Hi ppl,

Just wondering... especially for items which are either not found or are WAY overpriced locally... is this an option? And has anyone done it before?
[warranty issues aside...]

Linking this to another topic which talks about custom taxes... as long as the item is not a taxable item... we won't get any delivery problems yes?

~Limsy who humbly awaits to be enlightened / bombarded...

ebay really involves some luck when purchasing your instruments. Depending on what instrument you order, you may or may not face problem when receiving them (*not inclusive of the hassle to get them from the Custom).

On top of the risk of being conned where the item is not received after the payment has been made, there is also an issue of what is received is not as expected, ie. what you see is not what you get.

These are just some of the problem you may face. And yes, you are protected by paypal for your items, but would you like to go through the hassle of submitting claims, complaints, etc. to get your money minus the service charge for retrieving your money by paypal?

So buy only things that are really worth your effort and risk, i would strongly advise against saving abit of money for items you can get here. Its just not worth the risk and time.

let's wait for gapnap to answer this

well...

if you are buying like ONE guitar from ebay..that cost RM1-3k ?
going all the way to KLIA and all ...not worth it lah ..

if you are buying like at least 4-5 guitars ..like 10k , or maybe just 1 guitar that is worth RM12k ..etc ..
then should be okay lah ..like what Mr.Z said , make sure it is worth it ..


so far i always kena custom tax lah ...even if you know how to ESCAPE custom tax ...(father's friend , lawyer's letter etc)
you still need to go KLIA to collect your guitar , it will not come to your doorstep ..

the only way it will come to your doorstep is getting it through an agent , will cost you extra RM100-200 , more if your shipment is large amount ..



have you read this ? might help
http://gapnap.com/2008/06/23/buyers-beware/

This post has been edited by gapnap: Jul 2 2008, 12:22 PM

i got no problem shipping stuff from ebay accept if the seller refuses to shipped internationally. i got no issues shipping pedals to my office but i always shipped guitars and other stuff to singapore and than i go back once a or twice a mth to sg to pick it up if needed.

Ohh... I didn't know we have to do all the way to KLIA to pick it up.
(I was under the impression that musical instruments are not taxable)

Thanks for sharing your wisdom. I definitely learned a lot.

This is certainly bad news. This means EVEN IF I'm not talking about eBay but buying brand new from respectable business overseas... I still have to face the custom problem? Dang! I thought musical instruments are not taxable! *cry*
Don't misunderstand, it's not that I'm unwilling to pay the tax, I want the convenience of delivery to my door step.

lordie, from what you've shared... does this means Singapore's custom is more forgiving in the sense that they allow the delivery of musical instruments to your door step? Thanks for the suggestion... it definitely sounds doable.

Thanks again guys!


~Limsy the enlightened one.

don't know if this applies to instruments, but for electronic products you can declare them and you get back the tax you paid at the country of purchase. And just pay the malaysian tax.

Again not sure if this applies.

yes the pstman will deliver to your doorstep but soemtimes if too bulky or your not at home, they will leave u a note and ask u to collect from the nearst post office. but usually i use DHL or Fedex or those courier service they will deliver it to your doorstep.

by law ... alot of things are not taxable...but reality is .. custom officer always try to exploit the law and try to make money out of it ..
i bought all my Dj gears setup through ebay when i'm in australia but one important thing u have to compare is the logistic ..
logistic from oversea to malaysia might be 1st class handling but when it reaches m'sia ... it might be a different story ...

unless you item is 100% fully insured including handling .. i suggest not to get anything big / sensitive to handling .. through international ebay ..and to avoid any possible custom clearance hassle

sorry choongster, sad to break the news, actually by law, almost everything is taxable.

Music comes under section 9 (*or was it 90? cant remember), check the subsections where it specifically stated that even accessories for instruments are taxable. Most item comes under the 10 - 15% bracket, it is not listed under import tax but sales tax.

It really depends on the custom, if they are feeling good about it, you wont be taxed, but always remember that most musical instrument comes under the 10% bracket except for piano and electronics, which has a different tax rate.

Having it delivered to your doorstep all depends on the agent who does it for you and the type of shipping engaged by the seller. Some agent tried to charge me exorbitant tax rate and fees, which i refute with the relevant clause. (FEDex)

Correct ...i repeat ...even if the item is not taxable ..you still have to go to KLIA to declare that it is not a taxable item (and pay RM18 for the declaration form) ..

the only way you could get your stuff to your doorstep is ...

1.Agent
2.Your item is below RM450 ...(RM500 will kena already , but the problem is , after shipping and everything ...WHAT IS lower than RM450 ?? , buy 1 pickup and thats it ? )

what i did is declare the value as $100, i did before, thank God that it arrive safe and sound. i still have to go to KLIA though, but no need pay tax. i don't recall i'm paying for the RM18 thing, if i remember correctly.

note that KLIA will send you a letter, and you can actually send the letter back, stating that you want to, return the parcel, or call an agent or representative to collect it you'll have to bring this letter to KLIA, too, if you want to collect yourself.

This post has been edited by little ice: Jul 2 2008, 08:46 PM

Ohh... so regardless of taxable or not, when an item of a certain size is posted... it will be detained in KLIA? Ahh... I understand now.

This plus the fact that we don't have high hopes regarding our postal's "treatment" of our precious goods... can I summarize and say:

Always use an agent. The extra cost is worth it. Goods are delivered to your doorstep and your item's condition should be better off...

To declare or not to declare. Well... we have mixed responses here. Basically it boils down to warranty. Declare if you want the protection of an insured delivery (very expensive item.... very expensive insurance)... declare UNDER RM500 if you want to avoid the "ahem".

From another thread... which talks specifically about malaysian taxes on musical instruments, one of the forumer (Party2DMax) found the exact site to check (http://tariff.customs.gov.my/). Very interesting find if your search for "musical instruments". Very confusing and it just nags of loophole however I look at it. I mean... I would search SPECIFICALLY for the line which says VIOLIN ... and JUST PRINT THAT LINE and use that as a basis for my argument... will that work? That aside... I would say I really won't mind the 10% tax... It's not much and I feel it's better in the long run.

I want to thank you all for your generous sharing. I have benefited greatly. Thanks.

actually before you even consider how the item will arrive in malaysia, you also have to consider the fact that there's high risk buying instruments off internet.

there're several things to consider like, being conned - money sent but seller ran way or item is not as described and seller refuse to return the money. also, you'll never know if you like it or not before trying the instrument.

i'd say the safest reason to buy something off ebay is that you saw something that's a really great deal but you're not spending a fortune to get it, or something that's hidden from layman's eye sight but you know that e.g. Fender Strat is indeed 50's but need restoration cause it looks so ugly, and only asking for $500 (which is, not overly expensive to gamble with such offer). i'd say, for such offer, i'd definitely give it a try if i have extra money to spend. or another good reason, that you want to buy something that you want to earn big bucks from selling it, means tradings, instead for your own use (of course, you can always keep it if you like it, but that's not the original intention).

anyway good luck to your purchase!

This post has been edited by little ice: Jul 4 2008, 01:07 PM

if u just type musical instrument, u miss alot of the other ones which actually says most instrument are taxable.. u will notice that alot of figures are missing, they are actually a subsection of the main one.. hehe

also, i dun agree with appointing an agent like pos malaysia if you actually trust them to handle your stuff with care? My fren's packaging came in like a piece of crap being processed, despite many big stickers stating FRAGILE!!

hey man limsy ...just wanna let you know ..it is still not that easy...

kastam officers meet people like you everyday , probably every 15 minute 1 person come and debate with them ..

they know how to deal with you ..trust me ..i already argued with them until i famous there...

i have used
1.My stuff i bought from xxx country and i bring back here then spoil lah ..i send there for warranty and now they send to me ..why i get taxed ? WTF ?
2.Eh bro , ini hadiah lah untuk kawan ..
3.Eh bang ...kenapa kena tax ? ini second hand instrument tau ?
4.hey , my stuff is memang below RM500 la....i used some super shipping company that charge me RM600 so that it will be delivered within a day ..thats why the value is RM1100 ..
5.bang , ada cara lain tak ..kekeke..
6.bro..aku student la (show my student i.d) ..i came from poor family , my dad works as fisherman and save up to send me to tar college ..
7.i am calling my lawyer right now with a lawyer letter to get it cleared off ..(bullsh1ting)

so..guess what ..all of it didn't work..because in the end of the day..the officer says "no" ..means "no"..they are having the authority.
the most i get is what ? 10%-20% discount ...thats it ..(i got the discount 1 year ago..recently no ..now they are very strict because our import duty has increased 30% , which is not really good for the economy..)

you can print out from their site ..but i am sure there are also laws to protect KASTAM Diraja Malaysia ..such as when an officer declare that this item is taxable , means it will be taxable ..unless you have some special permit to present to them before they make the declaration..

This post has been edited by gapnap: Jul 4 2008, 06:11 PM

lol... i used the second hand instrument tactic last time.. also phailed.. lol..
At the end of the day, it all depends on the kastam officer.

I managed to negotiate for no tax because i paid less than what was declared by the packaging. I showed them proof, so they also maybe feeling good that day, let me off the hook.

lol..when was it ?



anyway.to limsy ..

at the end of the day..

it all boils down to your personal life style ...

if you are driving a car that makan petrol , it is smarter to pay an agent
if you are staying at cyberjaya , putrajaya ..i think USJ also quite near KLIA ..or anywhere within 30 minutes drive...then it is smarter to go to KLIA..
if you are staying in Bangsar , Brickfields or anywhere near ...pay an agent and get them to deliver to their POS office branch at brickfields for free..
if you are buying something that exceeds RM5000 ...drive to KLIA ...the petrol money wouldn't mean a thing ..since your amount is huge
if you are buying something at RM1-2k .....pay an agent ..waste petrol waste time .
if you have any connections to get lawyer letter , or father kenal people from the kastam...go to KLIA with your documents .
if you have nothing to do , loads of time ..go KLIA .
if you are a major corporate man , every hour wasted means money to you ...pay an agent ..
if you are a chick and you can get guys to fetch you ...go klia
if you have many dumb friends who would drive you for free...go klia

LOLOL

i went few months ago to get my instrument, it was noon, so they probably had their lunch and both of them are feeling pretty good to actually argue with me, and with my ever courteous wolf smile, i charm my way in and get off the hook... LOL

LOL. Well... to be honest... I stay pretty near KLIA but I dare not show face... bcos I believe I have "Bully me! I'm easy!" written all over my face.
(Even the makcik selling kuih-muih can see that and manage to psycho me to buy MORE than I can swallow... LOL)

By agent I meant more respectable ones like FedEx and etc likes lah... I guess to save all the hassle.. paying the 10% sales tax is worth it then?

hey i have the same kind of face too, people tend to bully me haha...oh well...still learning how to say no when it comes to situation like sales man etc etc...

regarding if it's worth it or not, again, it depends. just calculate all possible expenses and taxes and add to the final sales price (this also include shipping, and shipping is REALLY expensive). if not you'll only end up waste time or worse end up paying more.

well..use it as your advantage instead of arguing with them

use that "i get bullied" face and beg them for no tax ...cry if you have to

how bout getting pickups?
http://cgi.ebay.com.my/Fender-Custom-Shop-...idZp1638Q2em122
i'm very interested to get this but scared kena tax kao kao...

It's below RM500. should be ok. Item is not taxable if it's below RM500 ya?
(Under gift allowance) Just say it's a gift and show proof of the price.

how to say that its a gift?
do i need any documents?
and from previous posts i noticed something called agents.
can you guys explain more abt agents?