Buying a ring over $1000

[swoodie1]

Hi does anyone have any experience with purchasing items from the US on eBay with a value over $1000 and they live in Australia? I am finding a possible purchase quite daunting. I know there is GST + duty + import fee. I presume the ring was made in the US and might qualify for a trade exemption (unlikely) and therefore I don't pay the duty. The ring is quite cheap compared to Australian prices and I presume they will value the ring at hyper-Aussie prices for tax/duty purchases. What is your experience on this?

Also, who makes the declaration to Customs? The carrier would be FedEx and then presumably Star once it is internal in Australia. Do FedEx or Star do the declaration on behalf of me or do I contact a customs broker about it? (I'm so time poor and the legislation/advice is so convoluted, I don't think I could do the dec myself).

Help! Any advice welcome.
Thanks in advance
Swoodie1

[leader-of-the-band]

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@swoodie1 wrote:
Hi does anyone have any experience with purchasing items from the US on eBay with a value over $1000 and they live in Australia? I am finding a possible purchase quite daunting.

. . . . . . . . I'm so time poor and the legislation/advice is so convoluted, I don't think I could do the dec myself . . . .

Help! Any advice welcome.

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Is the ring is only able to be sourced from the USA?  Can it be sourced here in Australia?

My advice would be to buy from Australia if possible to relieve any concerns or stress you may have.  It would be a much safer transaction considering you would be committing to a $1000+  purchase.

[extra-keen]

I have got to agree with leader of the band. If you can source it in Australia you are going to be a lot safer and possibly not all that worse off.

However if you do want to go ahead and if the item is worth over $1000, then do look up yellow pages or google import agents - they are worth their weight in gold.... They do everything, you just wait for the goodies to arrive. Of course you do have to pay and for that amount it could be as much as $300+ But you should get a quote - definitely worth a phone call or two in my view.

[gemsttonepette]

Fedex will do all the paperwork & clear the parcel through customs. They (or Star) will then advise you of the cost which you will have to pay before you can collect it. 

Fedex will lodge the Custom's Declaration based strictly on the information they have. If the item costs $999 there will be no GST. If it costs $1000 there will be $100 extra to pay plus 5% duty. Plus their fee. For customs to open the parcel & call in an outside expert to do a valuation, there would have to be strong evidence of something wrong with the declaration. Custom's officers are not qualified to value a ring & they wouldn't take that step lightly. In 30 years of importing 100's of items I have never experienced it.

If you want to post the link or send it to me, I will give you my opinion as to why it seems cheap. It may be the weight of gold, or rather the lack of gold, or it may be the use of an acronym that renders the whole thing worthless, there are many factors. Sometimes it is just someone selling something cheap. There are bargains to be had.

[retailtherapist_8]

I have purchased a lot of jewellery from USA, the information provided by the previous poster re fed ex is correct.U used to just pay with my cc over the phone and the next day it would be delivered. The jewellery I purchased was always sent marked at the value I actually paid, not a jewellers/gemologists valuation so the taxes and duties were paid on the total actual amount of the purchase. I still wound up ahead, jewellery is by far cheaper in the USA than Australia. HOWEVER, be careful if you buy diamonds, make sure you are familiar with the grade of diamonds you buy from there. Australian jewellery retailers do not sell below a certain grade in the USA you can sell any grade and some of it is rubbish.

Good luck hope it all goes well for you!!!

Nothing better than waiting for a nice piece of jewellery to arrive!!!

[lyndal1838]

The $1000 limit is based on the price of the ring plus postage and the information already given is correct...FedEx will do everything for you and just notify you of the amount owing, which you pay to them before the item is delivered to you.

There is nothing stressful about buying jewellery from the USA.  It is no different to any other overseas transaction where you know you are going to have to pay duties.

[kopenhagen5]

Go to a reputable store here.

[phorum_junkie*]

Do you know what will happen if you receive it, pay all duties and taxes etc and it turns out not to be as described?

At the very least you will almost certainly have to pay to return it by a fully trackable and insured method with signature on delivery as it will be ebay buyer protection rather than Paypal's and I doubt very much you will get any refund of the duty, tax and clearance fees you will have paid.

The only way I would even remotely consider it would be if I could pay direct by credit card rather than through Paypal and even then I would be knowingly taking the risk that I may be out a significant amount of money.

[swoodie1]

Hi all
Thank you for the great advice that you all have provided. I feel a lot calmer and feel I will go ahead with the transaction, just will discuss it a bit further with the store and others.

I have checked out the store - it has 100% feedback with over 1000 sales and is a legitimate store in LA with shop frontage in the jewellery district. Non eBay reviews from multiple websites are pretty much 5-star. 45 day refund and I will refund at my expense but I don't mind that.

The ring itself is 18k, three diamond ring, Asscher cut. Centre stone is GIA certified with both store and GIA verifying details. I'm not concerned with side stones as they are small. Stats off all stones are F colour, clarity of IF, and for centre stone, abundant karats, excellent polish, very good symmetry, no cullet but girdle thick, faint fluorescence. I'm extremely satisfied with all stats and believe that with or without all taxes included, it is significantly cheaper than anything like that available in Australia.

I suppose the only issue I have now is whether it is worth fighting the duty. I have read elsewhere that you can get th seller to provide a certificate to Customs to verify if the item is US made. I'm not sure if it is but I presume it must be.

Thank you again for all your advice. I really do appreciate it and it was way more than I expected.

Swoodie1

[leader-of-the-band]

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@swoodie1 wrote:
. . . . . I'm extremely satisfied with all stats and believe that with or without all taxes included, it is significantly cheaper than anything like that available in Australia.

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Good to see you have researched the seller and are satisfied with their credentials.  Members normally come to the baords after a transaction has gone pear shaped and not before purchasing.  Thanks for coming back and letting us know the details about the ring and that at the price it is better than anything you could get here in Australia.