When ordering stuff from the states I always ask them to write the value lower.
eg. I bought an iPod from the USA as they're so much cheaper than the UK, and got them to put the description as "tape music player" and value at $20, so i didn't pay any duty.
I also bought quite a bit of airsoft stuff from Japan, and they had a box on the ordering page where you can type in the value you want them to write on the package for customs purposes.
Customs only open a tiny percentage of packages so you have a 98% chance of getting away without paying import duty/vat.
