Help with buying a watch online from Japan

[outdoors_guy]

There are some Credor watches at Chrono24 I am interested in, but they are locates in Japan. If I buy one and get it shipped to the US how do things work with importation? Do I need to take extra steps, or will the international shipper handle customs / duties and just include this in the shipping fees?

I just don’t want to order a watch and then have it vanish off into a wharehouse at the border never to be seen again because a box was not checked on some form.

If I need to file paperwork with customs, how do I indentify the package to them?

As you can probably tell I have no idea how this works. I would really just love if someone could direct me to a nice walkthrough or tutorial on the mechanics of making this happen.

[RJG]

I do not have a walkthrough of sorts that you'd need to follow.

I can say that you'll be asked to pay any/ all import fees for a luxury watch coming in from Japan. This is some bizzare formula that customs officials came up with...could be 3% of the stated value of the watch. It * could * be more.

And it's totally normal this happens. Don't be surprised when you get an email asking for duties/ customs fees to be paid to clear the watch through customs.

It is all determined at how the package is set up at time of shipping. Example - at my work we default to 'FOB' for the majority of our International shipments. Once that box hits a port - Long Beach, Oakland, or Seattle - the fees from there are on the buyer.

This link will help explain it, but it's a bit of falling down a rabbit hole:

https://transporteca.co.uk/fob-or-exw/

[larryccf]

a lot is going to depend on the carrier. I've had some high end watches brought in by UPS, and UPS has their own customs broker in Louisville, KY - i'll get an email on some of the watches, not all, asking for a copy of the invoice so they can calculate customs duties.

When it comes in by US Postal, i've never been asked to pay duties - US Postal seems to want to move the package thru the system as fast as possible.

DHL, the same. So pull the trigger and take your chances

[RJG]

Larry ccf is right - my last watch from Germany was sent via DHL and there were zero extra fees rolled in there.

It shipped from Berlin on a Monday and I had it in my box in Seattle on Thursday. Thats not bad !

Ask the Japanese seller to use DHL if possible. Totally worth a shot.

[Old Expat Beast]

Most Japanese sellers use EMS, which means USPS at your end. As you're in Maine, it will go via JFK, which means anything from 24 hours to 14 days in customs, just sitting there. If it's valued at US$800 or less, it won't be flagged for tax or duty or whatever. Any more and it it might be, but they'll let you know.

[outdoors_guy]

Thank you for the information. I will ask them to use DHL if possible, but I guess in the worst case it sits in NY with USPS.

How do they know the estimated value. For example I have seen watches in the $600 range that might pique my interest (there are some deals to be had with Credor and Campanola), so I can honestly say that i might purchase items under $800.

[larryccf]

I used to import from switzerland & germany. All documents, including customs declarations are transmitted via computer before the shipment even arrives. US Customs's uses software to select what shipments they want to inspect, including some random selections.

[thegrandseikoguy]

Originally Posted by outdoors_guy

There are some Credor watches at Chrono24 I am interested in, but they are locates in Japan. If I buy one and get it shipped to the US how do things work with importation? Do I need to take extra steps, or will the international shipper handle customs / duties and just include this in the shipping fees?

I just don’t want to order a watch and then have it vanish off into a wharehouse at the border never to be seen again because a box was not checked on some form.

If I need to file paperwork with customs, how do I indentify the package to them?

As you can probably tell I have no idea how this works. I would really just love if someone could direct me to a nice walkthrough or tutorial on the mechanics of making this happen.

The US has a complicated customs tariff code for watches.

You should work closely with the seller to ensure that each watch is listed against the correct tariff codes.

That's right - "codes" in the plural.

When importing watches to the US, you need to split the value of the watch between its different components - case, movement, strap, and where applicable, battery.

The correct code for each component will depend on a number of different factors - too complicated for me to go into here.

BUT, the critical thing is that you want to put something like 90% of the value of the watch against the movement (if the case is of precious metal, then you should value the case at the scrap value). The movement will attract a flat $ rate (typically of the order of $10 or less), whereas the duty on the case will be a percentage of the declared value.

Where many people go wrong is to simply declare the full value of the watch - this will significantly increase your duty liability.

Work with the seller and courier company to do this right and you'll save a fortune.

The other problem you may hit is CITES regulations. Depending on which customs office the shipment hits (this will be beyond your control, and do not assume it will be the one closest to you), the entire shipment can be refused if it contains animal products and the shipper does not have a CITES license. Trust me on this - you do NOT want this to happen.

Kind regards,


Gerald.

[Mifune]

You just order it... it's just like you ordered it from a US seller.

Ive done it many times.

if you lived in another country... like Canada, you may have additional tariffs. you dont in the US.

thing is, things aren't cheaper in Japan... plus you need to pay shipping, which is normally around 100-150$... those are REAL fees to make that shipment.

[RJG]

@ outdoors_guy make sure the shipper and the package gets your email and phone no - listed on their somewhere - and you get a tracking no. from whatever courrier they use.

Seriously - if things go sideways and you don't have a tracking no to reference - it'll be like the final scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark where the crate goes back down into a labyrynth of a warehouse.

It'll be fine.

[outdoors_guy]

Thank you all so much. This is all very helpful information. I feel like I might now know just enough that I cam experiment with getting watches from overseas.