[Ayu-me]

Originally Posted by ~angel*ayumi~

Normally registered SAL is insured up to 6000 Yen, they also write that in their shipping method discription. (and I had a private person who always sent me stuff this way) And yes it takes long, but I can wait. And the reason you can´t track it after it left japan is that it gets relabled in your country, it will get a different tracking code because your post can read the foreign tracking codes. (they only can read the EMS/Express tracking codes) And for me at least chances for custom are lesser, as EMS get´s always hold, SAL only a few times^^

My package's value was above 6000 yen, so it wouldn't have applied for me anyway, and the tracking code for my package was not changed, the original tracking code was the one they scanned at the post office and it is still searchable on the Swedish post's website. All the usual information about the package's journey, like when it arrived in Sweden and how it was sent to customs processing right after that, is there. Though I do know from experience that SAL packages aren't always trackable, wouldn't they in that case be unregistered SAL? I always got the impression that "registered" makes the difference, but I may be wrong.
I also know from experience that SAL (registered or not) does not always get customs, but I personally always expect the worst with SAL as I once had a package, total value INCLUDING shipping ~30 USD, and the size of two DVDs stacked on top of each other, get customs as well as the post's additional fee. Customs are at around 25% so that wasn't too bad, but the post's fee is at the fixed rate of ~15 USD, meaning I had to pay more than an extra 50% on top of what I paid for the package in the first place.
So yeah, I've had more than my fair share of bad experiences with SAL and customs, but much fault of that lies with the Swedish customs and post. I just want to say that their incompetence is just astounding; my most recent EMS package has now taken more than the promised 4 workdays to arrive, not because of Christmas backlogging, but because they keep sending my stuff to the wrong post office, a mistake they have made and rectified several times over. Not to mention that time the customs forgot about my EMS package and after almost 3 weeks of waiting, I sent them a message to inquire about it: they don't reply, just out of the blue, the package gets moving to my post office, and I still have the pay the customs of course!
This rant is kind of pointless, so I'll stop it, but I just wanted to accentuate how worthless the whole "cutting corners" with the shipping has been for me. Hopefully, you'll get a much better experience than me!

Originally Posted by //ABEST

only package i never had to pay customs was one from HMV Japan.. Celga's packages don't ever be taken by customs even if they're over 6kg because they put such an random numbers to prices. i wonder does it change that if i change the amount on Tenso before they ship it? tired of paying of nothing

here in Finland you have to pay taxes if the order is over 22€

Tenso allows you to edit the value of your package, but I do believe customs usually check the actual package slips (from mu-mo or whatever store you're buying from) inside the package and will ask you to send them proof of the package's value (i.e. your order confirmation/s) before they release it. The package value below 22 Euro-rule also applies for Swedish customs, I believe, and as seen in my experience above, if you're just the tiniest bit above that line you can still get hit hard with the fees. Customs really don't fuck around in the Nordic countries, it seems.