Canada/Australia are too controlling of people bringing in goods

[WiiCube_2013]

Earlier today I watched Border Security: Canada and Border Security: Australia and I totally agree that they shouldn't let anyone unless they have the documentation, that and keep drugs off their countries but penalising people for buying goods abroad feels wrong, annoying and unfair. Customers already bought it so they shouldn't be charged for it yet again!

I personally have not yet flown outside European countries but like, if you buy a huge chunk of meat or just whatever products they usually let it pass, personal experience. For example; my parents when travelling back from Portugal to UK carry inside the luggage a ton of meat, some fish and cheese, plus wine. Sometimes also some magazines, games and so on. There are times it goes above 10 kilos but it still goes through anyway.

I get that they want residents to purchase the goods within their own countries but when others have it better and cheaper that's too good to pass.

Anyway, these shows are entertaining.

 

[RevPokemon]

Earlier today I watched Border Security: Canada and Border Security: Australia and I totally agree that they shouldn't let anyone unless they have the documentation, that and keep drugs off their countries but penalising people for buying goods abroad feels wrong, annoying and unfair. Customers already bought it so they shouldn't be charged for it yet again!

I personally have not yet flown outside European countries but like, if you buy a huge chunk of meat or just whatever products they usually let it pass, personal experience. For example; my parents when travelling back from Portugal to UK carry inside the luggage a ton of meat, some fish and cheese, plus wine. Sometimes also some magazines, games and so on. There are times it goes above 10 kilos but it still goes through anyway.

I get that they want residents to purchase the goods within their own countries but when others have it better and cheaper that's too good to pass.

Anyway, these shows are entertaining.

Depends as we have all these international laws which are in place and do help markets and what not but I personally don't think there should be limits for civilians to buy and bring items into their country provided its legal and doesn't violate international trade laws

 

[YayMii]

Not exactly sure how bad the problem is, but I've ordered batteries from China only to have them rerouted to Europe weeks later due to import laws from Asia... I don't exactly see why it's suddenly okay to send the exact same package to Canada just because of a different mailing address, so I see some of these laws as just a big hassle on the consumer end.

 

[nxwing]

I won something 4 months ago, I think it was a gamepad. It arrived a month later at January and they gave me the option to pay 1,400 to take it or just simply not pay and leave it. I was really pissed off when I found out I have to pay since I only got it as a prize. It's the customs that wanted to be payed. The courrier told me that was to make sure that people don't loose their jobs but I don't give a **** about the people in my country. It's their fault for not trying hard enough to succeed and others shouldn't care about them either

 

[Vipera]

I won something 4 months ago, I think it was a gamepad. It arrived a month later at January and they gave me the option to pay 1,400 to take it or just simply not pay and leave it. I was really pissed off when I found out I have to pay since I only got it as a prize. It's the customs that wanted to be payed. The courrier told me that was to make sure that people don't loose their jobs but I don't give a **** about the people in my country. It's their fault for not trying hard enough to succeed and others shouldn't care about them either

You do realize that many internet companies pay a lot less taxes than regular ones due to their "creativity" with the location of the headquarter, right?
I used to order from TheHut all the time because the games had discounts on day-one. As soon as I learned why, I stopped ordering from there. On top of that, people order so much shit from places like China in order to resell so often that it's not rare to see "free shipping" from a country that's from the whole other side of the world. In Italy we lost our "marked as Gift" privilege because some dumbtwat decided to mark everything he got to resell like that and the customs quickly decided that every product shall be checked and (if any) taxed.

I agree that they shouldn't try to tax stuff like legit free prizes and low-value stuff, but let's not forget why they do that.

 

[Veho]

Earlier today I watched Border Security: Canada and Border Security: Australia and I totally agree that they shouldn't let anyone unless they have the documentation, that and keep drugs off their countries but penalising people for buying goods abroad feels wrong, annoying and unfair. Customers already bought it so they shouldn't be charged for it yet again!

Technically, they are only charged once because if you are buying goods specifically for export, you can get a tax refund in the country of purchase to avoid double taxation. You buy it abroad, declare it at customs, pay the customs fee, and get a receipt, you can ask for a tax return from the country you bought it from. The kicker is, you usually have to apply for the refund in person.

Also, online stores don't charge local tax when they ship abroad, on the assumption that the recipient will pay the taxes and customs in their own country.

I personally have not yet flown outside European countries but like, if you buy a huge chunk of meat or just whatever products they usually let it pass, personal experience. For example; my parents when travelling back from Portugal to UK carry inside the luggage a ton of meat, some fish and cheese, plus wine. Sometimes also some magazines, games and so on. There are times it goes above 10 kilos but it still goes through anyway.

That's because most of Europe is part of the European trade union so there are no customs fees for taking goods across borders. If you try to take goods outside of the EU or bring stuff in, you would still have to pay the fees.

I get that they want residents to purchase the goods within their own countries but when others have it better and cheaper that's too good to pass.

The reason it seems cheaper in the first place is because it doesn't include your local tax (and shipping, handling, and the cost of maintaining a retail store if you're buying it in a brick-and-mortar) that you would pay if you bought it locally. Importers pay customs and taxes too, they don't just ramp up the price for shits and giggles when they sell it to you.

Except Nintendo. Nintendo sucks.

 

[RiveaJ]

I guess it varies from country to country.
My ex-partner was trying to sell a few things on eBay when we discovered that you can't ship anything containing a battery into Italy, so this means selling an iPhone or a device without a removable battery is pretty much impossible.
We tried to sell and SLR Camera on eBay twice and both times an Italian bidder won the item, but neither were interested when we explained how it was impossible to send the battery with it.

In the UK we just have to promise Royal Mail that any batteries are shock insulated and they take it off of our hands without any hassle!

 

[Veho]

More and more airlines refuse to ship lithium ion batteries because they can leak and explode.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31709198

Postage shipping is usually by air so this is why the post refuses to ship batteries overseas. Local mail is by train or truck.

 

[RiveaJ]

More and more airlines refuse to ship lithium ion batteries because they can leak and explode.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31709198

Postage shipping is usually by air so this is why the post refuses to ship batteries overseas. Local mail is by train or truck.

That's very interesting, I had never given that much thought - however sending batteries to most countries just costs a little more rather than it just not being possible.

 

[RevPokemon]

That's very interesting, I had never given that much thought - however sending batteries to most countries just costs a little more rather than it just not being possible.

To me the question is can you ship items with batteries in them already?(like toys or electronics)

 

[2Hack]

Earlier today I watched Border Security: Canada and Border Security: Australia and I totally agree that they shouldn't let anyone unless they have the documentation, that and keep drugs off their countries but penalising people for buying goods abroad feels wrong, annoying and unfair. Customers already bought it so they shouldn't be charged for it yet again!

that is not really an excuse. The state is in charge of protecting their people, including their businesses. If people just went out to another country to cut some costs, then their homegrown businesses are going to lose out, state1's people's money won't be recycled into the economy, it will be sent to another state, and benefit that state instead. It is a lose/lose situation.
"Customers already buying it" is not an excuse to allow them to get in. It is the duty of the customer to know the full import taxes, and be prepared to pay these taxes. If not, he is free to either dump the goods at the border, or return them.

I personally have not yet flown outside European countries but like, if you buy a huge chunk of meat or just whatever products they usually let it pass, personal experience. For example; my parents when travelling back from Portugal to UK carry inside the luggage a ton of meat, some fish and cheese, plus wine. Sometimes also some magazines, games and so on. There are times it goes above 10 kilos but it still goes through anyway.

I get that they want residents to purchase the goods within their own countries but when others have it better and cheaper that's too good to pass.

They are also not always out to snipe every single person. What they are trying to do is stop people making a business out of it. Like buying meat from abroad, and selling it within their state for much cheaper than the homegrown businesses. Sure it is cheaper in the short term, but it will eventually catch up with the state, and see the homegrown businesses unable to compete with these new, low prices. You said it yourself, "it is too good to pass". So everyone will flock to the cheaper meat, and leave the legit homegrown businesses in the dust, and eventually hurting their own economy.

Not many people care about the "made in Canada/England/home" sticker. There is a reason dollar stores flourish. People aren't in the mindset of helping the whole. They want to benefit themselves first, then family, then the country.So the state has to step in and protect their businesses, even if that means a short term loss to some of the customers.