My 2nd Coin from Roma XX Auction

Wow! I did have some auction lots from Roma delivered through Fedex. Fedex would send me a bill for the duty charged for the shipment. I told Roma to just send shipments through Royal Mail/USPS. This is a much slower service, but, at least so far, no duties or forms that need to be filled out.

I am surprised that you had to complete an Importer Identity Form. Here's some information that I got online regarding the definition of importer:

"Importer is an individual or a firm authorized by the government of respective country to act as an 'Importer' to bring goods or services in a country from outside countries. The importer is responsible completing necessary legal import customs clearance procedures and formalities on arrival of goods in to a country."

I really don't think you meet this definition.

Also, this information is from the CBP:

International Postal Service: Merchandise shipped through the international postal service is forwarded upon its arrival in the United States to one of U.S. Customs and Border Protection International Mail Branches for clearance. If the item is less than $2,000 in value and is not subject to a quota or is not a restricted or prohibited item, a CBP official will usually prepare the paperwork for importing it, assess the proper duty, and release it for delivery. This procedure is generally referred to as a mail entry. Packages whose declared value is under $800 ($100 if being sent as a gift to someone other than the purchaser) will generally be cleared without any additional paperwork prepared by CBP. However, CBP always reserves the right to require a formal entry for any importation and generally exercises this option if there is something unusual about the importation, or if important documents such as an invoice or bill of sale do not accompany the item.

I wonder if your Roma shipment fell under this last statement.

I suggest sticking to snail mail. Actually, the registered mail service is not bad, especially considering the pandemic. Roma shipments to California take 10 days to two weeks from the UK. Other countries have been slower, notably Spain, and in one case Germany, where there was a considerable delay with one shipment, taking nearly two months to arrive.

 

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The way this whole situation was handled was annoying & a great inconvenience to me . It began with a phone message from the FedEx office in Lexington, KY on a late Friday afternoon saying the shipment was being held pending the completion of the necessary forms. When I got home that day I returned the call but their office was closed till Monday. So I left them a message to call my back on Monday to find out where I could get the 4 forms. They never returned my message, so I called them again on Tuesday. The clerk who sent me the message said she was no longer working on the case & that another clerk, working from home, was handling it now . I called his number & he said he had quite a few packages on hold from Roma's XX auction. He was friendly & helpful & sent me a PDF through my computer with the 4 forms explaining what was necessary & what wasn't. Unfortunately my printer no longer works, so I transferred the PDF to a flash drive & drove to a Staples store to get printouts . I completed the forms at home which are written in confusing legal jargon, something you'd expect from a lawyer . Since the 2nd FedEx clerk didn't supply me with a fax # I had to photograph the completed forms & send them to him via PDF on my computer . Two days later I received the coins . The coins had a combined value of over $5,000, but I wasn't charged any duty on the package. Even sending coins to Canada now has become a "pain in the butt", with lengthy waiting periods at customs. Dealing internationally has become an unpleasant experience....

 

No duty/ you are lucky to live in the US! Here in Canada they ding you 13 % HST+ a service charge for all the aggravation.