After having some customs hassle with stuff I purchased, it was fun to watch a TV documentary about the main customs office in Frankfurt last week.
Background
The dollar is really low right now. Plus, things are generally cheaper in the States. So for Europeans, it is really tempting to do loads of shopping online in the US right now. The thing is, you need to pay taxes on those things, at least after a certain value. It is 19% VAT in any case, plus customs fees depending on the item - I think most are 12%.
So when you buy in the States, and the package is more than app. 25$, you need to add another 31% to the price, because that is what customs will charge - if the intercept the package, at least.
Frankfurt
The main customs office is in Frankfurt; even if you live right across the border from a neighboring town in another country, the mail will be processed in Frankfurt first, then forwarded. That I already knew, but I was surprised at the extent of their activities.
Contraband
It seems that forging Nigerian passports is huge, at least the number of passports intercepted in Frankfurt was impressive. And those were mostly not destined for Germany at all, but other European countries - yet they were checked in Frankfurt, so I assume they are handling inter-European mail as well.
Steroids seem to be a lucrative market as well; anabolic shots were hidden in jars of paint and other "regular looking" packages. Or how about fake watches? Loads of those around...
Of course they also found drugs, for example hidden in a fully functional deo roll-on... they had to saw that one open.
X-Ray
It looked as if most packages were x-rayed in Frankfurt, with most hidden compartments showing up there already. Since seeing that, I always wonder what my purchases must look like in their scanners... like Soap's delicious soaps and tiny samples.
Undervalued
A major problem seemed to be that people state an item's value as lower on the outside, which should hopefully reduce the customs fees and taxes you have to pay. Only... customs uses Google. Like a genuine Guess jacket with fur (disgusting) that was valued at 50$ on the outside.
I actually witnessed customs' disbelief locally, when they sent a business man away who wanted to pick up some technical gizmo here in Hamburg. He was supposed to bring proof of the low price; when he was gone, they started gossipping about how much the item actually cost and pulling up eBay and Google to prove it.
The gap in their argument was actually that they required him to bring printed out emails if he had nothing else... now the thing is, I could forge those in 10 minutes.
My own trouble
Well, two packages were intercepted. Which hadn't happened in a while. One was 4 pillow covers from Joom, which they actually opened in Frankfurt. Now I don't know if they didn't believe the receipt that was included inside, or just chose to ignore it - I had to bring another receipt.
My soaps, I had to show them item by item what was in the sample bag... it looked as if they almost expected drugs, with the soap smell only meant to cover that.
But they were nice... kind of. They waived customs and taxes on the soaps, though I knew I was above the limit by 2$. And customs on the pillows was 20$, which is what I expected. And I didn't mind, because it was still a "steal" for what I got. :)
How to avoid trouble with customs
Honestly, I am not sure. Officially, pasting an envelope to the outside which has the receipt in it (and is marked as such) should do the trick. But then again, they opened the package with a receipt inside, and still I had to show up for that package.
Most importantly, do not lie about the value. Do not mark is as a gift. Even if it is marked as gift, customs can ask the receiving party for proof of value. If you include a receipt, that will only make things worse.
It is not your duty as a seller to involve in illegal activities for the sake of the customer. It is not your duty to lie on official documents. They are responsible for any customs and taxes in their own country.
And let's be honest - I have hardly ever had to pay customs. Most packages arrive without a price tag, so I really do not mind paying for the ones where I do have to pay taxes. I do mind the extra hassle it takes to go down there, but I currently have an experiment whereby the receipt is on the outside- and I am curious to see if that package arrives here or not.
_____________________________
Update
I did some more research. First of all, the current limit without customs fees is 22€ or 32$. Since shipping is also taxed, that means most of my purchases hit that limit.
But! December 1st this year will see the end to all my troubles... the limit is lifted to 150€ or 220$. Problem solved, I am never above that.
Here are the most common customs fees as well:
Textiles: 12%
Leather: 4%
Gold & silver jewelry: 2,5%
Costume jewelry: 4%
Prints & art: free
Cosmetics: 0-6,5%