Anybody here pickup the CV advertised in MrPinball for $3495 in VT (only 2 hours from MTL)?
Sounded like a sweet deal at first, stated that the game was in exellent condition. I guess, if you add GST/QST, gas, currency exchange, etc you're already over $4.5K. Becomes an average deal...
500$ is just fine. they don't know what a CV ( or a centaur ) is ... they don't even ask... "it's a pinball machine" is all you need to tell them.
If that is what you believe, you did not read my last post on this topic. The customs agent did a internet search when I went through last December with a CV and in the end i paid over $400 in fines and taxes. You are foolish to think they are not knowledgable to know what they are worth.
It has been scientifically proven that light is faster than sound. That is why some people seem brilliant........until they open their mouth!
Anybody here pickup the CV advertised in MrPinball for $3495 in VT (only 2 hours from MTL)?
Same guy I bought my CV from. He is non negotiable in price and I do not agree with the way he describes condition of games. He is a OK guy, but he asks for top dollar when the quality of game I bought left a little to be desired.
It has been scientifically proven that light is faster than sound. That is why some people seem brilliant........until they open their mouth!
You are not supposed to pay taxes on what the machine is worth but instead what you paid for it. If you buy it from EBAY, yes, then be aware that some agent can actually log into his EBAY account and search for completed items and find something in the same State that you came from and say is this the one you bought sort of thing. So in that case I would be careful on declaring a fake value.
But in general, you should get some sort of invoice from seller with lower amount or fudge a Paypal invoice for example and if they ask you to log in to Paypal to verify that amount, say that you don't log in strange computers (not even government) or that you only have your password saved in your computer IE/Firefox at home and don't remember it now.
Not every collector or seller sells at market. There are sometimes great deals by sellers who either didn't research current prices or are really not into searching on EBAY (or don't know about Pinball guides or Mr. Pinball site).
It is a chance you take though if you lie about the price you pay....
Vids: Crystal Castles, Gauntlet/Gauntlet II, Donkey Kong Jr., Ms. Pac-Man, Vs. Super Mario Bros. (other Vids in storage - for now) Pins:White Water [WH2O]
If that is what you believe, you did not read my last post on this topic. The customs agent did a internet search when I went through last December with a CV and in the end i paid over $400 in fines and taxes. You are foolish to think they are not knowledgable to know what they are worth.
Indeed, customs agents are becoming much more internet saavy.
It use to be that if you brought a printed copy of an eBay auction as proof of purchase, it was good enough. I use to routinely alter eBay auction pages to lower the purchase price when I drove down to pick-up supplies at my US PO Box, (...it's sooooo easy to do on a HTML file ) and never had a problem... until last time.
That's when the customs agent took all my eBay auction print-outs and went on-line to check. Thankfully, I had also changed the auction numbers to "expired" auctions so that he couldn't look them up, but had he decided to check the auctions via my feedback (...which anyone can do without even having to log into your account ), I would have been caught.
I was lucky that time, but I now know that that "trick" won't work anymore...
Not True. I spent 2 hours in the interogation room, so on this one, I know. They have the right to value it at market value.
They could have just 'ripped you off' sort of thing, no? Not if you have valid official invoices or EBAY print outs for it. In that case, it is really what you paid for it. EBAY doesn't lie (especially if you login to your My EBAY for them for example). Paypal is questionable since you can send seller a lower amount and then pay him rest in case, etc. But again not if linked to an EBAY item.
Anyway, all cases can be different. It is really unfair if a private seller (non-EBAY) sells you something for $500 and that customs wants tax for $2000 become some guide says it is worth that much.... That is why so many guys here would rather buy (and pay a bit more) for say a TZ locally to avoid potential over taxing, other issues (including gas)....
Good luck to those who purchase and cross back. I am sure some maaca vultures will be around to buy the Pin from you once you crossed and are bored with it....
Vids: Crystal Castles, Gauntlet/Gauntlet II, Donkey Kong Jr., Ms. Pac-Man, Vs. Super Mario Bros. (other Vids in storage - for now) Pins:White Water [WH2O]
You are not supposed to pay taxes on what the machine is worth but instead what you paid for it.
You would think that wouldn't you, ... but that's not the case.
I had one guy in the States who was so happy that I sent a rare eprom to fix his machine, that he offered to send me all the spare eproms he had kicking around ...for FREE. ...over 200 in all !
He only asked that I pay shippping (...which I gladly did ! )
Knowing that Customs was now more aggressive in their X-border questionning, I called to find out what to do since I had no proof (..other than an e-mail) that I got the items for free.
I was told that "everything is worth something" and that I had to provide a fair value by finding for a similar item with posted price. (... eprom prices can range from $50c /lb for scrap to $8+ea for rare 32M eproms ! )
It took awhile before I found something on eBay which came close... 150 eproms sold for $30 (or 20 cents each ).
So I had to pay tax on FREE eproms which were valued at $40 ! No money was ever exchanged between me and the other guy, yet Rev Can got $6 of MY money !
WHAT A SCAM !
So don't assume that if the seller of a CV gives you a receipt for $50 that the customs agent is going to accept that...
All in reasonable value. $50 for CV is not reasonable. A 1997 machine should be worth $1k declared at least if you want little trouble. I have brought enough machines back up and paid less than original value. I know others here have done so also. Naturally, don't try to pass a Pac-Man Vid or anything with a movie theme like POTC, LOTR for $500....
It is a CDN scam. That is why living in USA must be so amazing.... Anyway, things are changing at CDN/US border, I believe by 2008 Jan, if it works out, we will be able to bring in $750 value even for a 1/2 day trip....
Vids: Crystal Castles, Gauntlet/Gauntlet II, Donkey Kong Jr., Ms. Pac-Man, Vs. Super Mario Bros. (other Vids in storage - for now) Pins:White Water [WH2O]
I do not want to get into specifics as this is a public forum. You talk about Ebay. So let say you make a deal to buy a CV for $3500, but you tell the guy to put it on Ebay for a Buy-it-Now of $1500. You buy it immediately and use this as your receipt, but you pay the seller $3500. It has be done, so said the customs agent to me in the interogation room. They have the right to value it at market value. I paid the $400 and was told I can appeal it. Would you like to argue with customs in court?
My opinion now is declare what you paid and get a receipt from the seller and the most important even if you pay cash, have a receipt of your cash withdrawl or currency exchange. The more evidence you have, the better you are to defend yourself if you get a over zealous agent at the border.
It has been scientifically proven that light is faster than sound. That is why some people seem brilliant........until they open their mouth!
I do not want to get into specifics as this is a public forum. You talk about Ebay. So let say you make a deal to buy a CV for $3500, but you tell the guy to put it on Ebay for a Buy-it-Now of $1500. You buy it immediately and use this as your receipt, but you pay the seller $3500. It has be done, so said the customs agent to me in the interogation room. They have the right to value it at market value. I paid the $400 and was told I can appeal it. Would you like to argue with customs in court?
My opinion now is declare what you paid and get a receipt from the seller and the most important even if you pay cash, have a receipt of your cash withdrawl or currency exchange. The more evidence you have, the better you are to defend yourself if you get a over zealous agent at the border.
Like Steph says, it is a SCAM and we unfortunately got to pay. It is part of this not so cheap hobby of ours.... They have the right to value that CV at market but most agents will just see the EBAY invoice for $1500 and make you pay tax on that. It depends on how they feel when they look into your eyes to ask you questions....
Vids: Crystal Castles, Gauntlet/Gauntlet II, Donkey Kong Jr., Ms. Pac-Man, Vs. Super Mario Bros. (other Vids in storage - for now) Pins:White Water [WH2O]
HP5P: I don't get it, couldn't you have argued that the game was broken or in need of significant repair and thus the lower price. If I remember correctly, the game you picked up had some issues and you wouldn't be necessarily lying. Heck, you could have pulled out a few fuses and show them that it was not functioning. Just a thought...
HP5P: I don't get it, couldn't you have argued that the game was broken or in need of significant repair and thus the lower price. If I remember correctly, the game you picked up had some issues and you wouldn't be necessarily lying. Heck, you could have pulled out a few fuses and show them that it was not functioning. Just a thought...
I don't think it so easy to argue with them on the spot, when they have the power to confiscate the machine and/or your car. If you are really serious that you have been burned...then go for the appeal.
HP5P: I don't get it, couldn't you have argued that the game was broken or in need of significant repair and thus the lower price. If I remember correctly, the game you picked up had some issues and you wouldn't be necessarily lying. Heck, you could have pulled out a few fuses and show them that it was not functioning. Just a thought...
Let see: Ringmaster motor not working, Neon not working, many plastics broken, lines missing in the display and a chip in the playfield and off route dirty. I did not need to remove fuses to show my arguement, but when they show you Ebay adds and Mr. Pinball ads that are all over $3500, you do not have much of a defense.
It has been scientifically proven that light is faster than sound. That is why some people seem brilliant........until they open their mouth!
Not that it helps you "guys" but being a Mom with a young son in a minivan definitely helps clearing customs easily. I really love my $1000 MM and $785 NGG bought privately with a handwritten receipt (altho never asked to produce receipt!) I think I've brought 6 or 7 machines across with no issues.
In the end it all depends on the agent you find, I guess it was my turn this time. All this experience has taught me is that they can be as nasty as you see on TV/Movies when they want to be.
It has been scientifically proven that light is faster than sound. That is why some people seem brilliant........until they open their mouth!
Only an inbred banjo boy doesn't have internet and know how to google something nowadays.
If you want to roll the dice at the border you run the consequences of getting caught for fair value. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. It all depends on whether or not they decide to take literally an extra couple of minutes to run what you have through the computer. If you think there is a science to beating this, your wrong.
Unfortunately a pinball machine is a pretty high profile item. It's big and flashy.
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bought privately with a handwritten receipt (altho never asked to produce receipt!) 
!
