Sending items to America from England.

[merlinkitty]

If you get caught sending some with value it would be fraud and cost you a hefty fine. It's a gamble like lying on taxes.

Like what would be considered "value" though?? Like expensive stuff I'm assuming?? Cause all I've ever sent is stuff like a shirt, on bonsai kit (which I declared on the form), and silly little less than $10 puzzles and things of that nature. Stuff that really had no value to me if they were lost in the mail. Not jewelry or anything that individually exceeded $20. I don't want to screw either of us mailing things though, you know?

[Miasmata]

Like what would be considered "value" though?? Like expensive stuff I'm assuming?? Cause all I've ever sent is stuff like a shirt, on bonsai kit (which I declared on the form), and silly little less than $10 puzzles and things of that nature. Stuff that really had no value to me if they were lost in the mail. Not jewelry or anything that individually exceeded $20. I don't want to screw either of us mailing things though, you know?

It's the approximate value of the item when you bought it. I always lowball it a bit, but I never say it's zero, that's just too risky if they do check it.

[merlinkitty]

It's the approximate value of the item when you bought it. I always lowball it a bit, but I never say it's zero, that's just too risky if they do check it.

That's good to know. We ship stuff out for work all the time. I hate doing the international ones and the stuff we ship is like plant material, genetically modified who-knows-what, and like bacteria type crap I can't spell or pronounce. Everyone who ships out always puts the value at $1 because the FedEx forms you have to put something there. The only time they've ever got stuck anywhere is because of what it is and not what's it's potential value might be. It's just good to hear what others say, especially since the post office advised me to put $0 on the form. I'd rather not send him anything and run this risk of him getting charged to receive it. That kind of defeats the purpose of a gift and money is tight enough as it is lol hate international shipping

[Hollandia]

My gift to him was worth 25.00 USD or less and they wanted money from him for it. I ALWAYS use Amazon. Shipping was by weight and size, so his CD car case worth 25.00 bucks cost me almost hundred total. Same thing on Amazon.uk, would be about 15 pounds with shipping and no customs.

[Hollandia]

That's good to know. We ship stuff out for work all the time. I hate doing the international ones and the stuff we ship is like plant material, genetically modified who-knows-what, and like bacteria type crap I can't spell or pronounce. Everyone who ships out always puts the value at $1 because the FedEx forms you have to put something there. The only time they've ever got stuck anywhere is because of what it is and not what's it's potential value might be. It's just good to hear what others say, especially since the post office advised me to put $0 on the form. I'd rather not send him anything and run this risk of him getting charged to receive it. That kind of defeats the purpose of a gift and money is tight enough as it is lol hate international shipping

You send plant life? Bio seeds? Do you have approval for that? Some of that stuff is highly illegal to ship without permits. It can affect local biodiversity, and so has laws about being declared and inspected. So many laws against some of that. CDC might have a problem with the bacterial exchange too. Did I read that right? Post Office employees are not experts, it is your butt on the line. No different from the saying about how "you can go up to 5 over a speed limit", laws are precise, break one and get caught and judge won't care what "the lady at post office" said. Ignorance is no excuse in eyes of law in USA. Be careful what you ship internationally, it could affect any future plans in either country if you upset a governmental agency.

[merlinkitty]

You send plant life? Bio seeds? Do you have approval for that? Some of that stuff is highly illegal to ship without permits. It can affect local biodiversity, and so has laws about being declared and inspected. So many laws against some of that. CDC might have a problem with the bacterial exchange too. Did I read that right? Post Office employees are not experts, it is your butt on the line. No different from the saying about how "you can go up to 5 over a speed limit", laws are precise, break one and get caught and judge won't care what "the lady at post office" said. Ignorance is no excuse in eyes of law in USA. Be careful what you ship internationally, it could affect any future plans in either country if you upset a governmental agency.

As far as the stuff at work is concerned, it has appropriate permits. I work for a large research unit with a major university that deal with plants, genetics, and pathology of plant diseases with international partners through grants vetted by the US government. This is part of how research functions. It's not like I'm personally shipping that stuff out of my own garage. It's helpful to hear the other stuff about gifts I'm sending, however. I did some research on my own, but the USPS site isn't the best to navigate. UK government sites are much clearer than US. Something I wish we could improve on here.

[Hollandia]

As far as the stuff at work is concerned, it has appropriate permits. I work for a large research unit with a major university that deal with plants, genetics, and pathology of plant diseases with international partners. It's not like I'm personally shipping that stuff out of my own garage. It's helpful to hear the other stuff about gifts I'm sending. I did some research on my own, but the USPS site isn't the best to navigate. UK government sites are much clearer than US. Something I wish we could improve on here.

Phew................................cool, hah me worried for a sec there. lol.

[merlinkitty]

Phew................................cool, hah me worried for a sec there. lol.

Lol no worries. I mean, I do. We get E. coli in the office on occassion. I stay back and don't touch anything

[merlinkitty]

My gift to him was worth 25.00 USD or less and they wanted money from him for it. I ALWAYS use Amazon. Shipping was by weight and size, so his CD car case worth 25.00 bucks cost me almost hundred total. Same thing on Amazon.uk, would be about 15 pounds with shipping and no customs.

I might start doing this. Seems much more clear cut. Let someone else deal with the international nonsense. I just like it to have a personal touch, but not to get in trouble lol

[Shauny]

I've done this a few times. Number one rule: NEVER use the Post Office/Royal Mail. Go with FedEx or DHL. I use Courierpoint.com and they find the best prices after you enter the box's weight and dimensions. You can choose to have it picked up from your own house or drop it off at a depot. I had a 2kg box and cost me £23 for England to Florida. When she sends me stuff she goes with USPS which is the American post office, costing her in access of $70 which is rediculous.
FEDEX and DHL are great. I get my packages picked up on Friday and despite neither work on Sundays, they get delivered on the Monday. National post offices take up to a week.