Atari Nut Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 ebay says ... International Shipping - items may be subject to customs processing depending on the item's declared value. Sellers set the item's declared value and must comply with customs declaration laws. As the buyer, you should be aware of possible: - delays from customs inspection. - import duties and taxes which buyers must pay. - brokerage fees payable at the point of delivery. Anyone have any experience and know what to expect when buying from Venezuela? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20ohm20 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 I ordered four Avalon Hill and a Atari 2600 game (all new in box) from an eBay seller in Venezuela in November of 2015. I didn't have to pay any duties on the package, but it did take just over three weeks to arrive in NY. It just showed up on my front porch one day. There was a customs inspection tag on the box, but it didn't look like anything was molested. I was apprehensive about ordering from Venezuela, having read horror stories about game boxes being destroyed by customs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Nut Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 I was also wondering if customs would open the shipping box and damage the contents inside. Thanks for the reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coleconut Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 I am in Canada so the laws/regs are different but in Jan. I bought some games from Venezuela that were shipped FedEx. Delivered to my door, great. Yesterday, a month later I get an invoice mailed to me from FedEx for 13%GST tax plus a brokerage charge, all of this effectively doubling the cost of these games. I hate surprises like that. Worse still was my experiences about 7 yrs ago but that time it was about condition items were received in, not tax related issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 (edited) I received a brand new sealed boxed item from Venezuela that was no longer sealed after customs opened it. They can open anything they want and there is nothing you can do about it; which is bad for collectors of sealed items. I don't order from Venezuela anymore. One of the sellers sometimes ships items to an address in the US and then lists them from there, so I have bought from them, but I can't remember their name. FedEx gives Venezuela residents super low fees to ship to the USA, but if you need to return something when the seller ships the wrong or damaged item lookout the return fees are unreasonable! Edited February 25, 2017 by Defender II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 I am in Canada so the laws/regs are different but in Jan. I bought some games from Venezuela that were shipped FedEx. Delivered to my door, great. Yesterday, a month later I get an invoice mailed to me from FedEx for 13%GST tax plus a brokerage charge, all of this effectively doubling the cost of these games. I hate surprises like that. Worse still was my experiences about 7 yrs ago but that time it was about condition items were received in, not tax related issue. As a fellow Canuck, I'm sorry this happened to you and I appreciate you letting us know your experience. I've looked at these auctions from Venezuela and I've been tempted but after reading this thread I will definitely stay away from items sold there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Nut Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 Defender II, receiving an open box that you purchased because it was sealed really sucks. Coleconut, what happened to the condition of your purchase 7 years ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coleconut Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 I had posted pictures on one of the forums at the time. It was this time of year as I recall, likely rainy season down there, my boxes got so wet the cardboard turned to mush, and I got a soggy mess of water, black mold and garbage and it all arrived after the Ebay/paypal claim period. From 2 different sellers, one of which used to be very active here on AA but hasn't been on in a long time, at least using this old ID. A 3rd seller packaged so well their stuff arrived intact and unscathed. The minimal packaging on the other two lots didn't survive as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krslam Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 I bought a couple sealed games from Venezuela a few years ago, and US customs tore the boxes open, basically ripped them in half. Not the sellers fault so I didn't ask for a refund, but I don't buy games from there anymore. But there were no fees or taxes added, so that makes me a winner, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coleconut Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 I observe import charges are typically a misunderstood topic here in Canada, people think they are being charged DUTY, its not duty at all, its tax and the fee for the broker to clear items thru customs on the buyer's behalf (its a rubber stamp, $35 please). Strictly speaking there is no duty on importing video games into Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 If you do a search, you'll find several threads about buying games from the Venezuelan sellers. The number of shipments has drastically decreased over the past couple years as the huge stock of games they once had for sale has gradually dried up to a slow trickle. The results have been mixed. I was able to get quite a few NOS items at decent prices a few years ago, some of them very rare. Like many people, I did have a few negative experiences where items arrived in damaged (or completely destroyed) condition. Fortunately in those cases the games were not particularly rare or expensive, and I think in almost every case I was able to secure a refund or replacement. I haven't personally purchased anything in quite a while, so I don't know if any issues with customs still persist. If you live in the USA, you needn't worry about taxes or other importing fees...that's more of a Canadian problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stupus Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 I can say the fedex service most if the sellers use is superior too their postal syste. Packages usually get to me in a week and in better condition. Their postal service could take 3 months and this was a big problem before paypal extended disputes. They can tear stuff apart in customs but it hasn't happened with fedex yet. Although I know they opened some packages at least. Never had any issues with fees into the usa. In fact with 100s of items I have ordered from all over the world I have never been hit with fees after shipment from any country. I do ask sellers to mark as gift, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. This is definitely not the case when shipping TO other countries. Got hit with a $120 fee when I shipped an item to Sweden and put the real value in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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