Hey Sneaky, didn't mean for anyone to interpet your shipping as fraud (despite your name here :wink: ). I was not posting as a response to your actions. It appears you are a personal collector, and not a store.
I have however, heard of people trying to get stores to help them avoid fees though, and while I understand thriftiness, that is asking more than is appropriate.
If I were in another country, and bought a guitar there, I assume having to pay that countries' tax, in which case I would consider shipping it to myself as a "gift". One should not have to pay tax in one country, and then pay tax to bring it home as well. That is "global village" thinking, but seems rational to me.
I don't think you can pay for an instrument in a store in person, even if they are shipping it to you abroad, and not pay tax. I suppose you could select an instrument in a store, walk outside, call them and place a phone/internet order, with shipping instructions to another country, and avoid paying tax to the store's country, yet pay shipping, and ultimately duty in the destination country. I am no expert on international law, but that would seem to make sense for record keeping, and taxes.
If taxes are fair or not in any given country is a huge can of worms that I hope no one will open replying to this otherwise innocent thread.