Falsifying Customs: what's your opinion?

I had an auction that got one bid a few minutes before ending. I'm in the USA and the winner was from Canada. The buyer promptly sent a detailed email on how to value the item at zero dollars and mark it as a gift (it's a vintage Fender guitar amp speaker in fine working order). I have no problem with people requesting this beforehand so I can tell them, "sorry, don't do that" but when they dictate terms AFTER they win it peeves me. I sent a fairly polite but terse email explaining that I didn't falsify Customs documents and that paying ten or twelve dollars shipping on a valueless item might raise an eyebrow at Customs, doncha think? I also said that I would need to file a non-paying bidder form with Ebay if he didn't complete the transaction to recoup my final value fees. I got back a full page of really hateful and not all that logical ranting, such as "it's not falsifying" and that he'd turn ME into Ebay if I filed a non-pay on him. And apparently the duty he's so afraid of is only 15% plus a five-dollar fee. That seems like a reasonable thing to expect for doing international business.
So what do y'all think? I can see I'm going to have to add something to my disclaimer to warn these people off. But just because a lot of it goes on, does he have the right to expect it from everyone? If he would have asked first, I would have said no and item wouldn't have sold, so I could have relisted free and paid no FVF.

 

I say mellow out, man. Give the guy a break. The government doesn't need the money! The problem is that if you mark zero dollars, you aren't going to be able to insure the package for anything. Let him choose...insurance or marking "gift" on the customs form. I don't think you have to worry about doing this and I think it is totally justified behavior. They really pull some dirty, scumbag stuff in the customs dept. It serves them right. For example, I just sent a pair of speakers to a Canadian customer. I clearly marked "pair" on the form. Well, customs stuck him for double the tax and claimed that I had marked that the two speakers were two separate items. This isn't the first horror story, either. It's a racket, like anything else. Parking tickets, meters, customs forms, taxes,....I say screw them all. It's time for the people to take their money back. If I was in your position, I'd do what the guy wants. This is just my feeling on the subject, though.

 

I don't know, I personally.. would do it. Myself. I don't like our government, taxes don't come back to 'the people' so to speak, and furthermore no-one makes **** here anymore, so it's not like by importing say, a tonearm (I might have to soon), I will put someone out of work.

So my personal opinion is, screw them. They've screwed and are screwing me and all of us already. There.

 

R-h-h-eally? You've never asked anyone to falsify customs forms to Canada, eh Gary?

C'mon folks! lets be real here. Everyone does it. Nobody is gonna get caught, and like Damian says....they're screwing us. You've got to balance the scales every once in a while. On the other hand, I know it's technically not right to lie, cheat, and steal like this because we all know the government hates competition.

 

Exactly! It's a racket! Give them some of their own medicine.

 

It's your buyer's responsibility to pay all applicable taxes, as he well knows. Instead of him asking you to commit a minor crime, I'd tell tell him to vote in a new government that rescinds the tax. Why take a chance, however slim, that your name will be attached to fraudulent document?

Many eBay sellers utilize a Canadian disclaimer, such as you described, stating something like, "will not mark Canadian purchases as gifts."

 

I must admit I am torn between my previous opinion and the above. If the sender is someone I know, or someone who's doing me a favor, I'd probably try to keep everything straight so as not to get them in trouble.

 

What if the buyer firmly believed that voting doesn't change a thing?

 

Another way of handling it is this....if the buyer asks you to fill something out a certain way, just save his email. You are not a Canadian citizen and you are under no obligation to know or understand their customs laws. In the extremely unlikely event that you are ever questioned, simply present the email from the customer and say that you were just following his instructions and that you had no idea you were assisting him in commiting fraud.

 

Well, I don't argue that governments: a) overtax, and b) do some pretty dumb stuff with the tax revenue. It was more the dictation of terms after close of auction and the zero value seemed to be a bit much. I have shaved a few values for people in the past. You could even argue that the price paid after a bidding war on some items is not the true "value" of the item although I can imagine that Customs wouldn't let that argument go too far.

 

You can argue whatever you want as the whole scenario is totally up to you. It's your game and your show. They are idiots and as long as you aren't in their face, they're not going to figure out anything. They're not after you. They're after the big fish. You see? You've answered your own question. You've done it before and you'll do it again. You understand the logic and reasoning behind doing it and you obviously agree with the general 'Robin Hood' principal. What it sounds like to me is that the buyer rubbed you the wrong way and is being demanding. This seems like more of a personal problem than a moral dilemma, in which case I would recommend that you reach some sort of compromise with the guy....cool things down to avoid negative feedback and then move on.

 

Well, I can't speak for anyone but myself. The Customs has let me off of paying duty so many times it isn't even funny when they shouldn't have. mal, what's the value we're talking about here?

 

Good point, Gary. How about this one, though? Make the UPS or Fedex reps fill the forms out for you. Wear a bandage on your hand and claim that you can't write because of an injury. That way there is no evidence, no signature, and they have nothing. You can deny it all. Seriously, though...nobody is going to get caught. When is the last time you heard of a "customs crack-down for undervalued shipments"? They've got bigger problems right now.

 

Oh, BTW we do have Forum members who are in law enforcement. Closing thread.