Fyi on board buyer beware

[PH8]

I was on the same cruise(Oasis) as the OP..we didn't buy much but they did have a Sophia Fiora diamond necklace in the shop for just around $500, 000!!!

 

Can imagine the tax on that!:eek:

[TheTruthCanHurt]

.......you should have checked the pawn shops for you can get great bargains on "trinkets" like that for short money......people still gotta eat so the first thing to go is wrist candy.....;)

 

Thanks Joe,

I am not a pawn shop guy. Somehow to me I always feel like 1. the piece could be stolen or 2. it is somehow cashing in on someones misfortune. Just not a big fan.

 

I do heavily research my large purchases, I have done much business with one particular shop in cozumel, I know I am getting a deal, I know it's authentic and It's exactly what I want.

 

PS, nothing against anyone that buys from a pawn shop, just not something I enjoy.

[1980dory]

[/b]

 

It is your legal responsibility to claim the value of all items purchased outside of the country while traveling upon reentry to the US with liability to pay a customs fee once a certain dollar value threshold is reached.

 

That has nothing to do with who you purchased the items from and does not make the on board retailers disreputable simply because they filled out a sales declaration. Why would an island retailer be more reputable than an on board retailer if they did not do this?

 

And by the way a roster is a list of individuals - a rooster is a male chicken. ;) :D[/quote

 

Well, maybe they did, in fact turn in a rooster! You just never know about these things. I've seen some pretty crazy things on ships.

[GUT2407]

Where did you get that from? They said to buy on the island and not on board ship.

 

So they could avoid declaring it.

[GUT2407]

I was traveling by myself.

I bought a 2200 breitling in Cozumel

I did not want to risk getting caught, and I am just an honest person

so I put it on my declaration.

 

The guy was very nice, thanked me for reporting it. He took me into a back room.. It was actually fun, I watched them tossing a few peoples luggage that had lied about having something.. ( sorta like having a front row seat to one of those locked up abroad shows) In the end I think I paid them something like $40.00 ( a fraction of what sales tax would have even been) so it was very negligible for me and the whole process took maybe 20 minutes.

 

That's pretty much my experience, declare pay a fraction, don't declare get hit for the lot plus penalties.

[foxgoodrich]

The cruise line should disclose if they are going to share your purchase info. with customs. IMO it is a violation of privacy.

I am from Canada and sometimes shop in Buffalo...Macys or other retailers do not fwd. your purchase information to customs and RCCL shouldn't either.

Customs can do their own due diligence to catch people over their limit, not have RCCL do the work for them...PRIVACY.

 

Well...it's the law. That's how US Customs does due diligence - there are laws. Does the cruise line need to inform each passenger that it observes the law? Is Royal's compliance really a violation of privacy? All US Citizens know (or should know if they are traveling across borders!) how this works. There is a duty free exemption per person on imported goods. In most cases it's $800 per person, or $1600 per couple plus $800pp for each additional family member. Amounts above the exemption are subject to duty. It's simple. It's the law.

 

Cruise lines with ships that visit foreign countries before returning to the USA are required by the USA to inform US Customs of any onboard purchases that exceed $800, which is the amount of the duty free exemption in most cases. Royal Caribbean is following the law - why is that so hard to understand?

(I have no idea what Canadian law on imported goods requires. Probably there is no economic agreement with the USA requiring US department stores to report purchases to Canadian Customs. Your example involves a different country, a different body of law, and a totally different issue which does not compare to the OP's situation. OP is a US citizen bringing back an expensive item purchased outside the USA. Canadian law does not apply.)

 

Another salient fact that we all should remember is this: If a shop says your purchase is "duty free," this only means that you are paying no taxes of any kind at the time you buy the item. It does not mean you have a free ride through US Customs. You will be liable for duty on any amount exceeding the exemption.

Judy

[LisaAtlCruiser]

Well...it's the law. That's how US Customs does due diligence - there are laws. Does the cruise line need to inform each passenger that it observes the law? Is Royal's compliance really a violation of privacy? All US Citizens know (or should know if they are traveling across borders!) how this works. There is a duty free exemption per person on imported goods. In most cases it's $800 per person, or $1600 per couple plus $800pp for each additional family member. Amounts above the exemption are subject to duty. It's simple. It's the law.

 

Cruise lines with ships that visit foreign countries before returning to the USA are required by the USA to inform US Customs of any onboard purchases that exceed $800, which is the amount of the duty free exemption in most cases. Royal Caribbean is following the law - why is that so hard to understand?

(I have no idea what Canadian law on imported goods requires. Probably there is no economic agreement with the USA requiring US department stores to report purchases to Canadian Customs. Your example involves a different country, a different body of law, and a totally different issue which does not compare to the OP's situation. OP is a US citizen bringing back an expensive item purchased outside the USA. Canadian law does not apply.)

 

Another salient fact that we all should remember is this: If a shop says your purchase is "duty free," this only means that you are paying no taxes of any kind at the time you buy the item. It does not mean you have a free ride through US Customs. You will be liable for duty on any amount exceeding the exemption.

Judy

 

I am completely blown away with dishonest people that feel entitled to their chance to STEAL. Yes! Lying on a customs form to keep from paying taxes is STEALING.

 

BTW - my post is not directed at the OP. It is directed at the post this post was quoting.

Edited July 14, 2016 by LisaAtlCruiser

[LisaAtlCruiser]

If you would've read through the posts you would see my second post stating we did in fact declare the purchase on our customs form prior to even exiting the ship (the night before it was filled out). We were flagged as we exited the ship, our passports taken away, no explanation what so evere and escorted to customs by RCL, it was horrible we thought something happened on land to our family, fleeting thoughts of something is wrong went through our heads. However when brought to customs desk they asked for our declaration form, it was then I handed our declaration form to officer. The $500 was duty/tax on the purchases made on board, customs has a roster of large amounts won/purchased on board given to them prior to allowing passengers off the ship. My point was that I was just angry because we were told that there would be no additional fees, its "no problem" was the response when I asked about customs to the manager of the shop,^^^^ had he said we would have to pay 500 I would've haggled more with the price of the item. I would've appreciated a heads up on how much we would've had to pay customs before hand not lied too that there wasn't any additional monies to put out. Lesson learned. Secondly the issue about my original price stating its better to buy in the islands is that there is more haggling on the price of an item that can happen thus making customs process/duty less painful.

 

Understood. Your post just read as if. It is common to mean one thing and write in passion and have others interpret it completely different than you meant it. But it really did read as if you were upset that you were "reported" and suggesting people shop on islands where they won't be.

 

So related but not related - in Israel you cannot take any liquids on the plane. They tell you like 4 different times as you are going through security that you cannot buy liquids in the shops in the secure area and board the plane with it. I was stunned at how many people turned around and purchased liquor (or whatever) in the shops with the shop people telling them "no problem" only to have it taken away when boarding the plane.

[MattInFLL]

Ok. Well assuming OP is a US citizen and keeps saying "we" then with an $800 per person in the household limit being grouped together - you need to spend close to $20,000 to get to a $500 duty. Wow. That's a lotta spending.

 

Anyway - my experience. I have had friends buy on board and get called to customs at 6am disembark day to make sure they reported. I would hate that.

 

I have never made a large purchase on a cruise. I generally find I can do just as well here. But there I was in Falmouth faced with a watch I had been researching for a while. And it was the right price from an authorized dealer. And then. Omg. They had the other watch I had wanted. The owner of the store - knowing he had a live one - pushed his associate aside and said he could make me a deal on both I could not refuse. And he did. And I bought. I asked if they reported to the ship and he said no. So I bought the watches.

 

I only cared because I did not want the 6am call. I declared both watches on my form prepared to pay the $40 or so bucks duty. (They were Movado, not Rolex). Customs officer looks at me and says. "It's your lucky day. Go on through ..."

 

I'm having trouble with the original story here. But the moral is - be honest, it pays off.

Edited July 14, 2016 by MattInFLL

[Penciltwister]

I am completely blown away with dishonest people that feel entitled to their chance to STEAL. Yes! Lying on a customs form to keep from paying taxes is STEALING.

 

BTW - my post is not directed at the OP. It is directed at the post this post was quoting.

 

 

 

If you're concerned about stealing taxes then there's far bigger fish to fry than an individual buying a piece of jewellery on holiday.

[xxHadleyxx]

I just can't understand how someone could buy an item valued at about 20,000 dollars while travelling and be surprised/scared/freaked out to be pulled aside by customs upon return to the US.

Is THAT the problem you think happened?

 

To me, a short delay to be moved out of the main line (yes, while my passport is held) and pay extra duty on a high ticket item would not be a problem, or cuase me to think somehting had happened to my family back home--so I would not feel duped or misinformed by a sales person who told me that customs at disembarkation would be "no problem"

 

And I struggle to believe that you had no idea that you might need to pay more given that these things are clearly listed on that customs form you filled out the night prior, and that you thought to ask the salesperson about the process when disembarking when you bought the item.

 

 

Finally--you say the issue is that you were frightened by being pulled aside by customs and not expecting that--but then the advice to shop on the islands (which you later clarify is so you can haggle more on price) would not change that at all am implies your real issue is you had to pay taxes--so I am not sure which it is (and if you just want the lower price--then hagglign more would be more attractive anyway--tax or no tax, would it not? So why even go to the on board shop at all?).

[foxgoodrich]

It appears the original story has been somewhat modified in subsequent posts in response to a lack of sympathy. The bottom line is that the OP was angry about having to pay the $500 duty.

 

The moral of the story is that you should pay attention and understand the rules before you buy high ticket items abroad or onboard. You should declare your purchases on your form and read it. If you do that, you'll be able to estimate what you need to pay at Customs and be prepared.

(And you should NOT depend on the foreign national manager or the foreign national salesperson from a duty-free shop to advise you on US Customs duty.)

 

Makes me curious if a big win in the casino might have caused a major trauma when the W-2G (or 1099G) was presented and the IRS was notified....

Judy

Edited July 14, 2016 by foxgoodrich