I mean, say, you want a really nice camera, or a drone, or maybe a gaming laptop, and since those things are made in China, they are too expensive to buy right now in the US, since tariffs are over 100%. So you just go to Canada, buy the thing, unpack it from the packaging, and pretend like its just personal items. Just like a smartphone.
AFIAK, border agents usually don’t ask if you bought your phone in the US or from outside, they shouldn’t ask about other personal electronics, right?
People do this in my country. If they have a friend or somebody they know going to Hong Kong they ask them to buy a laptop and declare it as personal device going back.
In some countries, you need to declare expensive items when you are leaving the country, otherwise you pay the tariff when you return.
Yeah. I know Indonesia is cracking down on phone smuggling now by locking carrier access to registered IMEIs
If you bring one back you get a cheaper import fee if you declare it immediately