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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Paleskin on February 23, 2020, 11:34:51 PM

Title: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Paleskin on February 23, 2020, 11:34:51 PM
 everybody else in UK getting hammered with customs duty on purchases from the states?
recent stuff was held until i paid the twenty quid 'ransom' money........eight quid of which was 'admin' charges!

just me.......?? :'( :'( :'(
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Elbows on February 23, 2020, 11:36:48 PM
Isn't that solely up to the UK "company" who is bringing in your stuff?  My understanding is that that stuff is damn near arbitrary and random...
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: pixelgeek on February 23, 2020, 11:40:14 PM
Can't you self clear the parcel in the UK?
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on February 23, 2020, 11:55:14 PM
It’s VAT not customs duty if it’s only £12, plus the £8 handling charge. Some packages get through without the charge, but it should be paid on all non-EU imports over £15. Customs duty kicks in at a much higher level.

It’s always been a thing though.

Once we leave the transition period at the end of the year it will be liable on imports from the EU too.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Atheling on February 24, 2020, 12:51:20 PM
I've got a large-ish order on it's way from the USA so I'll let you know I if I get hit and for how much.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on February 24, 2020, 01:05:36 PM
All the info is here:

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty (https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty)

The £8 Royal Mail handling charge is actually cheap compared to couriers.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Captain Blood on February 24, 2020, 02:45:20 PM
It’s always been a thing. Anything marked over about $25 in value is liable to get clobbered. First for 20% import VAT on the stated value, plus the Royal Mail ‘handling charge’ (basically a card telling you that you need to pay VAT on your parcel ::))

The good news is they only have capacity to check a random sample of incoming packages, so you have a pretty reasonable chance of getting away with it.
I guess I’ve had 20 or more wargames orders shipped to me from the USA over the last several years, and I’ve only been caught for tax and ‘handling’ on maybe three occasions?

Many experienced US traders shipping to the UK will also helpfully minimize the stated value on the customs slip if you ask them nicely (and carefully). Obviously only with smallish orders though. If you order £200 worth of product, don’t expect a retailer to mark the value of the goods at $20. But for smallish orders, many sellers are (in my experience anyway) willing to be helpful and flexible in this regard...
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Atheling on February 24, 2020, 02:46:53 PM
I've got a large-ish order on it's way from the USA so I'll let you know I if I get hit and for how much.

Everything arrived without having to pay customs (but the order had been botched and over half the mini's were not what I had ordered!).
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Shahbahraz on February 24, 2020, 08:30:51 PM
BTD by any chance ??  :D
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: mellis1644 on February 24, 2020, 08:36:47 PM
In Canada I have had to get used to this type of thing... People in the UK never realize quite how good and cheap shipping is for you (I did not while there). That's untill you start looking to other places in the world.

For Canada normal post tends to be 'ok' BUT if you use a courier then oh golly it's going to get expensive. International even more so. I expect with recent changes the Uk may see this more from the USA and EU.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Atheling on February 24, 2020, 09:06:42 PM
BTD by any chance ??  :D

No. A company with a good reputation!  >:(

Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: fastolfrus on February 24, 2020, 10:41:46 PM
Nothing new, been there for decades.
Apart from the handling/admin charge you can also get hit with an extra customs/admin charge if they open your parcel to see what's inside.

Some people get their parcels shipped in with a low value on the docket, but forget that if anything goes wrong and the parcel gets squashed/lost/stolen, they are not going to get back the true value.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Daeothar on February 25, 2020, 10:13:51 AM
Some people get their parcels shipped in with a low value on the docket, but forget that if anything goes wrong and the parcel gets squashed/lost/stolen, they are not going to get back the true value.

True, but that's a risk a lot of people would be willing to take.

On the other end of the spectrum, I've had the opposite happen once, where I ordered some miniatures in the US, and the seller had marked the package as worth over $300,-, while I had been very careful to keep the value beneath the €22,- threshold we have to work with over here.

Obviously I got hit, and had to pay more on VAT and administrative costs than the package was worth. Now, I could have chosen to simply not accept the shipment, and I would have been out about €30,- (P&P included), but I needed wanted the contents, so I paid up.

I then complained with the seller, who acknowledged that they had over-estimated the value of the package because of 'insurance reasons'. In other words; should the package get lost, they would be able to screw the insurance company. At least; that's what I read in that statement... ::)

In the end, they offered me a coupon for their store worth the amount I had to pay for the VAT and admin fees, and I had no other choice but to eventually use that up (even though I had no real use for any of their other products).


Also; be careful when aiming the value of the items you buy to close to the threshold, as customs tend to work with a daily exchange rate, and unforeseen changes in rates could push you over the limit, forcing you to pay up for a transgression of only a few cents.

Which I've had happen on several occasions too; the last one was just €0,02 over €22,-, so I got hit with 21% = €4,62 plus €11,- admin fee = €15,62! So an item worth €22,02 at that time (I believe Paypal charged me €21,45 two weeks earlier) cost me €37,64 (plus shipping!) in total...
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on February 25, 2020, 11:44:12 AM
That limit (the low-value consignment relief) ends across the EU at the beginning of 2021, so packages of any value will have VAT levied on them on import. Theoretically at least.

It looks like the UK might do something similar (or at least there were plans for such in the event of no-deal) and in addition overseas sellers would be liable for paying VAT on packages under £135 in value, through an online system. No idea if that's still planned or even if it would work, but it was passed by parliament.

As a seller, that kind of system actually appeals to me as it would allow me to display the total price to a buyer, rather than have them be surprised by a VAT demand from their postal operator. No idea if the EU has a similar system planned for imports into the EU. And there's always the chance postal operators would continue to charge a handling fee as they seek to mitigate the costs of implementing any new system.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Duncan McDane on February 25, 2020, 01:11:42 PM
I'm not a gambler so I want to know the total costs of a model/shipment/VAT/Import duties & other handling/administrative costs before I say Jay or Nay to a purchase. That's why I haven't bought from the US for over a decade - after being burnt too many times - and if the UK will head the same direction it will be better to go there once a year with some friends to do some shopping  :D.
We'll see what happens, but the usual habit of governments grabbing money wherever and whenever they can doesn't gove me too much hope for the coming years (ok,  politics, so I'll stop here )...
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: fastolfrus on February 25, 2020, 09:01:13 PM
I'm not a gambler so I want to know the total costs of a model/shipment/VAT/Import duties & other handling/administrative costs before I say Jay or Nay to a purchase. That's why I haven't bought from the US for over a decade - after being burnt too many times - and if the UK will head the same direction it will be better to go there once a year with some friends to do some shopping  :D.
We'll see what happens, but the usual habit of governments grabbing money wherever and whenever they can doesn't gove me too much hope for the coming years (ok,  politics, so I'll stop here )...

If you are coming over for a visit and some shopping we have a local club that would welcome you on a Monday or Thursday (if you get to Scarborough) and if you are here with family we have award winning ice-creams and donkeys on the beach. If you're not here with family we have cheaper beer and cheaper hotels than London and the train goes to York (or Leeds if you wanted to look at the Armouries)
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Blackwolf on February 25, 2020, 09:55:40 PM
Interesting thread; here in Australia,at the moment we only get charged customs tax over $1000. Which is good,makes up for our sporadic dollar value.
I have gone over $1000 a couple of times, once before the customs changes,and then about 6 months ago,however that was from a mate ;)
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Duncan McDane on February 25, 2020, 11:47:45 PM
If you are coming over for a visit and some shopping we have a local club that would welcome you on a Monday or Thursday (if you get to Scarborough) and if you are here with family we have award winning ice-creams and donkeys on the beach. If you're not here with family we have cheaper beer and cheaper hotels than London and the train goes to York (or Leeds if you wanted to look at the Armouries)

We're planning to visit BOYL ( bring out your lead ) and stay a couple ( 5-7 ) of days. Nothing in stone yet though. But thanks for the invite! Scarborough is North Yorkshire if I'm correct, Hadrian's Wall is on our bucket list so we'll see.  ;)
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: mcfonz on February 26, 2020, 08:18:06 PM
I could be wrong as I may well be regurgitating the information slightly incorrectly - but isn't it also linked to contents?

I thought it asked you what is in the parcel? If so, I also believe that some things are exempt from VAT. Someone told me that books are for example. And also strange little oddities in tax laws which mean that a toy batman is exempt but a toy super man isn't (or vice versa).

So there are ways and means of reducing the risk to some degree including getting folks to put gift or a lower value of the contents on the label.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Dags on February 26, 2020, 08:25:28 PM
including getting folks to put gift or a lower value of the contents on the label.

Sorry to be a killjoy but what you're suggesting is illegal  (certainly in the UK) and the penalties can be severe. I won't take the risk.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Daeothar on February 27, 2020, 08:02:29 AM
That limit (the low-value consignment relief) ends across the EU at the beginning of 2021, so packages of any value will have VAT levied on them on import. Theoretically at least.

I wasn't aware of this! Do you have any sources? Probably a way to stem the tide of cheap (and often shoddy) Chinese goods being shipped into the EU?
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: dampfpanzerwagon on February 27, 2020, 08:48:38 AM
I've had this issue on a couple of occasions. The last time It happened, I asked for the items to be returned to sender and had my money back.

Tony
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on February 27, 2020, 09:15:23 AM
I wasn't aware of this! Do you have any sources? Probably a way to stem the tide of cheap (and often shoddy) Chinese goods being shipped into the EU?

Could be, I guess. https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/news/new-form-customs-declaration-low-value-consignments_en (https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/news/new-form-customs-declaration-low-value-consignments_en)
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Daeothar on February 27, 2020, 10:26:23 AM
Blech; even that article has traces of Legalese to it, and searching further, really drags one down into an unfathomable pit of wooly language and ambivalent explanations.

Long story short; from 21021 onwards, there'll be no more extortion-less small orders from overseas anymore: everything will be hit with 21% plus admin costs.

And if I read all of that correctly, as long as we'll stay under €150,-, we get hit with VAT, but no import taxes. Everything above will incur those as well.

So it will become smarter to consolidate orders, as long as they stay under €150,-, to avoid getting hit with those ridiculous admin fees every time...
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on February 27, 2020, 12:00:13 PM
Yeah, customs duty is still only applied at over £135/150 Euro, as is currently the case. The applied duty obviously depends on what the items are, some might be 0%, some more. If you ask a seller what HTS code they'll use for each item, you can search for the tariff online.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Arrigo on February 27, 2020, 03:34:58 PM
Quote
Sorry to be a killjoy but what you're suggesting is illegal  (certainly in the UK) and the penalties can be severe. I won't take the risk.

according to UK law VAT on imports is applicable even on gifts and parcels mailed to one-self. Thus nothing illegal here.  Case point:

1) Friend in Japan sent to London two books to me (actually they were to be give to a friend of mine). She wrote them and these two copies were basically off her shelf. Thus a gift. I had to pay VAT. Technically there was no purchase involved and the VAT was barely legal...

2) Students mailing to herself a box of winter clothes from her home country. She had to pay VAT...

As the declared value... illegal actions are taken on both sides, and sometime the declared value is debatable. I have seen VAT levied on declared value + shipping cost (something that is in clear violation of world postal union rules).  There is also the issue of what the declared value is. It is the value of goods in case of loss or the price you have paid? Considering the shipper is declaring the value, it is a subjective value.

Last bit... I found some of the additional taxes (the handling charges...) objectionable, and sometime outright illegal (I think I have already told this forum of a parcel from Japan kept at the customs longer that it should have been just to increase the handling charge...), but the VAT is not something we should complain too much, considering that we are not paying it at the source (of course the downside is that USA VAT are lower...). Of course when you got VAT levied when you have already paid it... happened to the owner of the local model shop. Delivery from a German distributor subjected to VAT. Reason: Allemagne is not in Europe. He also had the same from UK... same explanation (and it was more than 10 years ago...), United Kingdom is not an European nation. He phoned to his lawyer... I think he got the money back after some years.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: black hat miniatures on February 27, 2020, 04:58:00 PM
I've had this issue on a couple of occasions. The last time It happened, I asked for the items to be returned to sender and had my money back.

Tony

Which behaviour, as a retailer, I am fairly appalled at - customs duties are your responsibility and you have to be aware of them when you order from abroad...

Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: vexillia on February 27, 2020, 05:23:21 PM
Looking at this thread I'm glad I'm shutting up shop in Dec this year and retiring at the end of March 2021 (https://news.vexillia.com/2019/11/plans-for-future.html).  It's getting far too much of a hassle.

It's not like I'm counting the days or anything (https://www.vexillia.com/index.html).  8)

Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Shahbahraz on February 27, 2020, 11:55:36 PM
Yep, I got caught out. When I moved from Oz, I wasn't able to pack everything for shipping due to time pressures, so a whole lot of stuff was left with a friend for safe-keeping. He sent me a parcel with my own 15mm Early Imperial Roman army in, and I was charged £70 for VAT and handling. This is despite the figures originally being purchased from the UK VAT paid. And no exemptions and no easy mechanisms to get a refund. 
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Arrigo on February 28, 2020, 01:31:16 PM
Yep, I got caught out. When I moved from Oz, I wasn't able to pack everything for shipping due to time pressures, so a whole lot of stuff was left with a friend for safe-keeping. He sent me a parcel with my own 15mm Early Imperial Roman army in, and I was charged £70 for VAT and handling. This is despite the figures originally being purchased from the UK VAT paid. And no exemptions and no easy mechanisms to get a refund.

well, this is violating the spirit, and probably the letter of the law... it is plain robbery based on the fact that individuals cannot afford lawyers for this, but well, this is how treasuries work...
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: manic _miner on February 28, 2020, 09:10:03 PM
 Had that the other week on one figure.£3.49 vat then the £8.00 handling fee.Such a con.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Coenus Scaldingus on February 29, 2020, 06:59:34 AM
Honestly wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't to incredibly random.
I guess the best thing to do would be to expect the additional costs to be a thing, and just be relieved when they're not. From the few times I've ordered things from outside of the EU though, I have so far never had to pay extra (and many of these were over that price threshold). So in effect, it's so unlikely you get hit, you assume you don't.. making it more painful when suddenly you do, and the costs of a small order increase by tens of percents.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Silent Invader on February 29, 2020, 08:32:10 AM
Quote
I guess the best thing to do would be to expect the additional costs to be a thing, and just be relieved when they're not.

That’s pretty much my approach. I don’t see it as a con or whatever as it’s just another element that I price into the expected total cost. If I don’t get hit, then Happy Days!  :D

Of course it does mean that I don’t make a lot of outside of EU purchases that will breach the limits, as few items are worth (to me) what I expect them to cost.

I did have a great run of buying Star Wars bendies from the USA, which compared to the UK were so cheap that even with international postage I could get a nice handful for under the thresholds. I always included a message to the seller to be careful not to overstate the invoice value, which did then  happen the once: I could have rejected the delivery but I ‘paid the man’ and then raised it with the store, who gave me credit for the extra cost that .... of course.... I then spent on more minis.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: mcfonz on February 29, 2020, 11:17:31 AM
Sorry to be a killjoy but what you're suggesting is illegal  (certainly in the UK) and the penalties can be severe. I won't take the risk.

Ah ok, I didn't realise that.

Do you have any knowledge on the other bits?
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on February 29, 2020, 11:49:40 AM
UK VAT rates are here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-of-vat-on-different-goods-and-services (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-of-vat-on-different-goods-and-services)

Books are 0%.

VAT (and duty if the package is over £135) will be applied based on the HTS codes that the sender puts on the customs label. https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff (https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff)

HMRC requires that you ensure the sender correctly declares the goods. https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad (https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad) https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/documents (https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/documents)

Customs can seize goods. https://www.gov.uk/customs-seizures (https://www.gov.uk/customs-seizures)

Edit: Also, gifts cannot be from businesses to individuals. https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/gifts (https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/gifts)
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Gribb on February 29, 2020, 07:17:19 PM
Ah, Yes. That’s why I always preferred to make small orders. Suits the wallet, space and pace of painting. Now with upcoming laws hammering parcels from the first cent I won’t place more international orders. I enjoy the hobby, but not enough to pay what amounts to GW prices after VAT&handling-fee has taken it’s swing.



Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Daeothar on March 01, 2020, 12:35:05 PM
I really don't mind the VAT, after all it's taxes like these that (eventually and partially) end up paying for fun things like health insurance, servicable roads and safety through law enforcement.

What I do object againt though, are the ridiculous administration fees that parcel services charge. And especially the fact that they are flat rates.

So my parcel worth €23,- costs me €11,- in admin fees (+ the actual VAT, obviously), while a business pays the exact same amount for their shipment worth €23000,- !

If only they would charge those fees as a percentage of the VAT due instead of that flat fee, I would be OK with them...
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: 6milPhil on March 01, 2020, 04:38:12 PM
Obviously only with smallish orders though. If you order £200 worth of product, don’t expect a retailer to mark the value of the goods at $20. But for smallish orders, many sellers are (in my experience anyway) willing to be helpful and flexible in this regard...

I've found this too, and as my stuff is 6mil it's very believable. ;)
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Huascar on March 02, 2020, 08:42:12 AM
Interesting thread; here in Australia,at the moment we only get charged customs tax over $1000. Which is good,makes up for our sporadic dollar value.
I have gone over $1000 a couple of times, once before the customs changes,and then about 6 months ago,however that was from a mate ;)
Blackwood, you might want to update yourself. As of the start of this FY the Australian tax threshold is now $0. Sellers are supposed to collect it (10%) and send it to Aust Govt (there is a turnover threshold, but it is pretty low). If the tax is not collected imports/packages can be seized until the tax is paid and I bet an admin fee is charged! Basically we are now in the same lottery as our UK friends.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Cait Sidhe on March 02, 2020, 12:02:25 PM
Sorry to be a killjoy but what you're suggesting is illegal  (certainly in the UK) and the penalties can be severe. I won't take the risk.

Pretty much that and as Andrew points out, it's you that's liable if caught, not the sender.

The worst I had was the opposite where for some reason Reaper Miniatures declared a $30 order as like $100 on the package and I got absolutely hammered. They said it was a computer glitch and offered $10 in store credit... The worst part is, if you do get charged the VAT then they calculate it on the value of the package plus the postage.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Brummie on March 02, 2020, 01:05:00 PM
It's always been expensive.

In the past it just wasn't as consistent.

I used to buy periodically from Khurasan in the states a five years ago and was hit maybe 1 in 4 times. And these were hefty orders often between 50-100 dollars worth.

In the last few years though if I order anything from the states I get hit unless it's below the value threshold. Irony is though if you buy small you're still losing out as postage is like 15-20dollars anyway, so you're going to get hit one way or another.

There's a lot of excellent figures coming out of the states, so these days I've just resigned myself to paying that bit extra.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: zemjw on March 02, 2020, 03:08:31 PM
Pretty much that and as Andrew points out, it's you that's liable if caught, not the sender.

The worst I had was the opposite where for some reason Reaper Miniatures declared a $30 order as like $100 on the package and I got absolutely hammered. They said it was a computer glitch and offered $10 in store credit... The worst part is, if you do get charged the VAT then they calculate it on the value of the package plus the postage.

Reaper caused me problems as well - they added the p&p charges to the declared total, taking it over the threshold. It got flagged and I ended up having to pay vat and charges on an order I'd carefully kept below the limit. I think I got a credit from them when I complained, but I stopped buying from them directly from the States after that.

Postal and customs charges have resulted in me buying very little internationally in the last few years  :(
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Gribb on March 03, 2020, 04:19:34 PM
The worst part is, if you do get charged the VAT then they calculate it on the value of the package plus the postage.

This and the handling fee is what bothers me. I would be fine with paying VAT for the item itself.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Gribb on March 03, 2020, 04:26:53 PM
Sorry to be a killjoy but what you're suggesting is illegal  (certainly in the UK) and the penalties can be severe. I won't take the risk.

Rather Captain Obvious ;) Everyone knows this is illegal. It’s a simple Yes or no question if asked really. It’s not like toy soldiers are the pillars of the economy. Books are not taxed at all where I live. Politicians and of course business owners are all about preserving the market, though besides UK and USA very few produce historical miniatures. And local hobby stores have no interest in importing them. I’ve asked and it’s all GW if anything.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on March 03, 2020, 06:38:01 PM
Books are not taxed at all where I live.

Worth noting that if a package has only 0% rated items such as books (and is declared as such) and no duty is levied, Royal Mail shouldn't issue a handling charge. The charge is only issued if VAT or duty has to be paid.

Does anyone know if Royal Mail handling charges are applied if you chose to do the customs declaration yourself? https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/documents (https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/documents)

I'm guessing yes but confirmation might be useful to some.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Arrigo on March 03, 2020, 07:57:27 PM
Quote
Worth noting that if a package has only 0% rated items such as books (and is declared as such) and no duty is levied, Royal Mail shouldn't issue a handling charge. The charge is only issued if VAT or duty has to be paid.

Still HRC charged me for these two books from Japan that were a gift... okay there was also a little handmade pencase my friend put into the parcel...  on the other hand I sent several painted miniatures to friends in Japan, I paid around 30€ for shipping, and my friends never had to pay for customs... okay maybe Japan is more civilized than old Europe or UK...  lol  o_o

Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Flinty on March 03, 2020, 09:40:28 PM
Humm...you makes your choice and takes your chances.

I've had large-ish book orders (one was 10 hardbacks) from all over/outside the EU with no additional charges levied. But the five or six times I've ordered miniatures, I always managed to get charged.

The first couple of times from the States was due to P&P being included, so I then carefully calculated that in the next one - and got charged again as the stated value was bumped, presumably to cover the seller for insurance.
 
The other few times I hovered around the threshold I expected to get hit and wasn't disapointed. I can console myself that I am merely taking up the slack from you dodgers... :D

I really don't mind the VAT, after all it's taxes like these that (eventually and partially) end up paying for fun things like health insurance, servicable roads and safety through law enforcement.

But now I only order if I really must have something, and once I have factored in this:

I don’t see it as a con or whatever as it’s just another element that I price into the expected total cost.

However, Im fully prepared for some horrendous gouging after the Brexit Trade talks have gone south...

Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Andrew Rae on March 03, 2020, 09:43:36 PM
@Arrigo Might have been a time to fill in a BOR286 form, I guess.

It’s fair to say import laws haven’t kept up with buying practices in the internet age, with what must be a massive growth in business to customer imports. Especially as the onus is on the importer.
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Arrigo on March 03, 2020, 10:10:54 PM
Andrew it was back in 2014... and I was in UK for just one month and half that summer, then returning in fall. In 2014 I was literally commuting between Italy, London, Shrivenam, and Sandhurst... and I even led a brigade battlefield study... I was still 39 and young!  :D
Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: Plynkes on March 05, 2020, 09:28:35 AM
I pretty much stopped buying from outside the EU a long time ago because of this (with the very occasional lapse when I just had to have something). It's been happening to me for many years. And seeing as we're not going to be in the EU much longer I guess I won't be buying from there either. At least I have the silver lining of being on the same Island as Nottinghamshire.





Title: Re: customs tax on USA purchases!!!!!
Post by: fastolfrus on March 05, 2020, 10:19:38 PM
At least I have the silver lining of being on the same Island as Nottinghamshire.

Until they declare independence...