Customs duties in Japan

[rtc872]

I have been trying to find out on the web but most of the stuff is political jargon or poorly translated.

I am planning on ordering a jacket and vest from Scotland an was wondering if anyone here might have had experience of importing to japan.

Thank you for any advice

Rob

[CDNSushi]

If it's sent by Royal Mail you stand a pretty decent chance of it arriving without any customs or duty. If it's sent by any courier service like FedEx or DHL or anything of the sort -- you'll pay through the nose.

Welcome to XMTS, btw.

[rtc872]

Thanks for the welcome. So sent by royal mail how far can I push it? I am wanting to get almost evrything in one go. Is that goingto be too big a package?

[Danwell]

When ordering from the UK, there is a 2kg weight limit on the package for Royal Mail, meaning you won't fit everything in one package. The stories on this forum show that some sellers will actually use FedEx even when you request otherwise without any notification to you, so make sure you're asking specific questions and making specific requests around your shiping requirements.

[CDNSushi]

2kg is a lot though. I don't think a jacket and a vest should weigh that much. When Paul sent me my Argyll last year, it wasn't anywhere near 2kg.

Danwell is right in saying that some sellers will try to insist on using FedEx though (in spite of your wishes). When I got my Isle of Skye kilt from Marchbrae, the duties alone cost something like 2/3 of the price of the kilt. It was awful! I WAS aware they were sending it by courier ahead of time though.

Mind you, if they pull the ol' switcheroo on you without telling you, I would simply refuse to accept the delivery. They can try again using the method I asked at THEIR expense.

I had a FedEx guy mess up one time and deliver one of the textbooks I ordered and he forgot to charge me the duty. Started getting nasty-grams in Japanese for me to pay them ten bucks duty. Completely ignored the demands until they finally stopped sending them. My thought on it is -- if you didn't have the presence of mind to charge me when the item was being delivered, it's not fair to charge me after the fact because that does not give me the option and recourse of refusing delivery if I disagree with their customs and duty assessment. Anyway. I'm rambling...

[rtc872]

Right so don't push my luck. Well hopefully it won't be more than 2kg. Australia has a $1000 threshold that they don't bother charging duty on personal imports. Of course the Japanese will be different.

That also means I won't get my kilt sent to japan instead of aus.