The Energon Pub

I’m not sure where to put this thread, but it is related to buying Transformers toys so I guess this sub forum will work. In any case, I’ve bought Transformers from foreign countries before, but presumably because of their low values, I’ve never had to deal with customs. I’m looking into getting Megatronia now though and all the eBay listings mention customs now. Anyone have any experience with that? I’m in the United States by the way.

I only have experience of Customs from the UK, I'm afraid. It CAN be ridiculous (I'll give you an example below) however, from my experience, if the seller/overseas retailer puts a $ value of $15 or less, customs won't look at it. Also assuming, as most figures do, it doesn't weigh too much either. Hope that helps!

Meanwhile, a general question to all. Concerning what you would consider "reasonable" charges for shipping. Super7 have recently revealed an initial set of four shot glasses with G1 Artwork...



Now they are priced at $12 each. Which well, is a little high, but bearable. So the whole set will naturally fetch you $48. Still less than an MP figure and a little bit more "adult" as a display piece.

So, the big question. How much do you think they are asking for in shipping? $15? $25? The ballpark average most would think of, yes?

How about $70?!
Nearly twice as expensive as the glasses themselves. $70 (and change) to ship four shot glasses...

I dont know how much tax is used. But my local comic book store/nerd retail store Nexus have twice helped me imported amazing figures (Power of the Primes and SIEGE Voyager Optimus) that havent arrived in local retail stores.
As mentioned SIEGE Optimus Prime was a lucky case for me...normally he costs 6999 ISKR with no bonus import tax (which is 58 in USD) which can be expensive.
But i got lucky since delayed products orders get a 15% off if the shipment was delayed so it got knocked down to approximately 47 USD

Vic Zanzibar wrote: I’m in the United States by the way.

We don't have customs fees in the US for personal use under $800. For $800 to $2000 through the mail they'll do an assessment based on the contents to decide if a customs fee is required at delivery, through a courier (UPS, FedEx, etc.) any fee would be included in the price.

Emerje

No custom fee if you are in the US .... for now.

But you never know how long that will last with this guy in office.

Yeah, I've been fearing that for a while now. Hopefully he keeps his focus on Mexico, Canada, and China for another year and stays away from Japan.

Emerje