Hey Homster I need some free advice

[Jerk]

I know a guy who is buying tobacco from a foreign country and having it mailed here to Oklahoma. Even with shipping charges, it is less than half the cost of store-bought tobacco because of the, uh, lack of a tax stamp?

Is there anything, uh, illegal about this? I don't want my friend to end up in PMITAP. Thanks.

[Curly Bill]

I know a guy who is buying tobacco from a foreign country and having it mailed here to Oklahoma. Even with shipping charges, it is less than half the cost of store-bought tobacco because of the, uh, lack of a tax stamp?

Is there anything, uh, illegal about this? I don't want my friend to end up in PMITAP. Thanks.

Friend...right? We know it's you! :D

[Jerk]

You people always assume the worst of me :mad:

[Turd_Ferguson]

You people always assume the worst of me :mad:We know how you gear jammer's are.

[AlbqSooner]

When I was practicing and people would ask for free advice I would tell them sure. Here is the advice. You get what you pay for.

[Czar Soonerov]

Try sending him an email..

http://www.homestarrunner.com/

[Lott's Bandana]

I know a guy who is buying tobacco from a foreign country and having it mailed here to Oklahoma. Even with shipping charges, it is less than half the cost of store-bought tobacco because of the, uh, lack of a tax stamp?

Is there anything, uh, illegal about this? I don't want my friend to end up in PMITAP. Thanks.

Jerk, in a previous life I worked for the company that prints over 9 BILLION cigarette tax stamps a year for 48 State Governments. Living and working in California, nevertheless, Oklahoma was part of my territory and my clients were every cigarette distributor in the state, as well as the Indian Tribes. I feel qualified to tell you that he is violating Federal Customs laws, US Postal Regulations, as well as Oklahoma Tax Statutes. I'm sure you remember, the "T" in ATF is Tobacco.

I defer to Homey to speak to the specific laws but your friend may have to make a decision if he really believed previously that he wasn't breaking any laws.

I couldn't think of anything funny to say about this...he'd probably get in less trouble if he was caught importing animal pron. How's that for serious?

[Jerk]

I couldn't think of anything funny to say about this...he'd probably get in less trouble if he was caught importing animal pron. How's that for serious?


:eek:

I had better tell him!

[Okla-homey]

It is generally best to obey the law.

[Lott's Bandana]

It is generally best to obey the law.

Sage advice, at the right price!!!

[StoopTroup]

So....

Whatever happened to "Smoke em if ya got em?" :D

[Jerk]

Ok I've been doing a little research on this and the federal regulations are pretty straight forward. The biggest problem that could get my friend in trouble is that the containers have no label for health warnings. So far as the State of Oklahoma, their website offers absolutely no help that can be found regarding this matter.

[Lott's Bandana]

Your friend keeps smoking that Chinese stuff, you're (I mean he) is gonna look like your avvie. :P

Look at the Customs laws...there are strict limits as to the amount of non-tariff tobacco that can be brought in. The packaging certainly has a customs declaration...I wonder what it says?

The State of Oklahoma is one of the many states that does not, as of yet, hire specific tobacco tax inspectors. California, Michigan and New York have the highest incidence of tobacco tax fraud in the country and have full investigative departments to try to stop it. The facts have shown that areas with a high Middle-Eastern immigrant populations have become hotbeds for counterfeiting, "car trunk" selling, mail importing, etc. It is very, very common for groups to drive a truck to North Carolina, fill it up with smokes, then go back to LA or Detroit and sell the cartons to convenience stores out of the trunks of their cars.

This is a remarkable, disturbing but true statement: In the early part of the decade, Al Qaeda was being funded by millions of dollars from the sale of untaxed cigarettes.

The San Gabriel Valley of SoCal is the capital of this kind of fraud. The SGV has a significant ME and Asian population.

There is an episode string on The Sopranos where Christopher and his crew drive trucks to NC and return with cigarettes to sell tax-free. Tony remarks how doing this is "easy money". It isn't just the ethnic population, however, the larger organized groups currently evolve from those cultures.

Incidentally, Rhode Island became the first state where the consumer cost of a pack of cigarettes is more tax than the actual cost of the product. In 2005, their tax was $2.40 per pack and the wholesale cost of a brand-name pack was $2.10.

Not sure you care about all this, but I thought you might find it interesting.

[StoopTroup]

How about some advice from our Hamster...Homester doesn't really have time for free advice unless yer woman is beatin the heck outta ya. :D

wp6OU3gQc-E

I believe this hamster died from 2nd hand smoke btw. :D

[Jerk]

The packaging certainly has a customs declaration...I wonder what it says?



Swedish Snus

[Jerk]

The packaging certainly has a customs declaration...I wonder what it says?



Swedish Snus

It's not like our snus though, more like our copenagen snuff. The difference is that Snus is steam cured while American dipping tobacco is fire cured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snus

[Lott's Bandana]

Ah....snuff, single-stick and loose tobacco all fall under different categories and fall out of my particular knowledge base. It is MUCH more difficult to tax this kind of product and this likely falls under that OK law that requires you to pay taxes on anything brought into the state that didn't require a sales tax at point of purchase. I realize tobacco tax is a different animal, but this proves how fuzzy this all is.

I've never heard the term Snus. (thought you were "doing" Lou Holtz)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snus interesting stuff

Starting to sound more like this is a legitimate operation, but you are correct to be concerned about the OK tax consequences.

[Jerk]

Ah....snuff, single-stick and loose tobacco all fall under different categories and fall out of my particular knowledge base. It is MUCH more difficult to tax this kind of product and this likely falls under that OK law that requires you to pay taxes on anything brought into the state that didn't require a sales tax at point of purchase. I realize tobacco tax is a different animal, but this proves how fuzzy this all is.

I've never heard the term Snus. (thought you were "doing" Lou Holtz)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snus interesting stuff

Starting to sound more like this is a legitimate operation, but you are correct to be concerned about the OK tax consequences.

Yeah. Swedish Snus has a very low concentration of nitrosamines because it is not fire cured (I'm not claiming it is "safe") and American tobacco companies are starting to make their own version of Swedish Snus...I, er, my buddy just doesn't trust them. Camel's version is available in Dallas now. Skoal is also coming out with theirs, soon.

[Sooner Eclipse]

Ah....snuff, single-stick and loose tobacco all fall under different categories and fall out of my particular knowledge base. It is MUCH more difficult to tax this kind of product and this likely falls under that OK law that requires you to pay taxes on anything brought into the state that didn't require a sales tax at point of purchase.

Believe me, whoever is buying this in Sweden and shipping it to him is paying plenty in taxes on the snus. The swedish govt taxes this stuff at 200% + rate. But when you buy stuff in there the taxes are already figured into the price of the items. His problem is most likely the ammount that is being shipped to him. (He isn't by chance a swedish national, is he?)

[Jerk]

Believe me, whoever is buying this in Sweden and shipping it to him is paying plenty in taxes on the snus. The swedish govt taxes this stuff at 200% + rate. But when you buy stuff in there the taxes are already figured into the price of the items. His problem is most likely the ammount that is being shipped to him. (He isn't by chance a swedish national, is he?)

This is where my friend got it, right here:


http://www.northerner.com/html/snus.html

[Lott's Bandana]

What about customs?

We mark international packages as containing the specific description of your order and state the cost of the item on the customs documentation. Currently, we are not able to describe the contents in any other way.

Any customs or import duties are levied once the package reaches your country. Additional charges for customs clearance will have to be borne by you; we have no control over these charges and cannot predict what they may be. Customs policies vary widely from country to country; you may want to contact your local Customs office for further information.

From your website.

[Jerk]

Ok, so there are 2 issues here remaining:

Lack of a warning label (would this apply if the product is not for re-sale and only for personal use?)

And the OTC. If I send them a check, what do they do? Send me a bunch of little stamps back?

[Lott's Bandana]

Ok, so there are 2 issues here remaining:

Lack of a warning label (would this apply if the product is not for re-sale and only for personal use?)

And the OTC. If I send them a check, what do they do? Send me a bunch of little stamps back?

That would be funny.

Believe it or not, those stamps have more anti-counterfeit devices built into them than our paper money.

Oh, until 2005, only packs were stamped. Haven't paid attention since then.

[Jerk]

That would be funny.

Believe it or not, those stamps have more anti-counterfeit devices built into them than our paper money.

Oh, until 2005, only packs were stamped. Haven't paid attention since then.

oh.....you're right...there is no tax stamp on cans. I didn't even think of that. Thanks.

[Turd_Ferguson]

This is where my friend got it, right here:


http://www.northerner.com/html/snus.htmlAt $3 and some change, where is the savings?:confused:

[Penguin]

Looking at the site, it looks pretty legit.


My sister has a neighbor that orders prescription drugs from overseas like crazy! I know that's not legal! They normally get 2 or 3 UPS packages every week. They get painkillers, Xanax, even vials of morphine and Valium. The lady is a nurse so I'm guessing that's how she found out about these shady companies.

[Jerk]

At $3 and some change, where is the savings?:confused:

Look at the loose snus 'try out' pack. 8 cans for $16.30

Go to 7-11 and buy a roll of copenhangen and see how much it costs:D

But the main reason I buy it is because it has a very low level of nitrosamines (carcinogens) compared to American smokeless tobacco because it is steam cured, not fire cured.

[SouthFortySooner]

at customs they seem more interested in whether i am bringin home tobacky than wmd's. jes sayin.

[Sooner Eclipse]

At $3 and some change, where is the savings?:confused:

45 grams a can vs 34 for the US stuff. $3 vs $5.50 for the US stuff.

[walkoffsooner]

How does the wintergreen finecut compare in taste.

[mdklatt]

he'd probably get in less trouble if he was caught importing animal pron


Is animal pron actually illegal? The National Geographic Channel might in big trouble.