Markgeezer said:
If the sender writes "sample" or "samples" on the package...
I went with a friend of mine to Ezeiza, where he went to pick up some controller circuit boards (something standard. I'm not a hardware guy, don't remember what he called them) mailed to him from a company in China via DHL.
He had the company in China declare them as "samples." Which is exactly what they were - he was buying a few to see what he wanted to order in quantity.
I won't go into the three trips and stupid crap we went through to get these boards. Once through the tedium was enough.
However, the biggest problem we had was that the boards were marked "sample."
When we went into the little office with three desks and enough space for three people, maybe, to stand comfortably, the first thing the aduana lady asked was "do you have a business here?"
When we said "no" she pointed to a notice taped on the door (and was also outside in the hall where people wait to get called). Very explicitly were the categories of what fell under business items and what fell under pesonal items. "Samples" was near the top of the list, apparently a common thing to for packages to get hung up on when going to Ezeiza.
This problem had nothing to do with the cargo being electronics, according to the aduana lady we talked to. Repeatedly.
BTW - the circuit boards were worth about U$D 5.00 each, and there were 3 of them. It cost him U$D 180 to get the boards out of customs. That included U$D 60.00 from DHL to get authorization for him to deal directly with customs, and U$D 120.00 for various fees to get the "Samples" through. My buddy can be hard-headed and decided on principle to not let them have the boards, to pay whatever it took to get them out. Personally, I would have left them there.
I wouldn't mark anything "sample".
