13 Nov
1999
13 Nov
'99
9:44 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Merchberger <zmerch(a)30below.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Saturday, November 13, 1999 6:25 PM
Subject: Customs Tricks (was: Re: Whoohoo! Fortune Telling...
Rumor has it that John B may have mentioned these
words:
I reside in Canada....
I was at the border once with a load of minis
(early 80s).. when these
things were still considered worth money... Worse off I got lost and had
hives everywhere and was throwing up (from one of *your* donut shops).. I
had a receipt for $25.. he guy did not believe I paid that for them. He
wanted me to unload the truck and he was going to *value* the equipment.
Which *your* do you mean? On which side of the creek do you reside? ;-)
Also, it's a good idea to know when your local border crossing has slow
times -- stop in and ask a few questions about duty & tax laws *when the
border guards are not busy*. I can't stress that enough, because if they're
booked full and you start asking what can be perceived (to them) as really
stupid questions, they *will* remember you and give you a hard time.
[[Hint: Despite the fact that both in the US and Canada you are considered
innocent until proven guilty, that does *not* count with Customs. You are
guilty until proven innocent. Period.]] It pays to get on the good side of
Customs officers, and if you ask questions when they're not busy, they're
usually happy to help and maybe even stand around and shoot the bull for a
while.
You got it! Yes sir, no sir, can I wipe your....
Do this a few times, and if you do stop by with a
trailer full of mini's,
when you say that these are for you hobby the Customs agents will first
think "yea, that's the looney guy that collects old computers for fun." and
you have a lot more of a chance they'll believe this actually is a *hobby*.
In Canada they move the agents A LOT! They make sure you won't get someone
you know everytime... plus a lot of summer students.
Another tip, if you have small items: If possible,
always have *something*
to declare. I used this trick all the time: I'd go to the RatShack in
Canada (prices were better for computer stuff in Canada back in '86-'87)
and purchase a piece of Tandy software and whatever else CoCo stuff I
wanted. Keep in mind that all Tandy software was manufactured in the USA,
but most CoCo hardware was manufactured in Korea or Japan. Back then (not
sure about now with NAFTA) anything made in the US could come "back" to the
US duty free, but anything from Korea/Japan you had to pay duty. I'd
(usually) hide the items of Asian manufacture, and when I got to the border
and they'd ask me if I had anything to declare, I'd say "Sure!!" I'd
show
them the software, and then point to the line and say "See this line here?
It says 'Custom Made in the USA for Tandy Corporation.'" They'd look,
say
"O.K." and wave me thru.
I see you have been there too....
[[ Of course, YMMV and I will *not* be held responsible
if this trick
doesn't work for you. ;-) ]]
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I go through 4 possible entry points in Niagara Falls. You
never see the same guard twice.....
I only ever got lucky once and got a girl I use to go to school with... wish
I had a Picasso in the car that day :-(
(went to another border bridge)
That's fine & dandy if you live in a city of a few million... Me? I have
one bridge to/from Canada in, oh, at least 250 miles either direction. If
you're in a small border town, get to know your border guards. :-)
Take care,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger --- sysadmin, Iceberg Computers
Recycling is good, right??? Ok, so I'll recycle an old .sig.
If at first you don't succeed, nuclear warhead
disarmament should *not* be your first career choice.