Buying from abroad
Eleven Questions
When an American orders from a workshop overseas, the regulator they are used to does not reach it. What replaces the regulator is what the workshop is willing to put in writing.
Written by the Mapple Gems workshop, Surat Β· Updated 1 September 2026
Short answer
An American buying jewelry from an overseas workshop has no practical FTC remedy and should treat the card chargeback as the real backstop β typically 60 days from statement under the Fair Credit Billing Act and up to about 120 days under card network rules. Before ordering, get in writing: who pays import duty, production and transit as separate numbers, the full resize round trip in days and dollars, the metal stamp, and the grading report number.
We are an overseas workshop, so treat this as a list written by the party being questioned. That is the point of it. Every item below is something we would rather a buyer asked us at the start than discovered in week six, and several of them have answers we do not enjoy giving.
There is a general version of this checklist for any buyer elsewhere on this site. This one is only about the things that are different because you are in the United States.
Why the American position is genuinely different
Three things change the moment the seller is not in the United States.
The FTC does not reach us. The Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule that obliges a US seller to ship within 30 days, and the Jewelry Guides that govern how metal and stones may be described, both apply to sellers within the Commission's jurisdiction. A workshop in India is outside it. We hold ourselves to the same standards and will say so in writing, but a promise is not a regulator.
Duty is now unavoidable. The $800 de minimis exemption ended on 29 August 2025 and was made indefinite by CBP regulation on 24 June 2026. Every parcel entering the United States is a formal import. Somebody pays the duty, and unless the seller has explicitly said otherwise, that somebody is you, usually invoiced by the carrier before delivery.
Distance is measured in weeks, not days. Anything that has to come back β a resize, a repair, a return β crosses an ocean and a customs boundary twice. This is the real cost of buying overseas and the one most sellers describe vaguely.
The eleven questions
| Ask | What a straight answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| 1. Who pays US import duty? | A named party, in writing. βUsually there is noneβ is now false. |
| 2. What value goes on the customs declaration? | The actual price paid. An offer to under-declare is an offer to commit fraud in your name. |
| 3. Production time and transit time, separately? | Two numbers in days. One combined estimate hides which half is slipping. |
| 4. What is the full resize round trip? | Days door to door, who pays shipping each way, and who pays duty on the return leg. |
| 5. What is the return window, and from what date? | From delivery, not from dispatch. On made-to-order work, expect it to be narrow or absent. |
| 6. What stamp goes on the metal, and whose mark beside it? | A karat figure and a maker's mark. Note that no US assay office verifies either. |
| 7. Is there a grading report, and what is its number? | An IGI, GIA or GCAL number you can look up on the lab's own site before paying. |
| 8. What is the gram weight and shank thickness? | Actual figures. Hesitation here usually means the piece was not made by the seller. |
| 9. Will I see a CAD render or photographs before casting? | Yes, with a named approval step. This is the only correction point that costs nothing. |
| 10. Is the parcel insured in transit, and to what value? | A figure and a carrier. Signature on delivery should be standard, not an upgrade. |
| 11. How do I pay, and what protection does that give me? | Card or a platform with a dispute process. A bank wire has no chargeback at all. |
Question eleven is the important one
Because the regulator is out of reach, how you pay is your protection, and the windows are shorter than people assume.
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act you generally have 60 days from the statement on which the charge appears to dispute a billing error with a US card issuer. Card network rules give a longer practical window for goods not received or not as described β commonly up to about 120 days from the transaction or the expected delivery date, which matters when production and transit together run five weeks. PayPal's own buyer protection runs longer still. A bank wire or a direct transfer has no equivalent mechanism at all, which is why a seller who will only accept one should be treated as a seller who has thought about this.
Practical consequence: on a long lead time, the clock may start before the ring exists. Keep the order confirmation with the promised delivery date on it, because that date is what a dispute is measured against.
From our bench in Surat
Here is our own answer to question four, in full, because it is the one we are least comfortable with. A resize that has to come back to us is roughly three to five days in the air to India, two to four days at the bench, and ten to twelve days back to a US address β call it three to four weeks door to door before customs, and customs is now on both legs. There is no way to make that a same-week service from Surat, and anyone in our position telling you otherwise is describing a local jeweler's timeline, not theirs.
That is the trade. What you get for it is that the piece is made rather than picked: seven to eight days at the bench, every dimension still a choice, and no retail floor between you and the person cutting the seat for the stone. What you give up is the ability to walk it back through a door on a Saturday. If the ring is needed for a fixed date within three weeks, a local jeweler is genuinely the better answer and we will say so.
What to get in writing before you pay
- The full specification β stone dimensions, carat, metal, karat, gram weight, setting type, shank thickness.
- Production start date and expected dispatch date as two separate dates.
- Who pays import duty, and whether the price is delivered-duty-paid.
- The declared customs value, matching what you actually paid.
- The resize policy in days and dollars, including the return leg.
- Transit insurance value and whether signature on delivery is included.
- The grading report number, checked on the laboratory's own website by you, not by them.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe for an American to buy jewelry from an overseas workshop?
It can be, but the safety comes from the payment method and the written specification rather than from US consumer law, which does not practically reach a foreign seller. Pay by card or through a platform with a dispute process, get the specification and dates in writing, and verify any grading report number on the laboratory's own site before paying.
Who pays customs duty on jewelry shipped to the USA?
The importer of record, which is normally you as the recipient, unless the seller has explicitly quoted delivered-duty-paid. Since the de minimis exemption ended there is no value below which a parcel enters free, so this question now has an answer on every order and it should be settled in writing before you pay.
Should I ask a seller to declare a lower value to reduce duty?
No. The declaration must state the price actually paid. Under-declaring is customs fraud in the importer's name β yours β and it also caps any transit insurance claim at the declared figure, so a lost parcel pays out at the fictional value rather than the real one.
How long does a resize take if the workshop is overseas?
Plan on three to four weeks door to door before customs, made up of three to five days outbound, two to four days at the bench and ten to twelve days on the return. Both legs now clear customs. This is the strongest argument for getting the ring size right the first time, and for asking who pays duty on the return leg.
What is my recourse if an overseas seller does not deliver?
In practice, a card chargeback. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives roughly 60 days from the statement to dispute a billing error, and card network rules commonly allow up to about 120 days from the transaction or expected delivery date for goods not received. Keep the order confirmation showing the promised date, because a dispute is measured against it. A bank wire has no equivalent protection.
Ask us all eleven
We would rather answer them before the order than after it. Everything is made to order in our Surat workshop, so every number on the list is a real number.
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