I live in the UK and import/VAT charges can be really bad however I have noticed that there is approx. a 50/50 chance of getting charged with anything coming from the US (unless marked as a gift) but so far I have never been charged anything with stuff coming from the far east, it's almost as if they only check US mail.
Well, here's the trick. If you don't want to pay custom fees from US sellers, use USPS. Too many parcels for the customs to go through, so most of the time, you go unnoticed. Companies like UPS go through the custom procedure to go faster and declare everything so you pay every time. Basically, the slower and cheaper, the better!
As for Asia, these guys know the ropes and never declare the real value of an item. so they will declare a 300 bucks figure as a gift or at a low value, thus, not interesting for the customs, and thus they let it through.
Japan doesn't play that game though and they declare the real value.
Over the years, I've found that ordering from HK, China, Taiwan or Singapore the best possible deal. You get your stuff earlier. You often pay more but in the end, since you don't have to pay custom fees, the total price is close to retail price plus shipping plus custom fees from an American company (like Sideshow)
