Ordering From America Wetsuit

PowerHouseDan

alrite here the deal,Friend is living over in america and i want to order a wetsuit and sent it to his address as it is way cheaper,Now there is a good chance that he wont be coming back till Christmas,If i got him to send it over via Postal or express Would it be stopped at the airport and would i be charged tax/duty,or what would be the best way to avoid paying for it?

Creamy Goodness

he could mark it as a gift, but if it gets lost in the mail then i think you can only claim the value of $50 back.

Daibheid

Something as bulky as a wetsuit stands a higher chance of getting stopped but I find a plain brown box helps. I'd suggest putting a reasonable value of about $100 on it and be happy to pay customs if it gets stopped - you might be lucky. If you can get the suit made to look used (sand/salt/mud) and declare it as used the low value is even more likely to be accepted. Remember Customs can google up the price as easy as you especially if its a real brand name! Worst case paying customs on a reasonable value you'll still be way ahead.
Check shipping costs first though - could be significant.

stevenmu

Yeh, get him to throw some sand and a bit of seaweed on it and stick a note in saying "here's the swimsuit you left behind last time you were here" or something like that