08-10-2003, 11:19 AM
I wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the general forum, so if it's in the wrong place please move it to the appropriate forum. I am planning a trip to Hong Kong during the last week of February and I have some questions/seeking advice both from people who live in Hong Kong and for anyone who's ever been there before.
For people who have visited Hong Kong before, did you get hassled by customs on your way back in? I'm going to be buying some DVDs and VCDs while I'm there, and don't want customs siezing my stuff when I come back in. They've never seized anything that's been shipped to me from Hong Kong, but I would assume they're more strict when you bring stuff across in person. Technically you're aloud "to bring one knock off item of each type (i.e. one shirt, one pair of sunglasses, but not two shirts)" back with you from Hong Kong according to US customs, but whether HK DVDs are considered knock off or not is debatable, as the discs are legal in Hong Kong. I was also wondering since the stuff I'm buying is sold openly in Hong Kong, i.e. in malls during plain daylight, if that made it a legal Hong Kong good that I could legally import. I'm not worried about paying duty, you don't have to pay duty until you bring more than US$800 of goods back with you, and even at that point the duties won't kill me. So I guess my main question is, how do you get the stuff back to the states without it getting confiscated? Are there just some goods to avoid? Mailing the stuff back to myself isn't an option, as you can only mail US$200 back to yourself and forfeit the right to bring anything else back duty free.
For people living in Hong Kong, where are the places to buy HK DVDs and VCDs? I was planning on stocking up on stuff while I was there. From what I'm hearing, I can expect to pay about HK$35/disc for DVDs and less for VCDs, which would be awesome. I'm not really concerned about going into "shady" parts of town, but if certain places are more filled with pickpockets I'd like to know about it. Do street vendors and/or stores haggle more with big purchases, because when I come to buy, I come to BUY. I'd be looking for anime, AV, HK movies and Japanese movies and TV shows. Any recommendations on the best places to go would be greatly appreciated. I've also been told it's a LOT cheaper to go to China to buy this stuff. Would it be worth it for me to buy a one time visa to go to China to buy stuff there instead of places in Hong Kong? And if so, where would be the best place reasonably close to Hong Kong to go? My DVD player can play VCD, SVCD, NTSC, PAL and all regions so format of discs is not an issue.
I'd also be looking for advice on some of the best things to do while I'm in Hong Kong. I'm going to all of the tourist things, like Ocean Park, riding the Star Ferry, taking the tram up Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Museum of History, HK Museum of Art, Po Lin Monastary, etc. I don't want to just do tourist stuff though. If there are any amusement parks other than Ocean Park in or around Hong Kong I'd appreciate the info. I could also really use some advice on non touristy stuff to do. Like best places to see HK movies in theaters, info or links to theater performances, info on any *ahem* gentlemen's establishments or just anything else cool in general to do.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me out at all.
For people who have visited Hong Kong before, did you get hassled by customs on your way back in? I'm going to be buying some DVDs and VCDs while I'm there, and don't want customs siezing my stuff when I come back in. They've never seized anything that's been shipped to me from Hong Kong, but I would assume they're more strict when you bring stuff across in person. Technically you're aloud "to bring one knock off item of each type (i.e. one shirt, one pair of sunglasses, but not two shirts)" back with you from Hong Kong according to US customs, but whether HK DVDs are considered knock off or not is debatable, as the discs are legal in Hong Kong. I was also wondering since the stuff I'm buying is sold openly in Hong Kong, i.e. in malls during plain daylight, if that made it a legal Hong Kong good that I could legally import. I'm not worried about paying duty, you don't have to pay duty until you bring more than US$800 of goods back with you, and even at that point the duties won't kill me. So I guess my main question is, how do you get the stuff back to the states without it getting confiscated? Are there just some goods to avoid? Mailing the stuff back to myself isn't an option, as you can only mail US$200 back to yourself and forfeit the right to bring anything else back duty free.
For people living in Hong Kong, where are the places to buy HK DVDs and VCDs? I was planning on stocking up on stuff while I was there. From what I'm hearing, I can expect to pay about HK$35/disc for DVDs and less for VCDs, which would be awesome. I'm not really concerned about going into "shady" parts of town, but if certain places are more filled with pickpockets I'd like to know about it. Do street vendors and/or stores haggle more with big purchases, because when I come to buy, I come to BUY. I'd be looking for anime, AV, HK movies and Japanese movies and TV shows. Any recommendations on the best places to go would be greatly appreciated. I've also been told it's a LOT cheaper to go to China to buy this stuff. Would it be worth it for me to buy a one time visa to go to China to buy stuff there instead of places in Hong Kong? And if so, where would be the best place reasonably close to Hong Kong to go? My DVD player can play VCD, SVCD, NTSC, PAL and all regions so format of discs is not an issue.
I'd also be looking for advice on some of the best things to do while I'm in Hong Kong. I'm going to all of the tourist things, like Ocean Park, riding the Star Ferry, taking the tram up Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Museum of History, HK Museum of Art, Po Lin Monastary, etc. I don't want to just do tourist stuff though. If there are any amusement parks other than Ocean Park in or around Hong Kong I'd appreciate the info. I could also really use some advice on non touristy stuff to do. Like best places to see HK movies in theaters, info or links to theater performances, info on any *ahem* gentlemen's establishments or just anything else cool in general to do.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me out at all.