Let’s say if I were to import a game console that’s close to ¥63,000 ($401) instead of paying $581 including sales tax if purchased in US, however would that alone save me approximately $180 after paying shipping costs? There’s no sales tax as the item is sold abroad as you are the one importing it, but the real question remains: is there a guarantee that the package will arrive tax free or not?
For duty purposes, it’ll only matter where it was made. The HTS code for game consoles is 9504.50.0000 and you are correct that being made in Vietnam it will have a 12.5% duty. There is also an additional Customs fee of $34.58 called a “Merchandise Processing Fee” on the goods, so all together you’re looking at est. $84.71 in duties and fees on the import. Plus you’ll have to pay for the shipping and for the courier service (or whoever) to actually do the Customs Entry, so there may be additional charges there.