Customs duty on charity item to America

Hi. I run a small registered UK charity. We recently auctioned a book donated to us and because it was personally signed by the author it received a donation to the charity of about £250 from someone in America. Its true value is about £50 but we will need to insure it for £250. Will the buyer in the USA have to pay customs duty on that price or is their anyway of avoiding that? Thanks

Your buyer will need to be compliant with US customs regulations. In general terms the goods value will be the price paid. It is not relevant to customs that someone paid more for a product because of a fundraiser. It may not be relevant to the amount of duty paid if the import duty is 0% or the import is subject to the low value import concession in the USA. They buyer should check what local rules apply. It is not something UK customs can advise on.

Hi,
The importer in the US needs to check with their customs authority to see if the charges will be applicable or if there is any relief available.
Thank you.