Customs charges on bowling balls

[boston_represent]

Hi Guys,
I just ordered a bowling ball from the U.S and have payed for the ball and shipment via Global Express Mail. The company I purchased the ball from advised me that I may have to pay customs tax on delivery when ordering merchandise from another country. They have no idea how much it may be or if I will even be charged. They just advised me that I would have to contact customs to figure out any possible duties charged on delivery.
My question is has anyone here had experiences with this before? Has anyone incurred a fee from customs for ordering a bowling ball from the U.S? If so, how much were you slugged? I truly hope I don't get any nasty surprises as the ball cost enough to start with. I've ordered 7 NBA jerseys from the U.S earlier this year and wasn't charged a fee by customs, so I hope this time, it's no different.
I'm curious to hear from everyone. Thanks guys!

 

[wchester]

You won't be charged any Customs duty on one ball unless you have it shipped by a major courier service such as Federal Express. FedEx always declares their shipments, no mater the value.

 

[auenf]

usually the customs fee ends up being 16% anyway (10% GST, and 6% customs duty)

Enf...

 

[walc]

Hello,

I received my High Rev from Bowlers Paradise just before Christmas and had it sent via US postal service and when it arrived it was free of any charges other than the original payment...

Regards - Chris

 

[boston_represent]

Hello,
I received my High Rev from Bowlers Paradise just before Christmas and had it sent via US postal service and when it arrived it was free of any charges other than the original payment...
Regards - Chris

Cool, sounds like I don't have anything to worry about, besides wchester is probably right, only big companies like FedEx would declare absolutely everything and you get charged whatever is applicable. I guess cheaper freight has it's advantages if you don't mind waiting at least a week to get your goods.

Thanks!

 

[Bowling Balls Australia]

GST is applicable if the value of the goods and shipping reaches a certain dollar figure (AU$350.00 from memory), and then if that GST amount comes to below AU$50.00 it is written off anyhow.

Wchester - Regardless of who the shipper is, even Global, UPS or USPS - the shipment is always "declared" and therefore assessed, no matter how big or small. Australian Customs put a value on it and apply GST as per their guidelines. Check out your packing slip, you will see the supplier's declaration - it is compulsory. Shippers will not ship without it.

Auenf - 16% (10% and 6%) figure does not apply to any bowling items whatsoever, and bowling balls are exempt from Customs duty. Accessories, bags, shoes and apparel are all charged at differing rates, depending on what they are made of and their country of manufacture &/or country of origin of the raw materials. Only GST is charged on balls, not Customs duty.

Good luck with it Rob, I hope you did your research on where you bought it from, we hear horror stories regularly.

Max

 

[boston_represent]

Thanks for the information Max, I'm sure you know only too well how it works.

What sort of horror stories have you heard? In your experience, are you able to tell me YES or NO whether I will be charged a customs fee or is it really just guesswork? The total value of the order including freight came to just over AU$250 so I guess I won't have to pay GST. It's the customs fee which worries me. I was told by a pro shop owner that a guy he knew got charged $200 by customs for ordering a T-shirt! :crazyeye:

If what you say is true about "bowling balls being exempt from customs duty" then I should stop worrying.

 

[Bowling Balls Australia]

Thanks for the information Max, I'm sure you know only too well how it works.

What sort of horror stories have you heard? In your experience, are you able to tell me YES or NO whether I will be charged a customs fee or is it really just guesswork? The total value of the order including freight came to just over AU$250 so I guess I won't have to pay GST. It's the customs fee which worries me. I was told by a pro shop owner that a guy he knew got charged $200 by customs for ordering a T-shirt! :crazyeye:

If what you say is true about "bowling balls being exempt from customs duty" then I should stop worrying.

NO mate, balls are exempt from Customs duty.

Horror stories - either not getting your gear at all, or at least having to wait 3 months or more for it.

The Proshop manager is pulling someone's pud, probably his own.

 

[Samael]

GST is charged on everything entering the country no matter what it is, there isnt an exempt figure for it, however, any duties incurred are waivered when the total is under $50.

Keep in mind that customs work out the cost of your gear by taking the total purchase price of the item converted to australian dollars, plus the cost of shipping to the destination country.

You have to spend time looking through current agreements to see just what duties are applied to different products as we now have a FTA (free trade agreement) in place with the US. A lot of products (reguardless of the type) are exempt from duty as long as the product was made in the united states. It has to be actually made in the US and not just sold or exported from the US to be duty free (as part of the FTA), so you can get caught out with some products (like bags perhaps) thinking they were made in the US when they were actually made in an asian country.

Using shipping providers like fedex, ups, usps, dhl, etc wont see you incurr a customs charge like it would if you were to use LCL (less than container load) shiiping. By using forwarding agents you generally garner a $95 customs charge which covers clearencing, paperwork, etc when the item is processed after docking.