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So, is this illegal?

FernandoRocker

FernandoRocker

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,987
México
I live in Mexico, border with TX. My city is neighbor with a city from TX. The international bridge is about 15 minutes away from my home, so I get to go to the USA almost weekly. I have relatives and friends there too.

Well, I want to order two phones from eBay, and the total is $1600 for both.

But the seller is from TX. If he ships the items with my relatives in TX, they will charge me $160 US$ in taxes (8% of taxes).

If the seller ships me the items to Mexico, the Mexican government will charge me 16% in import taxes (but the seller won't charge me the 8%).

If I ship the phones to any other state besides TX, they don't charge me taxes.

So, can I buy the phones and ship the phones from eBay to another state besides TX (with some friends) and then have them ship the phones to my address in TX?
 
JeffGubb

JeffGubb

Giant Bomb
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
844
It's probably not a big deal until you take them into Mexico. Circumnavigating tariffs seems scary.
 
Occam

Occam

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,510
Of course it's legal to have the seller ship to another state. However, legally you'd have to declare them when entering Mexico.
 
BLEEN

BLEEN

Member
Oct 27, 2017
22,056
I don't see why not. Or why don't you just look for another state with the phones for sale?
 
Dicer

Dicer

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,192
Make sure when they arrive that you didn't get the Jade seal by mistake...
 
thediamondage

thediamondage

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,827
Keep in mind as well its gonna be hard to get an ebay seller to ship something to an unverified paypal address, plus I don't know ebay's policies if the seller sends you fake phones but it got sent to NOT your address... will they help you?
 
thediamondage

thediamondage

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,827
FernandoRocker said:
My PayPal account is verified. I use it all the time.
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Addresses have to be verified as well, you can't just add a new address to your paypal account and it shows up as a valid address. It becomes listed as an unverified shipping address until you verify it with, I think (haven't done it in a while) a credit card.

Otherwise it becomes extremely easy for credit card thieves to just buy all sorts of stuff on ebay.
 
PanickyFool

PanickyFool

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,947
FernandoRocker said:
I live in Mexico, border with TX. My city is neighbor with a city from TX. The international bridge is about 15 minutes away from my home, so I get to go to the USA almost weekly. I have relatives and friends there too.

Well, I want to order two phones from eBay, and the total is $1600 for both.

But the seller is from TX. If he ships the items with my relatives in TX, they will charge me $160 US$ in taxes (8% of taxes).

If the seller ships me the items to Mexico, the Mexican government will charge me 16% in import taxes (but the seller won't charge me the 8%).

If I ship the phones to any other state besides TX, they don't charge me taxes.

So, can I buy the phones and ship the phones from eBay to another state besides TX (with some friends) and then have them ship the phones to my address in TX?
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Technically no, but not the way you think.

Sales tax is to be collected where the purchaser of the item is at the time of purchase (this is were the states are currently at).

If you receive them in TX and the seller has a business presence in TX the obligation is on the seller to collect sales tax on behalf of the state.

If you live in a state outside of TX and the seller has no business presence in that state, and the state has a sales tax, the obligation is on YOU to voluntarily report and pay the sales tax.

If you live in Mexico, well you are in Mexico.
 
chicken_pasta

chicken_pasta

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
893
thediamondage said:
Addresses have to be verified as well, you can't just add a new address to your paypal account and it shows up as a valid address. It becomes listed as an unverified shipping address until you verify it with, I think (haven't done it in a while) a credit card.

Otherwise it becomes extremely easy for credit card thieves to just buy all sorts of stuff on ebay.
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I add addresses on eBay all the time, as I have different freight forwarders that import my packages. No need to verify any of them so far.
 
99Luffy

99Luffy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,344
JEFFREY GRUBB said:
It's probably not a big deal until you take them into Mexico. Circumnavigating tariffs seems scary.
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Parcel companies do it all the time. At least half the time I order online from the US or Europe my item is declared a gift cause USPS, Canada Post etc. hates looking at paperwork. God bless lazy government postal services.
 
Rayne

Rayne

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,634
thediamondage said:
Addresses have to be verified as well, you can't just add a new address to your paypal account and it shows up as a valid address. It becomes listed as an unverified shipping address until you verify it with, I think (haven't done it in a while) a credit card.

Otherwise it becomes extremely easy for credit card thieves to just buy all sorts of stuff on ebay.
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This was a super pain when I changed my address. I sent it to the wrong place at least 3 times -_- thankfully my grandparents still lived there and held on to the items for me.
 
rsfour

rsfour

Member
Oct 26, 2017
17,105
99Luffy said:
Parcel companies do it all the time. At least half the time I order online from the US or Europe my item is declared a gift cause USPS, Canada Post etc. hates looking at paperwork. God bless lazy government postal services.
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Unless you deal with fucks at DHL, FedEx, etc. Those guys will do anything to take money from you.
 
Maximus

Maximus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,586
FernandoRocker said:
Nah. That's not a problem. It is perfectly fine if you open the phones and cross them across the bridge opened. They count as personal items.
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From what I understand, this is not true. You technically have to declare everything you bought in said country. I don't know the rules for a Mexican citizen though.
 
dpunk3

dpunk3

Member
Oct 27, 2017
376
Massachusetts, USA
It's called tax evasion, you're avoiding state sales tax. You're also avoiding tariffs by not declaring them if you don't when you go back to Mexico. But the reality is nobody is gonna report you, so who the hell cares.
 
oledome

oledome

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,907
I would personally pick it up in TX and pay the 8% rather than deal with two deliveries.
 
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