any of the shops send without declaring it as tabacco?

[bobby]

hi guys first post here...i have been ordering a decent amount of snus and getting it shipped over to Tokyo where i live. The thing is a tin that costs say 3 bucks will pretty much work out at around 5 bucks per tin by the time postage and customs have been paid....duty over 1 buck a tin for portions and obviously double for los as its heavier...i have used northerner a few times and whilst i am happy with their service i wondered if there are any online companies that will be a little bit creative on the customs declaration. I read Northerners FAQ and they wont do it...
thanks in advance

[Liandri]

Unless its within the great Japan, any package sent to you from elsewhere must state in their customs report of what the actual package contains. In this case "Snus-Tobacco" "Snus" "Snus-Smokeless Tobacco" along with the customs code number will be present, so that customs that easily identify what is within the package and in cases scan the code/number. If the retailer does no post these things on their product they can face additional taxes/troubles/problems/etc when sending their package to a country other than where they are currently located.

One time I got a order from Northerner that said "Crafts" (I think) on it. Probably because they sell other things aside from tobacco.

Ya could do http://www.rakuten.co.jp/snus/ but 9 bucks per plus 3 bucks flat rate for shipping for a can of (as I looked) Ettan seems a little steep.

[Karanya]

I have no idea what customs is like in Japan, so I'm not sure if a false declaration would be helpful or not. It definitely is with packages coming into the U.S. *cough*

That said, every time I get a package of snus it's marked "snus" or "Swedish snus", but the word tobacco is absent and it's mostly a matter of whether the customs guy knows what "snus" means.

--K

[bobby]

thanks for the advice guys...i just checked that rakuten link....seems like they are selling the thunder for ¥400 a can ($4 roughly) which seems pretty good value...and its my favourite brand..the other stuff though is way too pricey at ¥900....
think i will order a load of their thunder..

[GoVegan]

Just hope that some worker there doesn't see this and write cocaine on the declaration portion of your package for a joke.

[snusjus]

Is Kool Snus still available in Japan?

[bobby]

i dont see kool on that rakuten link from above...i dont think japanese people will really dig snus anyway...i have tried getting a few japanese friends to try mine but most of them spit it out after a few minutes saying it burns...they all smoke but i guess they just dont care about the risks of smoking..

[texasmade]

About how much does a pack of Seven Stars Black Charcoal Menthol go for there?

[clubsnus]

Snus Declaration

You have to understand that if a company is going to send you snus and not declare the correct information about the package they are running the risk of being banned and fined for this behavior.

I know that we would love to do the same but we are not able to run the risk of getting fined or banned for this kind of behavior.

Keep in mind the laws and regulations are getting more and more stringent and tough to get around. They heavily regulate this business and have an eye on everyone who is doing the shipping and this type of transaction.

[Karanya]

Re: Snus Declaration

You have to understand that if a company is going to send you snus and not declare the correct information about the package they are running the risk of being banned and fined for this behavior.

I know that we would love to do the same but we are not able to run the risk of getting fined or banned for this kind of behavior.

I wouldn't recommend shipping tobacco from the United States to another country with a "fudged" customs declaration. Nor would I recommend shipping tobacco within the U.S. without following the new rules (once they apply).

As for fudging customs declarations...

The wording on the customs declaration can make a big difference. If you put "snus" instead of, say, "smokeless tobacco" when you're sending a package overseas, it's more likely to get through customs without incident.

Most of the companies I receive packages from send them anonymously and most fudge the customs declaration in some way or another. All have gotten through without incident. For example, when I buy European cigarettes, the customs declaration does say "cigarettes" but it's hand-written and so poorly that most would have difficulty making it out.

Another company that I buy some of my medications from makes no effort at all to be discreet other than sending them in a brown box and without a company name or logo attached. Their customs declaration reads "health products for personal use" rather than "prescription medication" or worse "pills!" LOL

Yet another company I use goes over the top in packaging things in such a way that customs will not want to open them, then lists "birthday gifts" on the declaration. In this case, it is made and written up to look like the package comes from an individual.

Another company sends me cigarettes from the Ukraine. They're wrapped in brown paper and the customs declaration says cigarettes, but it's written in Russian. For these, the return address includes my own name, so I guess it's supposed to look like I mailed myself something while travelling abroad.

As far as Swedish snus making it into the United States from Sweden goes -- as in Northerner/Buysnus/Snuscentral -- I hope that they continue to offer USPS. It would help if they eliminated the company logo from their packages, but as long as the guy going through the packages doesn't recognize what "snus" is, it's probably fine. It would be even better if they could add a couple of innocuous but Swedish words to the declaration... e.g., whatever "cans of snus" in Swedish is. I wouldn't expect either company to move into the territory of outright lying on the declaration, as I expect that would not work out well at all.

The big question is where packages from Sweden land in the US. I know it's not ISC New York, because they are too slow to allow the speed the snus arrives at. If it was going through NY, the shipping time would be 20 to 30 days, not the 10 or so days it actually takes. If it's San Francisco, there's probably little or nothing to worry about, but if it's Miami, all bets are off.

--K

[sagedil]

Welcome to Snuson bobby.

For whatever it is worth, Northerner used to mark at least half the packages as "crafts", and not snus. Just haven't noticed this past year if they are doing the same.

But honestly, no smart shop is gonna commit customs fraud for you. I am sure you understand why.

[bobby]

completely understand why they cant do it....just blows when u have to pay another 33% on top of the price listed...i have ordered from a few different swedish sites so far and I have had to pay duty on them all despite the fact they say snus and not tobacco...either the japanese are smart (which i doubt) or its flagged in sweden before it comes out

and a packet of those seven stars probably costs around ¥400 or a little over $4 here....i havent bought smokes for years so could be a little off there...everything expensive here except alcohol and smokes..

[beerski]

Buysnus just writes "snus" on their envelopes and I've had about a 50/50 chance of getting dinged with duty and taxes so far. I've debated asking them to mark it "please open to assess fairly", since it can cut the fees in half if they know what's inside.

Just be glad you're not in Canada - a roll of 10 tins could end up costing over $200 if it gets assessed the maximum rates. Luckily, even in that worst case scenario, its still cheaper than smoking here.