Good experience buying M4 Pro from Japan on eBay

[dmiles119]

Ordered my M4 pro from this eBay seller in Japan on Sunday October 12, received it well packaged and as advertised today, October 16.

Pardon Our Interruption...

Drone is brand new, factory sealed FCC mode. No additional fees at all. Very happy with this seller, and wow what a great drone. Just thought I'd pass this along to others. This was the lowest price I could find anywhere with no shipping.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Any evidence as to how they avoided all tariffs for you, despite not claiming to "help" with tariffs?
Have you looked up the customs declaration form to see what they declared as the country of manufacture, the value, description and Harmony Code?
Likely not declared as China, and description may not match at all.
Hey, whatever works. Just not guaranteed.

 

[anotherlab]

Any evidence as to how they avoided all tariffs?
Have you looked up the customs declaration form to see what they declared as the country of manufacture, the value, description and Harmony Code?
Likely not declared as China, and description may not match at all.
Hey, whatever works. Just not guaranteed.

There is a notice with the eBay listing:

International Buyers - Please Note:
Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

You basically roll the dice and go on the hope that US Customs passes it through with tacking on any duties.

 

[iceman77]

Any evidence as to how they avoided all tariffs?
Have you looked up the customs declaration form to see what they declared as the country of manufacture, the value, description and Harmony Code?
Likely not declared as China, and description may not match at all.
Hey, whatever works. Just not guaranteed.

probably by declaring it as $100 "Milwaukee Cordless Drill", like my Korean seller did with mine

 

[GadgetGuy]

There is a notice with the eBay listing:



You basically roll the dice and go on the hope that US Customs passes it through with tacking on any duties.

Yes, I am aware of the apparent contradiction with that eBay message, even when the seller says all tariffs are prepaid.

 

[GadgetGuy]

probably by declaring it as $100 "Milwaukee Cordless Drill", like my Korean seller did with mine

That's what mine did, and why I am asking.

 

[msinger]

That's what mine did, and why I am asking.

Did you contact US Customs to figure out the owed debt? Curious what they are charging.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Did you contact US Customs to figure out the owed debt? Curious what they are charging.

No. Presumably none. As the shipper, they declared a value of $750, and country of manufacture as Taiwan!

 

[anotherlab]

No. Presumably none. As the shipper, they declared a value of $750, and country of manufacture as Taiwan!

That puts most of the liability on the seller. If Customs ever goes after the seller, and it could be proven that you knew that the original country of origin was China, in their view, you would be a co-conspirator in the customs fraud.

Would that ever happen? Probably not.

 

[dmiles119]

I did notice other sellers charging around $200 shipping and stating in their add that there would be no additional fees or tariffs. But I read the feedbacks of multiple buyers for the seller I used stating that there were no additional fees. So I figured I would take a shot. I was fully prepared to pay $200-$300 fees if needed, and I still would have been happy. Since there were no fees I just ordered an additional battery from a US supplier for $300.

The only customs declaration that I had access to had the seller stating that it was a toy drone, with no country of origin, and some statement about the batteries.

I've owned the original Phantom that I had to add a GoPro, a P2, P3, and P4. Also a Mavic Air 2 and an M Pro3. This thing is in a league of its own.

 

[GadgetGuy]

That puts most of the liability on the seller. If Customs ever goes after the seller, and it could be proven that you knew that the original country of origin was China, in their view, you would be a co-conspirator in the customs fraud.

Would that ever happen? Probably not.

I was not aware of the subterfuge until I received the package.

 

[anotherlab]

I was not aware of the subterfuge until I received the package.

Legally, that wouldn't mean anything. The odds are probably close to zero that the Customs would discover any of this, but you would still be responsible for any duties that were owed on the package.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Legally, that wouldn't mean anything. The odds are probably close to zero that the Customs would discover any of this, but you would still be responsible for any duties that were owed on the package.

It would in terms of not being a co-conspirator, but if the seller didn't pay them, yes, they could collect them from me, and I could try and collect them from the seller, if the seller had fraudulently represented to me that they were already prepaid. The more likely scenario is the goods would be seized, and in order to release them for delivery to me, I would have to pay the unpaid tariffs that were still due.

 

[anotherlab]

It would in terms of not being a co-conspirator, but if the seller didn't pay them, yes, they could collect them from me, and I could try and collect them from the seller, if the seller had fraudulently represented to me that they were already prepaid. The more likely scenario is the goods would be seized, and in order to release them for delivery to me, I would have to pay the unpaid tariffs that were still due.

Most of the listings have language like that in the eBay listing that OP had shared:

International Buyers - Please Note:
Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

It's one hundred percent on the buyer to pay any tariff charges. The chances of recovery of any duties from the seller would be nil.

 

[mavic3usa]

Most of the listings have language like that in the eBay listing that OP had shared:



It's one hundred percent on the buyer to pay any tariff charges. The chances of recovery of any duties from the seller would be nil.

Surprising, these tariff listings are GONE on eBay, as of today I'm not seeing any. Is this a glitch?

All the drone listings are back to tariff-free!

 

[anotherlab]

Surprising, these tariff listings are GONE on eBay, as of today I'm not seeing any. Is this a glitch?

All the drone listings are back to tariff-free!

I copied that text this morning from the listing that the OP had shared. As of 5 seconds ago, that message was still there.

 

[GadgetGuy]

It's one hundred percent on the buyer to pay any tariff charges. The chances of recovery of any duties from the seller would be nil.

No, that is an eBay contractual disclaimer to protect their eBay sellers, not a legal requirement of U.S. Customs. When the exporting seller files the US customs declaration form, they choose whether the shipper or the receiver is to be legally responsible for the tariffs, and that is what legally governs, not what eBay has contractually posted on their site.

 

[mavic3usa]

I copied that text this morning from the listing that the OP had shared. As of 5 seconds ago, that message was still there.

They are gone for me. Not saying the text you posted isn't true....because it's true. What has changed is the eBay blue bar is gone. And those listings now say...which is also true: