Best would be to get a friend to hand carry it in especially if it is not a large item.
If that's not possible, you can have your friend mark the item as a "sample", though I have seen posts where people indicate that customs asked for an IEC code in some cases for shipments marked as "sample" or "commercial sample". Penalty for wrong declaration can also apply on top of duty, if customs decides it is a mis-declaration.
Some FMs have reported that marking the shipment as a "gift" helps reduce/avoid customs duty.
Definitely do not mark as "used".
Declared cost can be reduced if marked as "sample", but if customs chooses to assess duty, then they use whatever cost they arrive at based on what category they consider your item falls into (especially when they can't figure out what something is).
You can appeal the duty assessment though it could well be a non-productive hassle.
Also as other FMs pointed out customs duty is assessed on the landed cost (price + shipping).
At the end of it all, you may not even pay any duty, depending on the port of entry. It all depends on the customs gods
