Importing fur from Fabric.com

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YoteFox
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Importing fur from Fabric.com

#1

Post by YoteFox »

Howdy yall!

So I'm busy with a commission for which I had to import some fur from 'murica!

It's not nearly as daunting as it sounds and I got the fur in less than a week because it was shipped via UPS and not South African post office which is a complete nightmare in regards to any clothes or fabrics. I do not recommend using SA postal service for that.

Anyways, I imported 3 yards of fur from fabric.com
The pricing consisted of:
1- The actual fur price
2- The shipping costs
These two amounts you pay directly to Fabric.com

The 3rd element was the customs duties and VAT and despite what other threads says in this sub forum the classification of the fabrics were spot on. UPS sent me an invoice regarding the amount I needed to pay as customs duties in the form of an invoice.

So the complete structure existed of:
1- The actual fur price
2- The shipping costs
3- The customs duties

SO the breakdown of cost

When you buy fur from fabric.com you obviously see the listed price let's take a hypothetical price of $29.98 per yard https://www.fabric.com/buy/0317452/shan ... 889bf8fb7b
So if you wanted to buy a single yard your total so far in your cart would be $28.98 which at 15.30(Difficult to estimate a precise amount) equals to R443.39 per yard.
WONDERFUL because that's still cheapish for fur. Just remember a yard is less than a meter 1 yard is exactly 0.9144 meters

Now onto shipping!
For the exact item shipping amounts to $24.72 at R15.30 that amounts to R378.22
Stellar! The total amounts to R821.61 still okayish but creeping close to expensive (Also keep in mind this amount increases per yard)

Your total payable to fabric.com would be:
Fur
$28.98
Shipping
$24.72
Total
$53.70
So you pay the $53.70 to Fabric.com using either a Credit card or Paypal
GREAT! Now you purchased your fur and knowing how fabric.com ships it will be here in great condition and in due time!

But here comes the customs duties and VAT
Good news is that you are not charged customs duty on shipping.

HOWEVER You are charged customs duties on the spot rate at the day of conversion and not on the day you paid for the fur!
Which in layman's terms means that the day UPS decides to work out your customs charge you are charged on the exchange rate on that day they convert and not on the rate you originally paid.

So let's for arguments sake say you paid when the exchange rate was R15.30 to the dollar and you paid R443.39 but at the day the customs duties are charged the exchange rate is R16 to the dollar then the value of your purchase would be R463.68 therefor VAT and customs duties would be charged on the R463.68

So let's work with these numbers because you will almost always be charged on a different value from when you paid since exchange rates are pretty volatile.

Shipping would be charged on Shipped on board meaning the rate at the day the package is shipped would be used to calculate the customs value. So let's for argument sake say the exchange rate the day it was shipped to SA was R16 to the dollar ( I believe this amount is determined on a schedule or such and isn't the real exchange rate)

The percentage customs duties are charged on is 22% which differs from the percentage tax charged on a completed fursuit as fabric and completed garments are taxed at different rates. Fur is defined per the import tax schedules as other woven fabrics.

SO then $28.98 at the spot rate of shipped on board @R16 to the dollar = R463.68 x 22% = customs duty(R102.01)
So therefor your Customs duty is at R102.01
Your total so far excl VAT
Order
R821.61
Customs tax
R102.01
Total
R923.62
This is still excluding VAT
So the Tax base for VAT regarding the fur is something I'm not 100% sure how to calculate but it's not the same value as the tax base on which customs duties are charged. So in other words the value used to calculate the VAT payable is not the value on the invoice at the day of shipping. For some reason the Tax base used for VAT on my order was around 32% more than the tax base used for Customs duties so on that assumption I will continue this calculation using those numbers.

SO for VAT R821.61 x 1.32= R1084.52
R1084.52 x 15% = R162.68

Therefor VAT = R162.68

SO again let's tally the totals

Invoice amount(Order)
R821.61
Customs Duties
R102.01
VAT
R162.68
Total
R1086.3


So you'd pay R264.69 so far to UPS for customs assuming there are no disbursement fees. Check the site for disbursement fees
https://www.ups.com/za/en/shipping/zone ... ional.page

So the you are looking at around anywhere from R1000+ per yard of fur to import.

My personal opinion on the matter. R1000 for 900cm of fur is quite pricey yes but if you have the coin to spend to get it and the means to use it it is absolutely worth it! For me as a fursuit maker this is absolutely worth it to import since the quality of fur I can get from abroad far exceeds that of the local market. HOWEVER! Exchange rates HEAVILY influence the cost and needless to say the higher the exchange rate the more you pay. So actually importing fur is worth the effort for the quality you get.

Also just remember that fabric.com isn't the only source you can import from, there are multiple sites online that you can buy fur from and each site has their own shipping costs and policies regarding shipping. Please PLEASE take that into consideration when you want to import and make sure you understand the transaction structure as I outlined above. You will always have to pay an extra amount with regards to Customs tax and VAT on any imported product. I made this thread to make it easier for those considering importing fur to know what they are getting themselves into.

I hope someone finds this at least a little helpful.

Also my knowledge isn't absolute and 100% accurate but I am studying tax and I do understand how it works, but if you have something to add here feel free! I want to make information like this accessible to all!

May I also suggest to those looking to import fur to have a peek at this site https://www.joinhoney.com/ This is a add on you can add to your web browser that helps you find coupons before you pay for an item. It worked for me since I got a 20% discount from Fabric.com
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Suit up and it will make you feel better
- Pepper Coyote


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Azora Husky
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Re: Importing fur from Fabric.com

#2

Post by Azora Husky »

This is some very handy information, I have ordered from there (ordered a yard of luxury shag kelly) and fortunately they did not charge me for customs, but that is not to say they will charge for it next time. This will help me get an idea of how the customs will work.

Thank you for the information Yote
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Re: Importing fur from Fabric.com

#3

Post by YoteFox »

That's very interesting Azora, maybe that has to do with quantity or something I'm not 100% sure. Could be a various amount of factors like specific shipping address or what have you. If no additional charges are charged for 1 yard of fur that would be great but I'd personally make provision for these charges.

I've only imported from them once and I imported 3 yards, maybe they see this as something I am going to make money from (Did not declare a thing regarding that) and decided to tax me for it.

I think actually it has to do with the weight, the total weight of the fur I imported was around 3kg
I'd rather be fursuiting

Suit up and it will make you feel better
- Pepper Coyote


People get built different. We don't need to figure it out, we just need to respect it. Maybe he likes his company more than I like mine - Princess Bubblegum
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Re: Importing fur from Fabric.com

#4

Post by Leeward »

I still don't think it's worth it. It might take a bit of searching but I've found most types of fur you'd need for fursuit making locally, at less than half of that. I guess it depends on what your time is worth to you, but I'd rather have fun rummaging through multiple fabric shops all day to find what I want, than pay more than double without having seen or touched it beforehand.
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Re: Importing fur from Fabric.com

#5

Post by Rakuen Growlithe »

Can't you get samples? I know when you buy carpets you can get those tiny squares of the carpet so you can check how it actually feels and looks. Same thing if you want to get paint, they have those cards with the colours. At EF, someone was talking about how they had been planning a suit and picked some cool looking fur but when the fursuit maker sent them different fur samples the one that looked good actually felt bad. I know you're not always buying fur from the same places but presumably manufacturers would be willing to send some sort of catalogue of test pieces?
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Re: Importing fur from Fabric.com

#6

Post by YoteFox »

Rakuen Growlithe wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 5:24 pm Can't you get samples? I know when you buy carpets you can get those tiny squares of the carpet so you can check how it actually feels and looks. Same thing if you want to get paint, they have those cards with the colours. At EF, someone was talking about how they had been planning a suit and picked some cool looking fur but when the fursuit maker sent them different fur samples the one that looked good actually felt bad. I know you're not always buying fur from the same places but presumably manufacturers would be willing to send some sort of catalogue of test pieces?
Many websites or webstores make swatch cards upon request. I have a swatch card for my local fur shop.
Leeward wrote: Sun Sep 09, 2018 5:01 pm I still don't think it's worth it. It might take a bit of searching but I've found most types of fur you'd need for fursuit making locally, at less than half of that. I guess it depends on what your time is worth to you, but I'd rather have fun rummaging through multiple fabric shops all day to find what I want, than pay more than double without having seen or touched it beforehand.
To each their own. I'd prefer to buy decent quality fur from America or abroad and pay the premium as opposed to spending countless hours on a frustrating journey looking for fur that you probably won't find the exact color of or at a decent quality. Both the fur colors I imported are out of this world regarding quality and the colors are something you'd never find in SA. Makes the commission work easier too and the client is happier due to me using luxury fur.

I've seen the difference in quality from local supplier Vs Fabric.com and there is no comparison. Fabric.com is leagues above the cheap chinese import fur that you find locally.
I'd rather be fursuiting

Suit up and it will make you feel better
- Pepper Coyote


People get built different. We don't need to figure it out, we just need to respect it. Maybe he likes his company more than I like mine - Princess Bubblegum
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Re: Importing fur from Fabric.com

#7

Post by Leeward »

Actually I'm fairly certain the fur I have and used for my suit is this one, which I got from Studio 47 at R350/metre. May well be a Chinese imitation, but the quality is perfectly satisfactory to me. You're right though, it's not everybody's cup of tea searching for what you want. I just enjoy browsing, could do it for hours. I've found amazing stuff in the most random places, from well-known warehouses in Cape Town to Hermanus Factory Shop, with tiny little dress fabric shops in Somerset West inbetween.
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