Hi All, looking for advice and stories good or bad. I want to upgrade (adding keys) an expensive flute by a Swiss maker, eventually I will get to the top of the queue. If I ship it insured for the full value, will there be duty / customs on a flute that doesn’t change ownership, but does cross borders? Will my homeowner’s insurance cover the flute if I only insure it for a low amount with the shipper? If I travel to Europe and hand-deliver it, will there be the same problems on the way back?
Does your homeowner’s insurance specifically cover or not cover flutes in transit? I am looking for insurance company names. Do you know about duty and taxes? I have heard the UK inbound customs & taxes can approach 25%, and I’ve paid around 10% duty on a flute from England to US.
How about carriers? I would also appreciate hearing shipping experiences, especially the bad ones. I have used USPS and UPS and had good results. I am very careful to put the flute in a sealed plastic bag or container to protect from humidity swings, and have started putting pieces of wood or multiple cardboard supports that protect the box from crushing.
If you post it to Europe insured for its full value, the recipient will be charged duty, whether or not it changes hands. It is his/her responsibility to work out from his end what the specific Swiss laws are and whether or not he can reclaim, it’s not up to you. I can’t speak as to what would happen at your end, I’m sorry, but again, that side of things is your responsibility… It would almost certainly be easier to deal with eg Fedex or DHL rather than the post office.
If being shipped to Europe ( not switzerland )from the USA the recipient would be charged the vat and duty based on the insured value including the cost of shipping, if the item is marked up as being returned for repair ( clearly marked ) then it should not be charged, this way it can be insured for the full amount, so basically if I purchased a flute from the USA paid the vat and duty when it was delivered, then had to send it back because it was damaged or it cracked during warranty, and the seller was happy to swap it for a new one or do the repairs, on its eturn back to me I would not pay the duties or the vat, and this as been the case for me on a few transactions, but Switzerland is a different kettle of fish, I have worked in Switzeralnd a lot and they have different ways of doing things.
i don’t know about homeowner insurance, but vat is an issue… don’t check “gift” thinking they won’t charge vat; if it’s over i think 80 euro they will (well, that’s the eu, i don’t know about the Swiss, but i’m guessing it would be similar.) there’s no where to check off “for repair” that i ever saw on customs forms on this side of the pond, but i guess it’s possible to write a note? but i don’t know if that will hold up or not.
i’ve shipped several flutes over to europe with no problem. the “damp sponge in a baggy trick” probably helps, but probably more important is oiling the flute before mailing, which helps seal the moisture in. i’m in the almond oil with vitamin e camp, but others recommend bore oil. search this board for more opinions. (i keep my flutes humidified too, if you don’t then the flute might be more vulnerable to splitting.)
if you can sit on the box without crushing the flute, that’s probably a good test. Mr. Milligan ships his whistles now in a piece of almost indestructible pvc tube, because USPS crushed a couple. Tommy sent me a whistle in a thick cardboard tube surrounded by bubble wrap inside a box that survived USPS crushing one end of it. my recommendation is to think worst case scenario, then you should be fine.
Mr. Milligan ships his whistles now in a piece of almost indestructible pvc tube, because USPS crushed a couple. Tommy sent me a whistle in a thick cardboard tube surrounded by bubble wrap inside a box