Selling to the USA, a cautionary tale...
Discussion
So, bit of advice needed on how to proceed with a watch I've sold on Chrono24....
Sold a watch for over £8000 on C24, buyer was from the US and asked if id ship there, no problem, a deal was struck and I duly posted it off fully insured, then it became painful! UPS/US import form had to be submitted via an online form, they wanted my NI number, the buyers social security number and a breakdown of the watch value in 3 components 1) case value 2) mechanism value 3) strap value. I supplied all the info apart from the buyers SSC as understandably he was cautious about sharing that with some random UK resident. Ar this point he got arsey and told me to cancel the transaction, I then figured out he could have his own UPS login and do it himself so I set that up and he relented and filled the form in. The problem was though is that there were 2 forms and although mine had my NI number on it his SSC wasn't, it was on a form only he could see so they kept badgering me for the missing info!
After about 10 emails I finally got them to contact him directly as all his contact info was visible on both forms.
Brilliant, parcel starts moving and as of yesterday it is ready for delivery pending payment of the import fees, which are $4000!
Buyers now decides he doesn't want to pay that and sends me a shi**y message that reads like he's blaming me for the tariffs! Demanding i refund him.
Now obviously the payment is held in escrow by C24 and I've contacted them to see what happens next? Who pays for the return postage and extra insurance as im guessing the policy i took out wont cover the return.
In short don't send anything to the US of any value, not worth the hassle.
Sold a watch for over £8000 on C24, buyer was from the US and asked if id ship there, no problem, a deal was struck and I duly posted it off fully insured, then it became painful! UPS/US import form had to be submitted via an online form, they wanted my NI number, the buyers social security number and a breakdown of the watch value in 3 components 1) case value 2) mechanism value 3) strap value. I supplied all the info apart from the buyers SSC as understandably he was cautious about sharing that with some random UK resident. Ar this point he got arsey and told me to cancel the transaction, I then figured out he could have his own UPS login and do it himself so I set that up and he relented and filled the form in. The problem was though is that there were 2 forms and although mine had my NI number on it his SSC wasn't, it was on a form only he could see so they kept badgering me for the missing info!
After about 10 emails I finally got them to contact him directly as all his contact info was visible on both forms.
Brilliant, parcel starts moving and as of yesterday it is ready for delivery pending payment of the import fees, which are $4000!
Buyers now decides he doesn't want to pay that and sends me a shi**y message that reads like he's blaming me for the tariffs! Demanding i refund him.
Now obviously the payment is held in escrow by C24 and I've contacted them to see what happens next? Who pays for the return postage and extra insurance as im guessing the policy i took out wont cover the return.
In short don't send anything to the US of any value, not worth the hassle.
Wills2 said:
Yeah it's a bit bonkers trying to ship to the US, although I do find it strange that the US resident didn't understand that the price he paid was always going to be + import duties, perhaps they thought they'd stumbled on a bargain until reality dawned.
Yes, you'd have though he'd done his due dilligence before buying it, he's a Dr too so you'd think he'd have a bit of common sense.I'm astonished the buyer did not understand the import tariff situation and costs, before agreeing to buy. That is an impressive amount of stupidity.
Any Swiss made watches attract a tariff of 39%, irrespective of which country the seller is, and irrespective of the goods being used or new, hence the $4000 charge.
30 seconds on google would have told him that.
Any Swiss made watches attract a tariff of 39%, irrespective of which country the seller is, and irrespective of the goods being used or new, hence the $4000 charge.
30 seconds on google would have told him that.
Mont Blanc said:
I'm astonished the buyer did not understand the import tariff situation and costs, before agreeing to buy. That is an impressive amount of stupidity.
Any Swiss made watches attract a tariff of 39%, irrespective of which country the seller is, and irrespective of the goods being used or new, hence the $4000 charge.
30 seconds on google would have told him that.
Probably one of those 'mericans that still think China pay for the tariffs.Any Swiss made watches attract a tariff of 39%, irrespective of which country the seller is, and irrespective of the goods being used or new, hence the $4000 charge.
30 seconds on google would have told him that.
I’ve sold watches to the US before and while the specific tariffs may be different the information needed has always been quite onerous. The buyer was probably an idiot who didn’t realise that import duties are payable on foreign purchases. EU was always a great market for bagging bargain watches before brexit.
EX51GE R said:
So, bit of advice needed on how to proceed with a watch I've sold on Chrono24....
Sold a watch for over £8000 on C24, buyer was from the US and asked if id ship there, no problem, a deal was struck and I duly posted it off fully insured, then it became painful! UPS/US import form had to be submitted via an online form, they wanted my NI number, the buyers social security number and a breakdown of the watch value in 3 components 1) case value 2) mechanism value 3) strap value. I supplied all the info apart from the buyers SSC as understandably he was cautious about sharing that with some random UK resident. Ar this point he got arsey and told me to cancel the transaction, I then figured out he could have his own UPS login and do it himself so I set that up and he relented and filled the form in. The problem was though is that there were 2 forms and although mine had my NI number on it his SSC wasn't, it was on a form only he could see so they kept badgering me for the missing info!
After about 10 emails I finally got them to contact him directly as all his contact info was visible on both forms.
Brilliant, parcel starts moving and as of yesterday it is ready for delivery pending payment of the import fees, which are $4000!
Buyers now decides he doesn't want to pay that and sends me a shi**y message that reads like he's blaming me for the tariffs! Demanding i refund him.
Now obviously the payment is held in escrow by C24 and I've contacted them to see what happens next? Who pays for the return postage and extra insurance as im guessing the policy i took out wont cover the return.
In short don't send anything to the US of any value, not worth the hassle.
The importer is liable for the duty. If he's decided not to pay, I would expect him to be liable for the return cost.Sold a watch for over £8000 on C24, buyer was from the US and asked if id ship there, no problem, a deal was struck and I duly posted it off fully insured, then it became painful! UPS/US import form had to be submitted via an online form, they wanted my NI number, the buyers social security number and a breakdown of the watch value in 3 components 1) case value 2) mechanism value 3) strap value. I supplied all the info apart from the buyers SSC as understandably he was cautious about sharing that with some random UK resident. Ar this point he got arsey and told me to cancel the transaction, I then figured out he could have his own UPS login and do it himself so I set that up and he relented and filled the form in. The problem was though is that there were 2 forms and although mine had my NI number on it his SSC wasn't, it was on a form only he could see so they kept badgering me for the missing info!
After about 10 emails I finally got them to contact him directly as all his contact info was visible on both forms.
Brilliant, parcel starts moving and as of yesterday it is ready for delivery pending payment of the import fees, which are $4000!
Buyers now decides he doesn't want to pay that and sends me a shi**y message that reads like he's blaming me for the tariffs! Demanding i refund him.
Now obviously the payment is held in escrow by C24 and I've contacted them to see what happens next? Who pays for the return postage and extra insurance as im guessing the policy i took out wont cover the return.
In short don't send anything to the US of any value, not worth the hassle.
Frankly I'd be telling C24 (via a solicitor) that the money held in escrow is not to be returned to the seller until you know what the return costs are. The return costs are to be paid by the buyer, and they can have back anything in excess of that. C24 should be told that should they refund the buyer in full you will hold them liable and pursue them for the costs you incur.
This is one where I wouldn't hesitate to pay for some proper legal assistance.
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