Paying "ransom" for LBT figures

Malte279 · **on:** December 06, 2007, 02:40:52 PM

Last monday I had to "pay ransom" for Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Chomper so to speak. For the first time in a very long while I successfully participated in an ebay auction of land before time stuff and won a rather large collection of different land before time figures. There were some which I already had, but also quite a few which I didn't have so far and a couple which may be suitable for creating more molds for tin figures. Anyway last Saturday, instead of the box with those figures I had won, there was a notification in the letterbox telling me that the packet with the figures was stored in the customs office and that I was to show up there and pay if I wanted to pick it up. I must say I was rather annoyed that instead of just getting the packet in my mailbox or being summoned to the nearest post office I had to go into a remote part of the town where I had never been before to get to the customs office. The fact that it was raining cats and dogs along with strong cold wind wasn't making me feel any better about it and neither did the fact that the customs office with its barbed wire fence looked very much like the kind of building you would usually associate with pictures from documentaries about mass deportations or worse.
I have often won ebay auctions from American sellers, but never before did the customs make such a fuss about it. They even told me that not reporting the auction to the customs office was an attempt of tax fraud! And thus a serious crime (the only one they could sue Al Capone for, so it is quite a start for a career as a criminal).
They told me that in case of a value of more than $22 it had to be reported. You can imagine that I was goggling at them in a rather incredulous manner. I never ever heard about any necessity to report ebay auctions anywhere! Fortunately this was what the customs officers assumed as well. No doubt I was not the first person who had never ever heard of this before. So I just had to pay 19percent of turnover tax. Apparently none of the more than 30 000 additional taxes that can be imposed on "imports" in Germany refers to used land before time toys. So I just had to pay a bit less than 8 Euros. My guess is that the customs are extraordinarily strict at the moment due to the fact that at the moment a Euro is worth almost $1.5 so buying stuff from the US would be rather cheap.
Anyway, that LBT stuff I had won was a fairly large collection filling up many holes in my own collection (though I also got quite a few figures I already had and some which war way too kitschy to be added to the collection). I hope that I can turn some of the figures into molds for tin figures. Here is a picture of the figures:

Manny Cav · **Reply #1 on:** December 06, 2007, 03:09:16 PM

I don't know how things normally work, but the last time I got something that was out-of-country was when I got a specialty GameCube memory card from a online store originating from Hong Kong. The purchase went without incident. I'm sorry that you had to go through so much trouble, but at least you have a nice (and large!) addition to your LBT collection. :^.^:

Kor · **Reply #2 on:** December 06, 2007, 03:59:19 PM

A nice sized collection you have there. I would guess you are right why they were nastier about the import thing then they usually are.

Petrie. · **Reply #3 on:** December 06, 2007, 04:38:14 PM

I've had cds come from Japan and books from England with no problem (save it took a while and it was expected). Maybe the weight or size of the packaging concerned them.

Manny Cav · **Reply #4 on:** December 06, 2007, 04:41:12 PM

Mabey imports in Germany are done differently than here in the US. I wouldn't be surprised if they are.

Kor · **Reply #5 on:** December 06, 2007, 05:27:35 PM

I've ordered dvd's and had no problems or fees that I had to pay, though I assume each country is different.

Tails_155 · **Reply #6 on:** December 06, 2007, 06:37:49 PM

Quote from: Malte279,Dec 6 2007 on 01:40 PM

Last monday I had to "pay ransom" for Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, and Chomper so to speak. For the first time in a very long while I successfully participated in an ebay auction of land before time stuff and won a rather large collection of different land before time figures. There were some which I already had, but also quite a few which I didn't have so far and a couple which may be suitable for creating more molds for tin figures.

wait wait wait.... LBT STUFF.... you... DON'T HAVE?

I have the little wind ups with the flowers and whatnot, and the puppets

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #7 on:** December 06, 2007, 07:14:20 PM

I've bought tons of stuff of of ebay and I've never had to do anything but pick it up from my front deck or out of the mailbox. I can't believe you had to do all that. <_<

Manny Cav · **Reply #8 on:** December 06, 2007, 07:59:16 PM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Dec 6 2007 on 05:14 PM

I've bought tons of stuff of of ebay and I've never had to do anything but pick it up from my front deck or out of the mailbox. I can't believe you had to do all that. <_<

Well, he did order out of country, and his laws and taxes may (and, again, I'm sure they do) differ from US laws.

Malte279 · **Reply #9 on:** December 06, 2007, 08:13:01 PM

Quote

wait wait wait.... LBT STUFF.... you... DON'T HAVE?

There are some LBT items I wouldn't want to have

I wouldn't pay for a Ducky plush holding a hot dog, a Littlefoot wearing a halloween pumpkin, or a Spike plush dressed as a pirate

There are... or most likely there are, some thing however which to optain might give another boost to my recently started criminal career.

If any of you ever got hold of a broche of Cera, Spike, or Petrie from the 1988 series of which I created my first tin molds (Littlefoot and Ducky) I would be most obligued if I could borrow it to create a tin mold. If anyone ever got these and was willing to sell them to me or borrow them to me I would of course pay the shipping and whoever gave me the chance to create such a mold by providing me with that brooche would get a painted tin figure of the respective character plus some more land before time stuff from me in return.

Threehorn · **Reply #10 on:** December 06, 2007, 08:24:02 PM

Funny thing about this I paid for two LBT items, book holder and a Lamp where it shows Littlefoot, SPike, Ducky and Petrie climbing up a tree which is the lamp base lol

I paid for them a large sum of cash and very happy to get them from the states

could say I paid ransom myself for them lol.

Malte279 · **Reply #11 on:** December 06, 2007, 08:35:05 PM

I have the bookstands too, though I never got that lamp. The same series of LBT products also included a snowglobe (not really with snow, but still pretty to look at), a picture frame, and a cookie jar. I don't have the jar, but the snowglobe and the picture frame both of which are really neat.

Threehorn · **Reply #12 on:** December 06, 2007, 08:40:05 PM

Also the statue clock as well of them sleeping under a palm tree. with the clock in a rocky side. I have them, the only thing out of them I don;t have is the picture frame.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #13 on:** December 06, 2007, 08:49:25 PM

Quote

I wouldn't pay for a Ducky plush holding a hot dog, a Littlefoot wearing a halloween pumpkin, or a Spike plush dressed as a pirate

I would. Just cuz they're so stupid though. They'd look nice on a shelf and I'd laugh at them every day.

Kor · **Reply #14 on:** December 06, 2007, 11:43:52 PM

Some of those do look cute. Some like Ducky holding a hot dog sound pretty funny to see.

Malte279 · **Reply #15 on:** December 07, 2007, 06:11:47 AM

But it would be kind of perverted for a herbivore LBT character to eat a hot dog (ignoring the fact that hot dogs wouldn't exist there). I wonder about the reaction if Chomper ever offered a bite from some lizard he just hunted down to Littlefoot or any of the others (same as he has been offered green stuff by them).

Manny Cav · **Reply #16 on:** December 07, 2007, 12:03:28 PM

Quote from: Malte279,Dec 7 2007 on 04:11 AM

But it would be kind of perverted for a herbivore LBT character to eat a hot dog (ignoring the fact that hot dogs wouldn't exist there). I wonder about the reaction if Chomper ever offered a bite from some lizard he just hunted down to Littlefoot or any of the others (same as he has been offered green stuff by them).

In the TV episode "Search for the Sky Color Stones," Chomper offered Littlefoot and Petrie some "stinging buzzers" (bees). Or was it the honey or honeycomb he was offering them? I never quite knew....

Kor · **Reply #17 on:** December 07, 2007, 03:12:22 PM

Maybe it was a mix of stinging buzzers, honey, & honeycomb.