

This should help you off as a start, although it less than clear on some issues (like what the duties would be if you get hit with them).

http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/publications/travel/internationalmail.ctt/internationalmail.doc

You'll probably want to keep the value of the shipments under $2K unless you want to step up to next level of paperwork.

And I'm not a lawyer, but merely a US citizen highly conditioned to be aware of liability issues, but importing it and selling it in the US might open you to certain legal issues (such as food labeling and child safety issues), while if you sold it directly from Japan to people in the US you may not be (ie, they know they're buying it from a foreign country and therefore it's clear it may not conform to US standards, while if they buy it in the US, there is the assumption that US standards would apply to the products.

For example, Kinder Eggs, which you can buy here in Japan and all over in Europe are effectively banned in the US due to small pieces in the toys and child safety issues, although Candians and Europeans do sell them to US folks via the internet.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/06/24/financial0958EDT0035.DTL

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Postby Harvey » Sat Oct 02, 2004 12:44 pm

I recommend signing up to this mailing list.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/SmallBizJapan/

Lots of people doing business in Japan share tips all the time. Very helpful.

Also, I remember hearing recently there was a law changed that makes it easier for sending large volumes of food overseas from japan. You might want to look into that. You can send people loads of Pocky now for cheaper ;-)

Good luck!
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Re: Not that I'm a Kinder Egg Smuggler or anything

Postby devicenull » Sat Oct 02, 2004 1:29 pm

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Re: Not that I'm a Kinder Egg Smuggler or anything

Postby yakinoumiso » Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:49 pm

devicenull wrote:thanks... but it is a little different than selling it in the US. All payments are in advance before I even buy the desired items and are then delivered to the customer. Only difference is that I am going to send it all at once to a US address first and have them redistribute it because otherwise, shipping rates are insane. :P


Have you looked into using Japan Post's, EMS service. Their rates to North America and Western Europe seem fairly good. http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/fee/intel/ems.html Unless you have some really good way to ship things to your distribution point in the States, I'd seriously consider using EMS.

I know you didn't mention shipping food, but if you do, keep in mind that preauthorization with the FDA is required for all food items. The exception being anything homemade. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsbtact.html
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Re: Not that I'm a Kinder Egg Smuggler or anything

Postby devicenull » Mon Oct 04, 2004 2:04 am

yakinoumiso wrote:
devicenull wrote:thanks... but it is a little different than selling it in the US. All payments are in advance before I even buy the desired items and are then delivered to the customer. Only difference is that I am going to send it all at once to a US address first and have them redistribute it because otherwise, shipping rates are insane. :P


Have you looked into using Japan Post's, EMS service. Their rates to North America and Western Europe seem fairly good. http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/fee/intel/ems.html Unless you have some really good way to ship things to your distribution point in the States, I'd seriously consider using EMS.

I know you didn't mention shipping food, but if you do, keep in mind that preauthorization with the FDA is required for all food items. The exception being anything homemade. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsbtact.html


yea, found the EMS thing, revised strategy. mass ships to the US will only be on big heavy things that there are alot of i think. food is somewhat in demand... just signed up for an account... mmm paperwork. I like paperwork. all i want to do is send some Image to crazy weird people who want it :(
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Shipping to the US

Postby Mini_B » Mon Oct 04, 2004 5:21 am

I ship to the US a couple times a week. My business is electronic exports. I've used EMS, FED EX, BAX Global and UPS.

Fed Ex is definately the quickest but it's the most expensive. EMS is pretty quick too...usually takes between 3-5 days to arrive. BUT...there are a couple downfalls about EMS. Their online tracking systems sucks. They're sometimes a little rough with the boxes....and...if you ever have to file a claim for damaged or missing goods...EMS will take forever. I just got done with a claim for a $2000 shipment of goods that was sent a couple months ago. They came to my house and paid me cash.

Fed Ex, on the other hand, has great online tracking, takes 2 days to arrive to the US but is very, very expensive.

You can get around paying duties with EMS (sometimes). You can figure that out on your own. But sometimes you'll get a bill a couple months later from US Customs when using EMS...so be careful!

You can find any form online for the product that you're exporting. Make sure that you know the harmonized code to go along with your product too to make the customs inspection a little quicker.

Good luck - make a buck.
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