I may buy a flute from a private person abroad (outside the USA).
Does anybody know whether duty is payed if this
is mailed or shipped into the USA; any idea how much?
Jim,
If it is an antique (more than 100 years old) then it is duty-free, but make sure that the sender labels it as such. For non-antiques, there is an import duty of 5% or there-abouts.
Dave Copley
Loveland, Ohio
We find the rates much lower if the flute is an antique.
I am waiting for an old French flute from New York, and am hoping that the sender has remembered to say on the form that an old instrument is enclosed. For a cheap item they might not bother me ( he says optimistically ! ).
Many thanks.
I’ve ordered many things from other countries and never been charged any kind of duty or import charge. However, I recently had something shipped UPS and about a week after I received it I got a bill from UPS for an import tax/duty. I thought this was very strange. I don’t think I’ll be using UPS anymore.
-Brett
what a timely post!
just an hour ago i received a call from “the tax guy”.
Terry McGee send me one of his Larsen flutes to try for a week, and send it to Gery.
Now uncle Sam is after me for $70, even though I have not paid a penny toward that flute, and I only had it for one week!
From what I gather, since it was mailed to me, I need to make sure it’s paid.
So if any of you see Grey - Can you please ask him to do his “duty”
thanks, eilam.
There is an odd wrinkle here.
Suppose the flute in question is made by an American
and sold to somebody overseas who later sells and ships
it to an American. So why the duty?
Actually I don’t understand the rationale for
duty charges anyhow. Will somebody give
me an economics lesson?
It all depends on the origin of the flute and the customs of that particular country/tribe/clan or maker. Like honouring the tree for giving of its wood for the flute, what rituals or scarifices or chants, will be needed.
Your posting is very open to interpretation Jim.
If you mean Customs as in those taxes and duties collected by governments, then in Canada, I gave up having flute makers send me flutes on speculation, because everytime a flute was sent to me, I was charged various duties, federal and provincial sales taxes, even when I protested that “I’m not buying this etc!” (“Ya right kid and how do we know that?” attituded)
Now I use the irsh under33ground. And avoid UPS at all costs.
MarkB
Jim, the sender should put AGR (American goods returned) or American made flute…
then there should be no problem with tax.
Wow Eilam,
Sounds like you got the short end of the stick! (flute) 
Jon
forget the stick, I did not even get the root 
it is particularly galling to receive old English flutes from America and have to pay duty on them. Or even old French ones. Or even old American ones !!
Travelling flutes such as these need to be sent as “Commercial Samples”, meaning they come into the country, but are expected to go out again. No duty should then be assessed. However, they do eventually have to leave.
Kevin Krell
Last year I had to pay Customs duty on a Wylde I bought from an American owner - before the post office would deliver the flute! It certainly changed the final price…
Andrew - I wasn’t aware of any exceptions to the customs duty levy for antiques? Please share, if there are any!
pamela
This would be very nice, as it would save a bundle.
OK, I talked to US customs–according to the individual I talked to,
the duty on woodwinds is 4.9 percent plus a 25 dollar handling
fee. If the instrument was made in the USA there is only
the handling fee–however documentation must be provided.
US Goods Returned must be marked, some distinguishing
mark on the flute, serial number, name…
I’m not sure this is enough documentation, may try to
inquire further.
Thanks everyone, for the good info
Inquired further. Customs says that ‘documentation’ should
include a letter from the American maker identifying
the flute as his/her work. I asked if a bill of sale from
the maker, marking the original sale to the party abroad, with the
maker’s name and address and the serial number,
would be sufficient. No, the customs individual said.
This doesn’t quite make sense.
Either the person I was talking with
was confused or customs is thinking of the possibility
that the bill of sale doesn’t prove the maker
made the flute–maybe he imported it and then
sold it. A bit complicated.
Jim - you’re scaring me! I was planning on sending my Seery back to Desi for more keys, but now I’m not sure if that’s safe…
I bought it from Frank out in LA (basically via Kevin’s website), but now I fear I will be charged for not just customs/duties on the new keywork but on the flute I already own!
Just curious who you’re calling so I can call and bug them, too.
Thanks,
Eric
I do think it’s wise to be careful. I’ve had some bad experiences
returning a flute to a maker in the UK–decided not to keep it–
where he was charged a vast customs sum, so he refused to accept it;
it was returned to me, except it was lost for several months–mucho
transatlantic aggravation for all concerned. Of course this was the Brits, not the USA, but I rather think government bureaucracies are capable of anything. (This, if I may say so,
is why I’m skeptical of socialized anything, FWIW.)
There is a US customs website and if you hunt about, patiently,
under Imports, there
are field offices, they have phone numbers. Find one,
call it, and ask for Customer Service. I called the one
in Chicago. Be nice, be kind, and breathe deeply.
SOME of it, at least, isn’t really all that complicated.
The bill of sale, Jim, isn’t sufficient because an American maker could have sold a flute not of his own manufacture. They want an affidavit from the flutemaker stating that he made the flute in the US. Whether or not you end up having to pay a duty really ends up on the vagaries of the customs agent at the port of entry, and whether or not s/he feels like bothering.
As for sending your flute to Desi, Eric, make sure you write on the customs form that the flute is BEING RETURNED TO FLUTEMAKER FOR REPAIRS. Include, if possible, the aforementioned affidavit. I’ve had trouble sending things to Ireland, actually, since Irish Customs can be sticklers about proving the origin of the item as well. I had to have Geoff Wooff fax them an affidavit.
And do NOT think that UPS has somehow screwed you in that you might get a bill from them for getting an item through customs. High-dollar items, like instruments, are like candy for customs agents. They (Customs) LOVE charging the duty, and UPS/DHL/FedEx consider rapid turnover through customs part of their service. Not everything sent via UPS/etc. will get charged a duty, but it’ll be a lot faster than the mail, and the item won’t languish in USPS Prison waiting for you to pay the duty. UPS/etc. pay the duty on your behalf.
And, in defense of the US, it’s the only country I’ve lived in which makes it a habit of allowing the item to pass through customs quickly, even if there’s a duty. The UK, Ireland, and Canada (Ireland and Canada are the worst) are notorious for customs backlogs that can last for WEEKS or MONTHS. Meaning your flute/chanter/etc. can languish in a customs warehouse for WEEKS (with no climate control). This doesn’t happen with DHL/UPS/FedEx, but it DOES happen with the mail. You pay extra for UPS/etc. to get your crap through customs.
Oh, and don’t EVER send anything to Ireland in late December or early January. BACKLOG backlog BACKLOG.
And don’t generalize. 
Stuart