Dear GA,

I have a plan to sell wooden handicraft on ebay as my sidejob.
For the starter, I would like to import about 100 pieces/month (2
large boxes  size 30" x 24 x 16") to my home address.

Do I have to pay custom and need to have business license for this?

Thanks.

---

Clarification of Question by bp05-ga on 15 Jul 2005 13:52 PDT

50 pieces/box.  Litte explanation will be appreciated. Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 15 Jul 2005 14:54 PDT

Dear BP, 

It would have helped to know where you lived and from which country
you are planning to import.

---

Clarification of Question by bp05-ga on 18 Jul 2005 11:17 PDT

Dear PoliticalguruGA,

Thanks for your response.
I'm in California, USA and will import from Indonesia.

BP

I have tried to send 2 times of DHL Jumbo Box from Indonesia to USA. A
Jumbo box will cost about $200 flat rate (cheaper if you register with
DHL), and the maximum weight is 55 lbs. I put couple handricraft in it
, and 1000 batik cards. There is not custom charges in it, and I did
not need to call any custom brokers to release them.

One time I tried to send a set of furniture (1 sofa, 1 table, etc)
using freight (ship). It is alot of cheaper, but it took couple months
to get here. When it came to California, freight agent call me and ask
me to pay for unloading cargo, and ask me to contact custom brokers.
That would cost me double and I decided not to pay it. Of course I
lost that furniture anyway.

Couple times I have received items from London, Canada and Hongkong.
Small packages, and I did not need to pay custom, event tought they
were $1000 - $5000 worth of equiptments. All of them using
DHL/Fedex/USPS.

But, I have received couple times package from Canada using UPS, and
they charge custom clearance broker fee or whatever they call. When I
call the number on the bill, it looks like only a UPS store somewhere
in the US. They said because it is ground service, and they had to
collect fees. They said that DHL/Fedex using air services, and the fee
is included in the shipping prices.

Well, my sugesstion is just try to send couple boxes first. I think
you do not need any license to import wood handycraft from Indonesia.
And I do not think (if you have to pay the custom) it would cost you
alot in custom fee. I saw many handicrafts from Indonesia on Ebay sold
by US sellers.

One more thing. You can consolidate shipping by contact buying agent
in Indonesia. You can purchase anything you see in Internet that come
from Indonesia. By this way you can purchase many kind of itmes from
different sellers. Your agent will purchase, pack, and ship for you.
Here web address of one buying agent that you can contact:

http://www.proxsee.com

Dear loways-ga,

Thank you very much for your comment and sharing your experiences.

Best regards, Bp05