So i got a letter from Canada Border Agency.

[Dowbs]

I don't see why it wouldn't be a good idea, the "watch parts for repair" has worked for me in the past, although I asked the seller to enclose a note listing the work he was requesting, so a bit of a reversal there I guess.

If you're super paranoid I guess you could always make the invoice amount match the amount you actually paid.

I'm curious if just having it declared as a gift is a viable option as well.

 

[ZoomBoy]

My recommendation is to not use the word "watch" on customs forms going back and forth. I use broken horological parts for repair or something similar. Supposedly if you use watch it might have a higher hit rate with customs.

 

[mydnytrydr]

Get a receipt (you can buy blank receipts on Amazon) and type up a receipt for watch servicing ... They will ship you the watch ... these guys are not after ONE watch purchases ..... if they are, then the game has changed and it would be all over the forum ..

 

[zero_deficit]

I made a fake watch repair invoice a while back for situations like this. Feel free to use

http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php?t=170449

 

[Retina]

cant you just fake that receipt yourself instead of waiting for your td to send it to you?

 

[JAFO]

I'm curious if just having it declared as a gift is a viable option as well.

That's a good question. I've been asked to mark items as "gift" when shipping internationally. The problem is the post office may or may not accept it. Just last week I shipped 6 or 7 packages all around the world and I marked each one as gift/present on the Customs slip and that's how the lady at the post office entered them into the computer. Went back on Saturday to ship more stuff and she said I'd have to give a more detailed description from now on. Now, she told me that the receiving country "may not accept it if it's just marked 'gift' ". Does it throw up red flags in Bangladesh if a package is marked only "gift"? Beats me.

 

[Roller]

Could you imagine what import duties they would charge on a genuine Patek? YIKEs...Burn that Letter after sending a copy to your seller lol

 

[d4m.test]

If You produce a watch repair invoice than they will simply ask You for the original Canadian purchase invoice, new or used. This is how things are handled in the EU.

 

[kamen]

Well, when the promised invoice didn't arrive you should have taken out a ticket at the RWI Help Desk so we could help . . .

Dang I did not know this. Perhaps I will take out a ticket if the pieces don't arrive to me as planned then. Thank you.

 

[Dowbs]

Interesting JAFO, would "Gift/Watch" be acceptable then I wonder. I suppose it's the go-to method of trying to get drugs past customs which is why it raises red flags with them, but since they're free to check out the package all they want, I don't think it should be an issue as long as the gift description matches the contents. We're doing it for customs seizure/tax and duty purposes so they can X-ray it to their little heart's content.

If You produce a watch repair invoice than they will simply ask You for the original Canadian purchase invoice, new or used. This is how things are handled in the EU.

This is kind of what I suspected might happen as well. Of course could you not then just claim you bought it used/from a friend/through a forum/etc. and don't have a purchase invoice?

But then they might want you to produce a record of original payment... in which case you could always claim you bought it a long time ago and no longer have the records, I suppose. Don't know.

Curious then what might happen if you provide an invoice for the seller as the one rendering services. Either for the seller to include in the shipment or to produce yourself if prompted by CBSA.

 

[trailboss99]

Guys "gift" is not a description, it's a class of item under international customs regs. On a CN22 (customs declaration form) there is a space for the class which is gift, merchandise, documents, commercial sample, returned goods and (sometimes) other. As well as that you must give a description of the goods "timepeice" works as well as anything for me. DO NOT use the word "timer" as it has less than pleasant connotations. There is also a space for Country of Origin that must be filled out. As long as something is in there (I use my own) they won't care but it MUST be there to enter some counties including the US.

ALL the spaces (excepting HS Tariff #) on a CN22 MUST be filled out for goods to enter a lot of countries, miss one and an inspection is inevitable. The same goes for a return address in as much as you must supply one or either an inspection will occur. They put those spaces on a CN22 because they expect answers, give them even if it's wrong.

 

[yifu0618]

Thanks guys and RWI for the suggestions and tips. The seller just make a fake invoice for watch repair. I am going to fax the Boarder Service the invoice and see how it goes. Cheers.

 

[psionic]

New member here.

While the same circumstances may not apply, I just received a watch from overseas (not a rep and ironically, not the correct watch). The customs form listed the item as a commercial sample watch. Nothing more to the story here; I don't think customs opened it but unlike other items my shipping did note a trip through customs for clearing.

Like an earlier member I'd be curious to know what was the item listed as. I'm looking at making a rep purchase (through a TD here of course... if I can get one to respond during the holidays =) ) and while I realize my buy might be the one that gets such a letter or notice of destruction, it would help to note how items are being marked.

 

[Dowbs]

I'm looking at making a rep purchase (through a TD here of course... if I can get one to respond during the holidays =) )

You might get a response from now until the 19th, but there'll be no movement on your order after that for the duration. Better to just wait at this point, I imagine clearing the backlog after the holidays becomes more hectic than the usual dealer buying/QCing/shipping process, so chances of mistakes might be higher.

On the upside, if your shipment is seized most TDs will reship at least once.

 

[blind-m]

watching carefully...

 

[kidcanuck]

Very interested in the outcome here... so what exactly are the rules/laws when it comes to replicas watches?

 

[Dowbs]

Very interested in the outcome here... so what exactly are the rules/laws when it comes to replicas watches?

If it's for individual use they really shouldn't care, it's not worth their time. That's always been their stance on the issue as far as I know. As far as importation for commercial purposes, there's been a recent "call to arms" to crack down on that stuff, but I don't think that's what the OP is dealing with here. It sounds more like they want to assess tax/duties than anything else.

 

[yifu0618]

Sent out the invoice to the custom yesterday and the watch arrived to my door today. Thank you RWI for the great advice on making up the invoice, it worked out great!
They don't know this is a replica Patek, maybe it's because it has a Swiss movement in it.
Here is the shoot of this beauty after all this trouble. They charged me $20 on the import tax.

And my collection so far.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mazestunn]

Glad it worked out in the end, wear in good health!

 

[Dowbs]

That's good to hear, thanks for the update, I figured they were just fishin' for their cut more than anything more serious. Enjoy it!