Heyhey I recently visited Japan. During the flight back I forgot my Laptop at the airport (it was my second flight and I’m always overwhelmed with everything regarding airports) Luckily I was able to send the laptop from the airport to a friend who is currently a semester abroad in Japan. Now I am trying to figure out how to get it back to Germany. There are a couple of things I am still confused by and do not know how to deal with so any help would be immensely appreciated!
- It’s a Mac Book Pro - there are lithium Ion batteries in there. I found out that the packaging has to extra careful with these because they are ignorable - any recommendations regarding packaging and disclaimers on the packaging?
- I can’t find my receipts for the laptop. When I looked further into shipping items I found out that certain items apparently need a receipt for the customs authority (German: Zollbehörde). 2a. Do I have to pay a payment of duty (Verzollung) for the laptop? 2b. Am I even able to ship the laptop without the receipt?
English isn’t my first language, I just copy pasted some german words in the text. I hope these are the correct ones and you understand what I mean 😅
Thank you so much for any advice and help! I have never shipped something overseas and it’s hella confusing. Oh and in case I am on the wrong subreddit it would be really kind of you if you could tell me a better subreddit (or maybe even a company I could call for help. Regarding the calling part. - idk if its me but - I found it rather difficult to contact customers support so far! But that could be just a big L on me 😵💫)
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If you don’t have the receipts, be prepared for import taxes because German customs are very strict. Are you sure you can’t find the bill from the Apple Store (assuming yu bought it straight from them). They should be able to produce the receipt again.
Thanks for your reply. I thought so too. I just sent them a mail after visiting a store. One of the workers told me it is possible. So lets see how it turns out 🤞
You can send electronics with batteries, not all carriers accept, but FedEx does.
And yes, unless you can prove you paid tax in the EU (with the purchase invoice), you’ll have to pay VAT on the commercial value + cost of transport and insurance, duty (if applicable for the TARIC code) and the broker fee (most probably the freight carrier).
The sender will also have to prepare a commercial invoice, stating the value of the item(s) and based on that you are taxed when it arrives.
However, even if the shipping commercial invoice has a “gift” option, it never worked for me (I get stuff often from Japan)… And if you put a lower value (e.g. 200 EUR) it will raise red flags and you’ll probably have legal issues, depending how the german customs deal with tax evasion.
I hate DHL but for this I would use DHL Parcel service. They have proper labels and service for batteries. As others have said, be prepared to show proof of VAT so you don’t have to pay it again.
FedEx. The FedEx store also has padded boxes designed for shipping laptops. Get one of those. They were about $15 in the US.
You may want to think about asking your friend to hand carry it if they’re planning on visiting anywhere in Europe anytime soon. You can go meet them at the airport where they’ll be arriving and pick it up from them.
Yeah… Unless it’s a brand new laptop, it’s not worth trying to get it back. The Zoll is ridclious and I’ve heard of people having to pay to collect their house keys and eyeglasses that they forgot abroad. If you’re trying to get a MacBook Pro from the EU-Ausland in the mail, Zoll is gonna fuck you up. Plus shipping is super expensive… Between shipping and the absolutely outrageous import taxes, you’re probably looking at 600€+ to get your laptop back.
Do you have travel insurance? They might cover lost goods but it depends on the policy. You’re best bet is to probably ask your friend for money to buy the laptop from you and then just get a new one.