I'll just write the "accompanying invoice" as a gift.
Had that happen nearly every time I shipped internationally. I even had a Toybiz Peter Jackson Hobbit figure (LOTR fans will know which one I Mean) that I got for 30.00 shipped from Italy (on an american card) that was marked as a gift coming to me.
Customs still cut the package open to check it and cut the hell out of the bubble on a perfect card in the process.
I was mad...the figure was at 75.00 when I went to get another.
Is it true a new form of legislation has been introduced by the American government banning EU buyers buying from the US through Ebay, Amazon, etc...?
This is an email I got from my local retailer who also happens to be a wholesaler:
We have just been informed by our shippers Geo-Dis Wilson, that with immediate effect the US government will stop all merchandise bought off Ebay, Amazon and other similar sites that are to be shipped out of the USA unless they are accompanied by an invoice and a registered company can be reached. All merchandise that cannot be traced in this way must be sent via "All Cargo Aircraft" leading to packages being grounded, taking longer to arrive and costing more. Furthermore the TSA reserve the right to open all packages for security measures.
We live in a globalized world where national wealth is measured, in part, by our ratio of exports relative to imports. Trade deficits occur when we import more than we export, which is bad for the economy. How the hell would we help ourselves economically by limiting our exports, even if only from EBay sellers? We don't want European money flowing into our country? Seriously, where is the logic here? And where is a single link to an actual news item?
If anything, limiting imports might help to decrease our trade dependency, but in practical terms, that is always limited because of the sanctions that would be imposed by the WTO and other states and trade blocs, as well as by the fact that so many U.S. industries rely on cheap material produced elsewhere.