Of course, the first Customs I'm talking about is Customs and Border Protection. I delayed my buying trip for a long time, because I was so worried about learning how to do all the paperwork properly. As it turns out, I don't have to do any paperwork at all. I have a freight forwarder here in Mexico, and a customs broker at the other end in the USA. Between the two of them, they are taking care of everything for me.
I'm still glad that I familiarized myself with everything. At least I can be confident in knowing that the people I've hired are doing the correct paperwork, because I knew what questions to ask them. And I also knew, when presented with choice of container, not to choose wood. New customs rules require that a certain type of pre-treated wood be used for packaging. I decided to just bypass that whole issue.
The other customs in the title, is the customs to be learned when doing business in another country. In many ways it is similiar to the USA, but also in many ways it is not.
First, there is the language barrier. I can get by in spanish, but the subtle nuance in the choice of one word over another makes a huge difference in the meaning of some things. So, on the most important day of my trip, when I visited with the artists whose work I would be buying, I hired a translator.
Even though I had a translator with me, custom still demanded that I speak directly with the artists as much as I was able, of course. It would have been horribly rude to stand by like a mute while someone else was transacting my business. If I was going to do that, I could have just stayed home and let Constantino do my business for me, right?
Also, remembering to greet, and then say goodbye to, individually, every person present in the houses and showrooms that I visited. That is very important here, and not something that we place much importance on in the USA. We tend to just pay attention to the person/s with whom we are directly transacting our business.
And then the whole issue of pricing. Differently than in the USA, there isn't much that has a fixed price here. But, how do you bargain down the price of something and not insult the person who made it in the process? Lavish lots of praise, notice the fine details of a piece well-crafted, and then use quantity, not quality, as my bargaining chip. Unlike at the fruit stand, where I point out every blemish.
Overall, I feel I did well. Though shipping costs were more than I expected, I paid far less for my initial inventory than I had budgeted, so it worked out.
I should receive my goods within three weeks, so when I get home next week, it will be time to put the finishing touches on everything else.
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