Buying from eBay & Customs

matthewchiro

I placed an order for a '62 Made in Japan Telecaster with Bigsby. Left Tokyo 01/29/2014 02:11, arrived in SA Customs 01/31/2014 10:54.

Do I need to contact customs to pay VAT/duties or will they contact me?

aubs1

Your Post Office will contact you. They send you a notice that it's at the PO. Normally takes a few days.

They will let you know how much you need to pay.

matthewchiro

So I guess with this postal strike I'll be waiting a while :'(

epictring

Take you US tracking number and call the Post Office. Tell then you have a US parcel tracking number and need the SA tracking number.

They will direct you a few times until you hopefully get someone who can assist, then punch in the new SA tracking number on the website to see where it is.

You can hurry then up at customs by calling and asking about your parcel if it starts taking long.

javburg

matthewchiro wrote: So I guess with this postal strike I'll be waiting a while :'(

Do you already have the SA tracking number? If not mail your international number to: Ben.Blignaut@postoffice.co.za and he'll give you the south african tracking number. He will save you the time and money to phone ems. If the tracking shows that your parcel is still at the Johannesburg International Mail Centre, you can drive there, pay the tax and get your guitar without waiting for it to go to your local post office.

matthewchiro

Thanks for the reply and advice. I'm happy to say it was already delivered today! 8 days in total from Tokyo 8)

I only had to pay R310!