Problems clearing Chinese Customs while sending reps back for repairs

[lolo1972sg]

Hi all
I am not sure how many of us here send their reps back to TD for repairs but i surely do. And I have been doing this for many years with no issue until recently. One of the parcels that I sent back is stuck at Chinese customs. I was told that I have to pay duties (and valuation is based on genuine watch price) OR the parcel will be destroyed (if I declare the content as replica) OR get the parcel sent back to me.
I am wondering how many of you have similar experiences recently.
If this is becoming a trend, then all of us should be informed and be aware.
Cheers

 

[freediver]

It is better if you can fix something in your local watchsmith

Sending to china has a risk and of course the 6 month delay at least

How sure were you that your watch has been serviced in China? Have you opened it?

 

[lolo1972sg]

6 months? Has never been that long for me.
How I know it is serviced? It was dead before and it is not dead after service.


Actually, my intention is to warn those who have been sending reps back to TD for service that there seems to be a change of SOP at the Chinese customs. So communicate with your TD and understand whether they will take responsibility prior to sending the reps back to China for service. Else, finding a local watchsmith is another option.

 

[shr0uded]

I sent back something on 9th Sept, has been stuck until now... I'm not sure how much of it is due to the Chinese National Day holidays?

 

[rpsmithbarney]

I recently sent 2 watches back to two different TD’s for repair. Both were correctly addressed per TD instructions. Both got as far as Chinese customers and were returned to me after a 6-7 week delay unopened. Each packet had a Chinese yellow customs label indicating “unclaimed” I suspect that the TD’s were reluctant to accept them at the destination address.


Sent from my iPad using RWI

 

[Retina]

My parcel got sent back early in this rep game. Didn’t bother to ever send it back ever again.

 

[lolo1972sg]

Looks like a few of us have the same experience (which is not usual as far as I know or based on my own past experiences).
Anyhow, I will share more on how i overcame this issue.
What I did was to work with my contact (and I have a super good one in china) to liaise with the custom. Initially, the customs wanted me to pay tax (as if the reps were gens). Of course, we declined and asked for the parcel to be shipped back. I do not know whether my contact told them the parcel contains replica (this could be an important point). But Hold and behold, this was when the customs got back to us and asked for 100+RMB (which is about 10USD) as taxes/fees to let the parcel through. Obviously, I paid up and the rest is history.

Now, what I think is this: the Chinese have actually been buying more and more gens over the past years and have overseas dealers ship these gens to them (China). The customs are probably trying to clamp down on these gens being shipped to china while at the same time avoiding tax. Since they do not know what are gens and what are reps, they treat all such watch parcel as gens and asked for the normal taxes (on gen prices). But this is just my hypothesis.

At the end of the day, all I know is that I have to think twice now on sending reps back to China. I will probably still do it to see how it goes. But if more of us face such issues, it would be good to document the experience here for the knowledge of the bigger community.

Cheers