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> I find your claim of "technically an importer" to be completely bunkum You may well find his claim to be bunkum, but he's correct. If you purchase something

> I find your claim of "technically an importer" to be completely bunkum You may well find his claim to be bunkum, but he's correct. If you purchase something from a third party seller in a different country on Amazon's platform, and the seller ships it from their country to your country and it passes through customs, you are the importer. Walmart imports goods from China and gets them through customs and then sells them, so you are not importing things when you buy them from Walmart, unless you purchase something from a foreign country from a third party seller on their marketplace platform, just like Amazon.

crankylinuxuser 9y ago
If: The sale is made to Amazon, The product goes through Amazon's warehouses, and Taxes are paid to Amazon...It's an Amazon Sale and they are acting as the importer for these goods. Now, Alibaba/Aliexpress on the other hand, I do agree wholeheartedly with you. Because you are ordering from a Chinese company, ordering Chinese goods with no regard to US copyright/patent/trademark law.
- mirimir 9y ago
  I've purchased stuff from Chinese sellers on Amazon, and it's been sent directly to me from China. Actually, I didn't even realize that the seller was Chinese, until I saw the three-week delivery estimate. And there was no indication that Amazon was involved after I ordered the stuff.
  - slantyyz 9y ago
    On the Amazon product page, you'll usually see a "Ships from and sold by" line for products not fulfilled by Amazon. If it's fulfilled by Amazon, the line is usually "Sold by [seller name] and Fulfilled By Amazon". While not in huge text, it's pretty visible.
    - mirimir 9y ago
      I get that. Maybe this was before "Ships from and sold by". So it just showed "Sold by". This was several years ago.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  What you're saying is only true for items fulfilled by Amazon. Not all Marketplace items sold on Amazon are fulfilled by Amazon. On those items, especially on items sold by Chinese sellers, you won't be charged taxes, and the item is shipped directly to you. It's a lot like using eBay + Paypal. The packaging will have the seller's name (not Amazon) and your name.
- buttcoinslol 9y ago
  When Amazon fulfills an item, it's already imported for you. Here's an example, a japanese watch: https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-Japanese-Automatic-Stainless-Leather/dp/B000KG93BQ https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-Japanese-Automatic-Stainless-Le... You can have it fulfilled by Amazon and pay $392. It's already past customs and ready to ship to you. You can order it from a third party seller, where the description says 'Ships from Japan' and warns you about customs fees for $370. You are purchasing the item directly from someone in Japan via Amazon's platform and any customs or importing fees are on you. They explicitly state it, I'm not sure how you're still confused.

crankylinuxuser 9y ago

If: The sale is made to Amazon, The product goes through Amazon's warehouses, and Taxes are paid to Amazon...It's an Amazon Sale and they are acting as the importer for these goods. Now, Alibaba/Aliexpress on the other hand, I do agree wholeheartedly with you. Because you are ordering from a Chinese company, ordering Chinese goods with no regard to US copyright/patent/trademark law.

mirimir 9y ago
I've purchased stuff from Chinese sellers on Amazon, and it's been sent directly to me from China. Actually, I didn't even realize that the seller was Chinese, until I saw the three-week delivery estimate. And there was no indication that Amazon was involved after I ordered the stuff.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  On the Amazon product page, you'll usually see a "Ships from and sold by" line for products not fulfilled by Amazon. If it's fulfilled by Amazon, the line is usually "Sold by [seller name] and Fulfilled By Amazon". While not in huge text, it's pretty visible.
  - mirimir 9y ago
    I get that. Maybe this was before "Ships from and sold by". So it just showed "Sold by". This was several years ago.
slantyyz 9y ago
What you're saying is only true for items fulfilled by Amazon. Not all Marketplace items sold on Amazon are fulfilled by Amazon. On those items, especially on items sold by Chinese sellers, you won't be charged taxes, and the item is shipped directly to you. It's a lot like using eBay + Paypal. The packaging will have the seller's name (not Amazon) and your name.
buttcoinslol 9y ago
When Amazon fulfills an item, it's already imported for you. Here's an example, a japanese watch: https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-Japanese-Automatic-Stainless-Leather/dp/B000KG93BQ https://www.amazon.com/Seiko-Japanese-Automatic-Stainless-Le... You can have it fulfilled by Amazon and pay $392. It's already past customs and ready to ship to you. You can order it from a third party seller, where the description says 'Ships from Japan' and warns you about customs fees for $370. You are purchasing the item directly from someone in Japan via Amazon's platform and any customs or importing fees are on you. They explicitly state it, I'm not sure how you're still confused.