Hey,
I’m contemplating purchasing an iRiver H320 from an American company seeing how I can get it a heck of a lot cheaper in the states than I can up here… but I’m wondering how much I’d get hit for tax at the border? The iRiver comes to about $365 dollars canadian… or $296USD. Any one have a clue?
U.S. Customs
Articles acquired abroad and brought back with you into the United States are subject to duty and internal revenue tax. As a returning U.S. resident, you are allowed to bring back $400 worth of merchandise duty free. However, you must have been outside the U.S. for at least 48 hours, and you must not have used this exemption within the preceding 30-day period. The next $1,000 worth of items you bring back with you for personal use or gifts are dutiable at a flat 10 percent rate. Any dollar amount of an article or articles over $1000 is subject to variable duties.
Tax Rebates for Visitors
When you leave Canada, you may be eligible for a tax refund on the goods that you bought in Canada if you take them out of the country within 60 days. For further information, get a copy of the pamphlet called Tax Refund for Visitors to Canada from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency web site at http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4031/rc4031-e.html
or call 1-800-66VISIT (1-800-668-4748).
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/regional/regional_1170.html
If over $400, you could also take it out of its packaging, make it look like you’ve owned a while, and hope they didn’t notice that you didn’t declare it (pretty likely they won’t).
Hide it in your bum… Make sure you put it in a baggie though… And take it out of the box…
Off Topic:
$365? What’s it up here in Canada?
Do you have any friends or relatives in California? If they were to bring it across, it wouldn’t cost anything, would it? I mean, it’s a music player, a lot of people listen to music in the car 
Not sure how they’d get the box to you mind you…
Mail it.
Dave, customs searches packages, hence the dilemma.
When do you need it Kyle? if you can wait till say, May, lol, I can pick it up for you.
They only search a small percentage of packages. They’re more interested in contraband like drugs. What are they going to do for electronics - send a duty tax bill?
Maybe order online or via mail order and have it shipped to you.
Actually, yes, that’s what they do. If the company declares what the item is on the shipping label, which they’re supposed to do legally, customs doesn’t have to search it, they already know the value. They’ll just send the bill to your house and then ship the package when they receive the payment.
But you’ve never received a cross-border package, evidently, or you would have known that.
Yes I have - from individuals. Never got any duty tax bill.
Yea, I got dinged pretty heavily when I got my paintball gun shipped across. I suppose I’m going to have to get it shipped to my grandparents in Arizona and wait till the end of March for them to bring it up. Oh well, and I decided on the gmini400 - splendid little machine that is.