Yeah customs will tear you apart on fees, but just hope they dont confiscate your whole order. Its bad enough you have to risk your money on scammers. If customs even thinks your items may be counterfiet , they will destroy your product in a heartbeat.
Well, since I've just ordered a small (4 pairs) shipment of designer sunglasses through Luxury Maggazino, I'm now crossing my fingers that customs aren't going to come to that conclusion!!!!
What if your goods are genuine but customs thinks they're fake? If your supplier can provide proof that they were obtained through authorised sellers of those products and then resold them on to you, and they are able to provide that, can customs still legally conviscate them on the basis that they think they are fake?
I'm interested in finding out just what comeback you have if you dispute their claim - and I know that that's going to vary from country to country. There is surely a paper trail somewhere that can be followed leading back to the original purchase to prove definitively one way or the other.
If you continue importing more designer items in subsequent lots, does that mean that they will suddenly be watching you as a potential sham dealer?
I know Luxury Maggazzino requires proof of product authenticity and authenticity as a seller before they'll do business with a company purporting to sell designer goods. Which is OK, as long as you hope that nobody has pulled the wool over their eyes.....
My shipment's due to arrive in a couple of days and since I haven't ordered genuine designer stuff before in quantities, I'm crossing my fingers that I'm not now on the Australian Customs hit list.....
PS for Aussies - I rang customs and asked them all sorts of questions regarding import duties and so forth, and according to them, there is no import tax payable on a parcel of imported goods with a value of less than $1000. If you are importing via Fedex or one of those direct courier companies, they told me that those companies will do all the customs clearance directly without going through normal customs procedures and will charge you for it (I think the customs guy said it can be about $150). But if it's just a normal postage situation then it just goes through the same customs procedures that every other piece of mail does, and you won't get charged under the $1000 amount.
However, if ordering from some foreign countries, I was told to check what they package the stuff with. Some packing stuff is prohibited - eg some foreign companies will pack in items in wood shavings for protection instead of foam, which might then be conviscated by customs and not allowed in the country simply because insects harmful to native wildlife can also be imported that way along with your product. That's worth checking out before you buy anything from overseas.