Import charges from Cyprus

Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
74,206
Location
Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
It's counter intuitive to label something that is worth hundreds and thousands as gift and risk the lottery of the postal system.

If it gets lost of damaged in transit, you can only claim the value of what you are covered for...As a seller, that is a big risk. Even though i have personally seen it done (Digital Rev used to send a £1500 lens as "gift"). Not sure they do that anymore.

But I wouldn't or ever want to ask, I want the proper insurance for the expensive thing that i bought. I wouldn't go into the trouble buying from abroad for price unless the savings after tax and fees is still signifcant. I bought cameras from abroad because even after tax and import it is still a £500 savings, you buy 2, that's £1k. Mostly I buy from abroad because it's the only place it is available. The tax and fees is just something I accept.

For a rough estimate, I take the sticker price and add 30%, that's usually the number you have to pay in the end.
 
Associate
Joined
28 Jan 2013
Posts
231
Tax avoidance is legal. Labelling items as low value gifts to evade paying VAT is illegal.

Rich people have huge lobbying powers - resulting in their actions to avoid taxes being legal, while the ways in which the 99% can achieve the same results are made illegal. From a moral standpoint there is no difference between a Dutch Sandwich and a mislabelled import.
 
Associate
Joined
28 Jan 2013
Posts
231
I think paying the taxes is fine, we would all agree I'm sure, the rest of the world do it after all. Its the sneaky, over the top extra delivery or admin charges that make you think twice.
To clarify I got a reply back from the company who say the VAT is all included in the price, but any other charges that the parcel will incure is up to the buyer and thats me, so I'm out.

If the product costs less than 135 pounds there are no extra charges. Even if it's more, there is a huge list of items that are excluded from custom charges - check gov.uk (Department of International Trade).
 
Back
Top Bottom