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MC General Chat

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
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Actually put more broadly, I'd be curious to hear people's estimates on how much they shop - as a percentage - from US retail operations. That is, of the online webstores you patron, how many are based in the US. And of those based in the US, how many are multi-brand boutiques, and how many are just brand shops (like Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, or whatever).

For every US shop I buy from, I admit there are probably at least three or four overseas ones. And among the US stores, I'd say about half are just "brand shops."
 
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gdl203

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I think the only solution is to apply the law - it exists : those goods should consistently have duties levied when entering the US, which is not the case currently. But CBP doesn't have the resources to inspect every little package so they should probably force the courier companies and USPS (effectively the customs brokers of those packages) to enforce the law and impose massive fines when they don't. At the end of the day, maybe the couriers will say "F* that! I'm not inspecting all packages" and they will force duties payment in advance on the shipper rather than recipient, who will have to factor that into their international pricing?

I'm not a proponent of establishing more trade barriers or anything but the disconnect here is primarily due to illegal behavior - simply applying trade laws and tariffs would level the playing field.
 
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dieworkwear

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I admit I'm not familiar with the law on this stuff. It does seem like an arbitrary application of it though. Sometimes I get hit with duties and customs, sometimes I don't. I have noticed, FWIW, that I get hit with duties and customs every time I buy Goodyear welted shoes from overseas, which to my understanding, is strictly protected in the US because of our manufacturers. I don't know if those same protections are up for clothes in general, but I imagine you're much more aware of this stuff than I am.
 

cptjeff

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I think the only solution is to apply the law - it exists : those goods should consistently have duties levied when entering the US, which is not the case currently.   But CBP doesn't have the resources to inspect every little package so they should probably force the courier companies and USPS (effectively the customs brokers of those packages) to enforce the law and impose massive fines when they don't.   At the end of the day, maybe the couriers will say "F* that! I'm not inspecting all packages" and they will force duties payment in advance on the shipper rather than recipient, who will have to factor that into their international pricing?

I'm not a proponent of establishing more trade barriers or anything but the disconnect here is primarily due to illegal behavior - simply applying trade laws and tariffs would level the playing field.


Trade barriers have been so dramatically lowered across the board, especially for places we give most favored nation status to, that more rigorous enforcement wouldn't make much of a dent in the advantage gained by removing the VAT. And the tariff schedule is detailed enough that enforcement would require quite a bit of effort and delay- it's just not worth it.
 
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gdl203

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Most clothing and footwear carry duties in the 7% to 20% range so, yes, that would make a difference for US shoppers buying products from overseas if the lawful duties were levied.
 

mktitsworth

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Actually put more broadly, I'd be curious to hear people's estimates on how much they shop - as a percentage - from US retail operations. That is, of the online webstores you patron, how many are based in the US. And of those based in the US, how many are multi-brand boutiques, and how many are just brand shops (like Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, or whatever).

For every US shop I buy from, I admit there are probably at least three or four overseas ones. And among the US stores, I'd say about half are just "brand shops."


This is an interesting exercise. The ones I probably patronize most frequently are definitely boutiques located in the US. Percentage wise it's probably at least 50. I will probably go through later tonight and catalog out how much/often I spend what where. It's the kind of thing we numbers people do.
 

unbelragazzo

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Manufacturers have a couple of ways they could respond - 1) allow US retailers to charge a lower price 2) prohibit international shipping. Seems like some pursue 2), which is bad for the consumer in that it limits choice. 1) I haven't seen much of, although it's possible they could be doing it in subtle ways.
 

Claghorn

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I am routinely charged 20% for anything I buy from the EU (or the US), so I'm pretty happy about the deduction. I know SE Asia is pretty good about enforcing their customs charges. With shipping, I generally end up paying more than I would have were I in Europe.
 

JubeiSpiegel

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I am usually a brick & mortar guy, nothing like seeing what you are buying in person. Once you form a relationship with a retailer, they take care of you all the same.

I only buy shoes from overseas. It makes it a more difficult decision that no one stocks or makes RTW wide sizes in any brand I like, so every venture ends up being MTO. I appreciate the price breaks were I can get them...
 
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johanm

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The Euro VAT tax loophole is as real as it gets. It's essentially disguised dumping and is slowly eating up US retail. Does anyone think there's a particularly good reason for the success and proliferation of online stores in the UK/EU pushing into the US market with less than average sites, 2 pics of each garment and no good information? There is one : they're effectively 20% under msrp because of VAT detax and lack of duties levying on this side of the Atlantic.


I have 4 duty related questions, wonder if anyone has any thoughts:

1. How does prepaid duty work (e.g. as offered by Farfetch)? Does the courier scrutinize the contents of each package, and does CBP treat duty prepaid packages any differently in practice? FWIW, based on the few purchases I've made from Farfetch and comparing prices for the same items at other EU boutiques, the prepaid duty surcharge appears to be insignificant to nonexistent.

2. How does CBP verify that the seller declared the accurate price on the customs form? Without a price tag or receipt in the package, what can they do when, e.g., a EG Cappelli tie or a pair of C&J shoes is declared at $20, or for that matter as a gift?

3. Are any other US retail segments vulnerable to tax/customs arbitrage, or is it primarily high end clothes (carried primarily by independent boutiques)?

4. How effective is customs evasion going in the other direction - are there opportunities for US sellers to sell to EU/Asian customers without customs detection?
 
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sprout2

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I agree. This kind of problem seems to exist for Japanese goods too. In certain corners of fashion, you can find Japanese things pretty easily online, which pretty negates the need to ever buy from a US store (where prices are always about ~30% higher). It seems like the only reason why the problem isn't as big is because not many Japanese stores have English-friendly webshops.

Returns is certainly an element of this. I would rather pay a premium to buy from a US purveyor and have the security of easy returns. If it's something I'm particularly jonesing for I'll order from the UK since, in the worst of cases, I can return (albeit paying a chunk of change to ship back). Few if any Japanese boutiques take returns, and the process of payment generally requires a wire transfer, so it's not usually the most attractive option.
 

patrickBOOTH

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This is an interesting exercise. The ones I probably patronize most frequently are definitely boutiques located in the US. Percentage wise it's probably at least 50. I will probably go through later tonight and catalog out how much/often I spend what where. It's the kind of thing we numbers people do.


I have a spreadsheet that documents my coffee consumption. Kind, oz, how many sips of each kind, how many daily, weekly, monthly complete with descriptive statistics. A co worker asked me, "On average how much coffee do you drink per day." Well I set to find out.

I pretty much hate shopping online for a lot of reasons. The only thing I buy online is ties other than undershirts, and boxer briefs and such. I think I am probably an outlier though.
 

sprout2

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I have a spreadsheet that documents my coffee consumption. Kind, oz, how many sips of each kind, how many daily, weekly, monthly complete with descriptive statistics. A co worker asked me, "On average how much coffee do you drink per day." Well I set to find out.

I pretty much hate shopping online for a lot of reasons. The only thing I buy online is ties other than undershirts, and boxer briefs and such. I think I am probably an outlier though.

crazy.gif
 

Cantabrigian

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[realtalk]

Something is wrong. Either my it's my shoeshining technique or me generally.

I think I have a pretty standard routine - shine when needed, usually every week and a half or so. Saphir renovateur, give it a few minutes, brush. Shoe cream, give it a few minutes, brush then buff.

Yet I don't think I've ever made it longer than 15 minutes outside my front door without my shoes getting scuffed or dirty enough that it looks like I didn't shine them at all.

Am I doing something wrong? Is that something normal than normal people take in stride?

[/realtalk]
 

gdl203

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That's the downside of using cream only and no wax.
 

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