in denmark they sort goods in two ways, things from within the eu (which does not go to the customs). The rest is opened by customs, who first looks for something that declares the value, if they can find that, they just do the math for the tax+costums and hand it over to the post service (we only have one). The post service will not give it to you before you have paid.
if they can't find something that tells the value, they keep it and send a letter where they demand some proof of value before they pass it on...
That sounds pretty similar to the way it works sending stuff from the US to Canada. When I go mail something other than a letter to my brother, I go to the post office, and fill out a little green customs form that lists the contents of the package, and the value. That form gets pasted on the exterior of the package, so that customs doesn't have to actually open it (unless they think I was lying).
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