Anyone been through the Prop Store import process?

Force

New Member
I've lurked here on occasion, so I thought this might be a good place to ask about this.

I've always been interested in films and sci-fi, so on occasion, I've watched some of the prop auctions over the years (and drooled at some of the interesting items for sale).

So, I ended up bidding on something in the PropStore auction today. (Oboy, what have I done...lol)

Since I have not been through their purchase process before (or actually bought any props before), I was wondering if some of you have gone through the process with Prop Store, and if you might be willing to share your experience.

What I bid on was a reasonably large item and will need to be shipped (and probably crated) from the Prop Store in the UK to the east coast in the US. What sort of things should I expect for the shipping process? What about the import process through customs in the US? Is there a way I can find out what I might owe for taxes/duty, and how to go about submitting payment? Do I submit any paperwork ahead of the shipment? Do I pay taxes/duty while it is being held in customs? Or do I get billed after the fact?

I'm really excited about this piece, and I was hoping to make this process go a smoothly as possible without too many headaches.

Thanks! :)

[edit]: I just realized I posted this in the wrong collectors sub-forum. Would the "Production Made Costumes & Props" forum be more appropriate? Thanks :)
 
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Well in belgium they need the following beforehand.
I always ask for this to be written on the outside of the package. And I always send a mail myself to custom clearance.

- Country of origin
- tracking code
- value of item
- value of shipping
- discription of item

With this info they calculate the taxes that I need to pay to be able to import it.

But seeing you are in the US, it might be different. I suggest just reading up on it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_duties_in_the_United_States
 
Chances of you paying taxes as a US citizen on import are slim. You only have to pay and give them your address. PS will ship it. If special packaging is needed better contact them. If there are import duties you have to pay on import. Are you sure the piece is in the UK? While the auction was held in the UK, some pieces stayed in the US.
 
I hardly come here anymore, but I can answer your question.

Usually, there is no customs tax. However, I had won an item in last year's auction that went for £4500. The paperwork was accidentally messed up and FedEx had to call me to get it sorted out. I think it got flagged due to the problem with the paperwork and I ended up with a $35 custom's tax. Not a lot I know, but previous shipments from them (of approximate equal value) did not trigger the tax. Whether it was because of the paperwork problem, customs missing the previous shipments, or new processes in place, I cannot say. In any case, it wasn't much.

Regarding the custom's tax, FedEx pays the fee ahead and then they bill you. I've found their shipping to be extremely fast from the U.K. to the east coast - you will get a notice of shipment and find it at your door literally the next day. This assumes the item is small enough for FedEx to handle it. If what you won is very large, then I have no clue how the process works.

I should point out that this was the only problem I've ever had with shipping and all my previous orders (about 8 if I remember correctly) from the U.K. have been without an issue. So I wouldn't worry about my above situation happening again. I just wanted to give insight on what you may expect.

One last thing - are you sure the item is in the U.K? I had three items in this auction and I had shipped them to L.A. As far as I know, they are still in the U.S.
 
Thanks for the rundown!

I'm reasonably sure it's in the UK. Items in the US were marked with a "US" next to the lot number. Although, I didn't see the item anywhere in the photos or video footage at the London IMAX BFI display, which I though was a little odd.
 
Thanks for the rundown!

I'm reasonably sure it's in the UK. Items in the US were marked with a "US" next to the lot number. Although, I didn't see the item anywhere in the photos or video footage at the London IMAX BFI display, which I though was a little odd.
Only a third of the items for sale were on display. If it indeed didn't say "US" the piece should have been in the UK.
 
The process when reasonably smoothly. It took a few weeks before they actually processed my payment and the whole thing took about 2 months from auction day to delivery, although I had to keep chasing them down via email every couple weeks for an update.

Propstore's shipper, Prescision, did a good job with building the shipping crate and packing. The crate was shipped using fedex international economy freight. It took less than a week from the time it finally reached a UK shipping location to the time it arrived at my doorstep.

When it arrived at customs, the tracking info showed it was stopped with the note "Shipment requires importer's registration/identification number for clearance". I contacted fedex about it, they took my email address and phone number, and said someone would be in touch. The next day, a contact at fedex supplied a sheet of paperwork to fill out via email. I filled it out, and the shipment passed through customs the next day.

Duty was then charged through my fedex account about a week after the shipment arrived, which was $26 & change. It looks like $25 was minimum duty fee. When the charge was made, it hit my credit card first, so I wasnt sure what it actually was. A call to fedex didn't get me anywhere since at the time, there were no records available as to what the charge was for. Then a few days later, the invoice appeared my my fedex account. I didn't recieve it by mail or email, though.

In the end, it arrived safe & sound :)

[Edit]: I received the duty invoice a few days ago in the mail.
 
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