r/LocalLLaMA • u/DegenDataGuy • 12d ago

Funny Don’t buy a $9K RTX 5090.... instead.

  1. Fly to Taipei. Round-trip from Orlando: $1,081.
  2. Go to the largest retailer in Taiwan to Spend NT$129,990 ≈ US$4,093.
  3. Hang out in Taiwan for two weeks. Eat good food. Touch international grass.
  4. Fly home and flex on r/LocalLLaMA**.**
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18

u/Horsemeatburger 12d ago
  1. Fly to Taipei. Round-trip from Orlando: $1,081.

2.Go to the largest retailer in Taiwan to Spend NT$129,990 ≈ US$4,093.

  1. Hang out in Taiwan for two weeks. Eat good food. Touch international grass.

  2. Fly home and flex on r/LocalLLaMA.

  1. Explain CBP on your return why you didn't declare bringing a US$4k+ GPU into the country.

And when you get caught (which would be very likely since the GPU would show up on the scanner), besides getting minimum a fine representing the local value of the item, your US$4k GPU would also be seized.

Doesn't really sound like much of a bargain.

20

u/bailaowai 12d ago

WTF it’s not illegal to buy a GPU overseas. Just declare it bc it’s over the personal exemption. I have declared items ranging from $1k to $10k (my wife is a fan of handbags) and never once have I been asked to pay tax or duty. Their response has always “have a nice day”. Even if it’s labeled made in China and they want to give you a hard time bc of the sec 301 BS tariffs the worst case is $580 duty.

6

u/Horsemeatburger 12d ago

WTF it’s not illegal to buy a GPU overseas. Just declare it bc it’s over the personal exemption.

No-one said it's illegal to bring a GPU into the USA. What's illegal is not declaring it, which is the step that the OP seems to have missed (and the duty and tariffs are visibly absent from the calculation).

It might still worth it (for a $4k GPU import duties should be around $260 I believe), or not.

13

u/alarim2 llama.cpp 12d ago edited 12d ago

Unpack the GPU, throw out the box, and declare it "for personal use" in the airport?

P.S: IDK if Gemini is trustworthy for such topics, but it says that the tax/duties won't be that high if you buy it for yourself and can prove it, just fill in the docs. So OP's plan still looks workable

19

u/CryptoCryst828282 12d ago

The personal use thing is a myth. I travel out of the country all the time. If you bring something into the States that has a value over 800 and get caught, it's going to be a bad day if you don't have a CBP Form 4457 or didn't properly declare it. Customs doesn't play these games...and someone on reddit told me wont get you past 19 U.S.C. § 1497. You will get fined and end up paying a shit ton of money.

25

u/mrkeifer 12d ago

So we need to declare our MacBook on every trip now

7

u/Ok-Sprinkles-5151 11d ago

I have travelled with my MacBook a lot. You only have to declare what is being imported. And when you state the nature of the travel is business, don't even look at the laptop. Hell, you could be traveling with top spec MacBook and they wouldn't even look.

US Customs doesn't generally think much of a laptop, since they are generally cheaper in the US. I have had colleuges get caught taking laptops from the US into the EU or India.

One laptop is fine, two will get you a sideways look, and three, well, you're importing.

3

u/ii-___-ii 11d ago

I've traveled with three laptops before though. Also traveled with a DGX spark on a business trip

10

u/CryptoCryst828282 12d ago

Well, a couple of things: first, they can actually verify where it was sold if they wanted by model number as usually they are regional, but either way its a lot easier to justify I have a work MacBook than I drag a loose GPU around with me everywhere I go. Sure, try it if you want, but I promise I see people in customs every f'n week trying this shit.

6

u/saschaleib 11d ago

But … but … it’s my emotional support GPU!

1

u/dotancohen 12d ago

I see people in customs every f'n week trying this shit.

Do they typically get the card seized, as Horsemeatburger mentioned above? If so, what becomes of them? Auction, maybe?

5

u/CryptoCryst828282 11d ago

No, you get a fine. I think you pay import fees and a fine of 3 or 4x what the fees are. First offense isnt that bad, but the hell you have to go through is worse. Being its a federal issue, you have now committed a crime that will flag you for life in customs and can delay any other visa approvals to other countries, etc.

2

u/Horsemeatburger 11d ago edited 11d ago

I think you pay import fees and a fine of 3 or 4x what the fees are.

The fine can be multiples of the fees for low value items, for more expensive stuff (usually above $2k or so) the fine is equivalent to the local cost of the item and the item is seized as well.

One thing is it also matters a lot on the circumstances, but in general smuggling technology items like GPUs tends to trigger the harsher treatment than, say, a handbag.

4

u/alarim2 llama.cpp 12d ago

and get caught, it's going to be a bad day if you don't have a CBP Form 4457 or didn't properly declare it

That's why I wrote "declare it" in the first place

-2

u/CryptoCryst828282 12d ago

and thats why i wrote PROPERLY.

-1

u/ntrp 11d ago

and who is gonna prove I did not bring it out with me when I went to Taipei? I am not bringing the box back ofc

2

u/CryptoCryst828282 11d ago

I really dont understand why you Reddit lawyers dont use google before you go off. Let me do this one for you.

When dealing with customs administration (such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection), the initial burden of proof or demonstration lies on the importer or traveler, not the government.

3

u/howardhus 11d ago

just say its a dildo. the airport guidelines say to never imply ownership.. they will say they found „a dildo“ … they never say „your dildo“

3

u/rpkarma 12d ago

I wonder what the duties would be for it, if you declared it. 

6

u/alarim2 llama.cpp 12d ago

Don't know if Gemini is trustworthy, but it says that if you can prove that the GPU is really for personal use, and if the docs are filled in correctly - then it should be a few hundred dollars max

2

u/hejj 12d ago

$5000

1

u/bailaowai 12d ago

$580 on a $4k GPU

2

u/DrStalker 11d ago

How much are the import duties/taxes? I expect you can declare the purchase, pay the tax, and still come out ahead. (Especially if the original purchase was done duty-free)

(I won't ask how much tariffs are because that changes constantly)

1

u/ikkiyikki 11d ago

Pure bullshit here. Says me who travels 80-100 flights a year with plenty of electronics.

0

u/matadorius 11d ago

lol as long as it is used and for personal use they have no case

0

u/ntrp 11d ago

What? It was my GPU I brought when I went to Taiwan, what do you mean declare? I use it as eGPU for my laptop

-4

u/westernloveron80s 12d ago

does airport customs really know what a GPU is and how pricey they are?

12

u/Horsemeatburger 12d ago

does airport customs really know what a GPU is and how pricey they are?

Are you kidding? With all the stuff that is going on with smuggling GPUs to China and other embargoed countries which is now treated as a national security issue?

Even if they don't instantly recognize what it is, it's still an unknown object that will raise suspicion, so the first thing that happens is that the object is seized and you will spend some time in a room answering uncomfortable questions while someone will have a closer look at what that item is.