I have one theory. Did your brother declare the value in Yen? If so, the
official
who processed it possibly could not be bothered finding out the current
exchange rate
and working it out.
If he/she opened the package and could obviously see the lens was used - marks,
lack
of original packaging & papers etc - then perhaps they thought that its value
was
likely to be low and so not worth their effort to work out it's US$ value.
When I was living in Australia a US vendor sent me a rather expensive lens and
marked the package as a returned repair. I consequently did not have to pay any
duty. I appreciated the initiative!
Giles
Tomoko Yamamoto wrote:
> Does anyone have an explanation for this customs free treatment? Is it
> because
> the lens is used? My brother did not identify the lens as used, but while the
> lens looks really good overall, it has a few brassing marks on the metal rim
> above the mounting ring, which makes it obvious to the inspector that it is a
> used lens.
>
> Perhaps there are others who can tell us about their experience with the
> US/other countries Customs with respect to photo equipment.
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