PC Parts through airport security?

[supernikio2]

So I'm going to go from Uruguay to the US in August and was wondering if it was safe to put the boxes with the GPU, CPU, MoBo, etc. in the dispatched luggage; as I don't want to get my components taken out.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Saga Lout]

Hopefully, you and your luggage will have gone through X-Ray examiination before you get to the departure lounge. I don't want to be on a plane with someone who has concealed electronic parts and if you think about it, neither do you.

Don't even attempt this, please.

 

[supernikio2]

Hopefully, you and your luggage will have gone through X-Ray examiination before you get to the departure lounge. I don't want to be on a plane with someone who has concealed electronic parts and if you think about it, neither do you.

Don't even attempt this, please.

Then how could I get them here?

 

[Saga Lout]

You would have to send them by post to someone you know in the US but they could be intercepted by Customs who could charge some form of Duty.

That's unlikely though because it's doubtful there are any parts you could buy in Uruguay that aren't available in America.

 

[supernikio2]

You would have to send them by post to someone you know in the US but they could be intercepted by Customs who could charge some form of Duty.

That's unlikely though because it's doubtful there are any parts you could buy in Uruguay that aren't available in America.

I mean the other way round: From the US to Uruguay.

 

[Saga Lout]

That makes more sense but the original post fooled me. The store you buy from might ship them to your home address. If you have a specific town to visit, use the Web to find a supplier and ask them if they ship to your country.

Again, the Customs problem might show up. If parts prices are high in Uruguay, it may be because of import duties.

 

[terroralpha]

So I'm going to go from Uruguay to the US in August and was wondering if it was safe to put the boxes with the GPU, CPU, MoBo, etc. in the dispatched luggage; as I don't want to get my components taken out.

Thanks in advance for any help.

when you are flying to the US, you will have to fill out a customs form as you are approaching to the US. declare whatever you bring in and they won't bother you. you don't even have to put down real item values. say you're bringing in a CPU that costs $400, just put down that it's $75. as long as it's declared they don't give a rat's ass. i brought $14,000 worth of camera equipment from Grenada back to the US, which i originally brought with me there from the UK. i declared it with much, much lower numbers. they didn't bother me.

 

[Saga Lout]

What happens when you take parts out of the US, terroralpha? You couldn't get them past the security measures so could he lose them?

 

[terroralpha]

What happens when you take parts out of the US, terroralpha? You couldn't get them past the security measures so could he lose them?

from the post i assumed he was asking only about bringing parts IN to the US. that's typically fine as long as you declare it

bringing parts out of the US is different. US customs doesn't give a flying f*** about people exporting electronics. tourists buy things in the US for cheap and take them home all the time. cameras, laptops, computers parts, everything. i'm seen people pack entire suitcases full of electronics to take back to Europe and Asia. TSA may ask you to open your luggage and open boxes to show them what you have to make sure it's not a bomb, but that's about it. it's the destination country that you have to mindful of. he will have to call the airport of the destination country and ask them what their customs allows or doesn't and what taxes and tariffs he/she will be forced to pay on the spot

the closest to Uruguay i've ever been is Argentina. my fiance is from there. so i'm obviously not qualified to speculate on Uruguayan laws.

as a side note, i would probably not try to bring a PSU out of the US. the average TSA agent (airport security) has the IQ of a carrot. the reason they are TSA agents is because they were too stupid to get a real job. so if one of them sees a PSU, they may just assume it's a nuke. but GPUs, motherboards, SSDs and CPUs should be fine.

 

[Saga Lout]

Thanks for that clarification. The original post misled me as welll but he has said later that he's buying in the States to take home.

Your comment about PSUs is amusing but serious because I assume that would also apply to shipping out through FedEx or similar. X-Ray examination would throw an alert.

 

[Chayan4400]

I can't speak for Uruguay, but I've shipped quite a few boxes including a GPU, Bose Soundlink Mini and a PSU (All new except for PSU which was also in the original box) from the US to Sri Lanka with absolutely no problems. Postal services tend to be shaky with this kind of thing; there are hundreds of stories about things simply lost in mail, as sending packages through mail is simply not done in most developing countries.

Instead, use a air-transport agency like DHL (If you need to get it quick) or a standard shipping agency that'll pick up the goods in the US and ship to Uruguay, where you have to go to their warehouse to pick up the stuff. Using this method you do have to wait while customs in your country open your boxes or X-ray them, but I've never had a problem. Usually the worst is they take a few cheese boxes and a bottle of shampoo or such out of a fully packed 4'x2'x2' box. For the time where I shipped the electronics, they only asked what it was and were fine with it when I said a relation sent a graphics card for me to play computer games; no taxes were charged. The important thing is to designate the stuff is for personal or household usage, and to answer only what they ask in as broad a fashion as possible, and try not to go into detail.

 

[Saga Lout]

Spot on. Ship by DHL, FedEx and hope the Customs doesn't deliver it your home and demand money for Import Duty.

The thing not to do is to turn up at an airport in the US and say "nothing to declare" because when they X-Ray the luggage and find electronics, you could be in jail overnight explaining yourself.

 

[cNobi]

I can't speak for Uruguay, but I've shipped quite a few boxes including a GPU, Bose Soundlink Mini and a PSU (All new except for PSU which was also in the original box) from the US to Sri Lanka with absolutely no problems. Postal services tend to be shaky with this kind of thing; there are hundreds of stories about things simply lost in mail, as sending packages through mail is simply not done in most developing countries.

Instead, use a air-transport agency like DHL (If you need to get it quick) or a standard shipping agency that'll pick up the goods in the US and ship to Uruguay, where you have to go to their warehouse to pick up the stuff. Using this method you do have to wait while customs in your country open your boxes or X-ray them, but I've never had a problem. Usually the worst is they take a few cheese boxes and a bottle of shampoo or such out of a fully packed 4'x2'x2' box. For the time where I shipped the electronics, they only asked what it was and were fine with it when I said a relation sent a graphics card for me to play computer games; no taxes were charged. The important thing is to designate the stuff is for personal or household usage, and to answer only what they ask in as broad a fashion as possible, and try not to go into detail.

My uncle is coming back from US to Nepal this December 1st. I have ordered a CPU, GPU, Motherboard, RAM ( 2 Sticks ), HDD and a PSU. Will he have a hard time during the security check, will they allow those things to be carried. I'm worried about the PSU especially. Thanks!

 

[Saga Lout]

From what more knowledgeable posters have said above, I suggest you ship the parts in the hold baggage except the PSU. If it triggers an alert in the security hall when you're standing beside it, at least they can see what it is without tearing all the packaging apart fom the entire collection to get at it.

That said, this is an old thread now and I don't want it to be seen as a place to advise on by-passing crucial airplane security. For that reason alone, I'm closing this thread but you can start one of your own if my suggestion isn't enough.

If you do start a new thread, please PM me with a link to it.