Declare the correct value on the Customs form?

I wouldn't judge anyone paying $1200 for an album. It can be a time capsule, with an emotional value one can't not have. For me, a $1200 cable would make less sense...

What I'm still unclear about is whether duties and taxes were paid on the album when it was imported into the US in the first place - and what the seller valued the album at when they shipped it.

@vinylfun ,

Man, why don't you just name the album you planned/plan on spending way too much for? This playing coy bit is kinda silly.

Come to think of it, the entire premise of this thread is ridiculous. It's already been established by @carlsbad2  the point of a value is irrelevant since there's no import duty. Also what you paid for it is irrelevant. It's not worth what you paid for it, so how do you know it's worth even $50 or 50¢? Put the 50 bucks on it and send it back already!

Ok, if you want to hear ridiculous regarding sending goods over the border:

I had a tegra computer board from my Tesla, built in Fremont California, that was failing because of a $20 flash chip. My choice from Tesla was replace the whole MCU infotainment unit (the whole big glass screen and all the guts contained) at a cost of $4000 Canadian at a Canadian Tesla service centre. Some figured out a way to simply replace the chip in the tegra board by hot air soldering a new one, and transferring the vehicle data from the old chip to the new one, so the car worked. After many success stories from others I decided this to do this.

I removed the MCU unit, removed the tegra board, and mailed it down to a fellow (with an Asian name) in California to do the work for $500, then I would get it mailed back and reinstall and I save more than $3000. Great!

He suggested I insure the tegra board for $2000, because that would be the cost to replace it should it get lost. Makes sense to me.

I ship it insured for $2000 via Fedex from Canada to California, and Fedex charges the receiver $300 extra as the tegra board was made in China, as this was when Trump was in office the last time and he slapped a 15% tariff on all Chinese goods.

Yes, a part from an American car, sent from Canada back to the US, was subject to a 15% duty on a "suggested" $2000 replacement value for a $100 actual part cost, to replace/repair a $20 part, because the computer board was made in China.