European buyers, did you ever have issues with Customs ordering from US?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by FloydVivino, Feb 13, 2020.

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  1. FloydVivino

    FloydVivino Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portugal
    If yes, what were they, what was the additional fee, other costs? Are these predictable (is there a table somewhere!) or is it an opaque procedure and sometimes orders come through unnoticed? This is more for the single-to-few-item purchase and less for bulk purchase of items.

    Many thanks!
    Floyd
     
  2. Popmartijn

    Popmartijn Senior Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Yes I had. I've sometimes had packages 'intercepted' and been charged duties (plus fees) on them. Not for every package, but it did turn me away from buying from Amazon.com when I got hit a couple of times with duties on it. Still, this is only my experience here in the Netherlands. It might be very different in Portugal. And from what I've read here, there's an even higher chance in the UK that you have to pay duties.
    As for the costs, it was about 20% of the stated value + €12 clearance costs (coming from the party that cleared the package through customs). But as I said, this can be totally different in Portugal.
     
  3. jimod99

    jimod99 Daddy or chips?

    Location:
    Ottawa, ON
    I stopped buying from the US due to the excessive shipping costs.
     
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  4. Doghouse Riley

    Doghouse Riley Forum Resident

    Location:
    North West England
    I ordered something about ten years ago from the USA. I paid for the postage at the same time as the item. It was something a bit over a hundred quid. When it was finally delivered, I had to give the delivery guu around £20 for the import duty, in cash, then and there. I did get a receipt for it, but it was fortunate I did heve the cash on me.
     
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  5. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    It's not just records from the US you have to be worried about in this respect.

    When importing from most countries outside the EU, records will be subject to charges (sales tax and/or duty) when imported. Each country has different approaches. The UK seemed to be quite vigilante about it in my experience.

    Generally, if the post office is doing the delivering, the brokerage fee is fairly reasonable (compared to what others charge). If UPS/Fedex/and similar companies are doing the delivering, then the brokerage fee will be much higher and don't be surprised if it's 50% or more of the actual tax you need pay.
     
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  6. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    In the UK and I believe other EU countries once you get above the small personal import limit, (£15 in the UK), you will be liable for VAT which is also charged on the postage costs and a collection fee, 20% plus an £8+ collection fee if collected by Royal Mail, import duty kicks in at a much higher rate and has it's own rules, each country and postal/courier service should have tariffs and fees listed online. Some companies such as Amazon will give you the option of paying the VAT upfront and save you the collection fees, if you use a courier like FedEx fees are usually higher. Some countries such as Norway and maybe Switzerland are really strict and may require extra documentation, others such as the UK aren't as strict and sometimes things slip through without charges, this used to happen much more before the financial crash, since then the odds are against you so assume you will get charged when deciding whether to purchase from overseas. US sellers will rarely under declare, Chinese sellers usually declare a lower value below the limit, funnily enough when sending to China their customs are very strict.
     
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  7. FloydVivino

    FloydVivino Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portugal
    Thanks for the thoughtful answer. Yes, it might me, but my reservations are justified
     
  8. FloydVivino

    FloydVivino Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portugal
    A see lot of people complaining, but that's another matter, on top of which comes any custom duty tax delay or trouble
     
  9. FloydVivino

    FloydVivino Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portugal
    Guess the same question now can be asked about (gasp) importing from our beloved UK, now that Brexit is in force. Anyone with any issues so far?
     
  10. FloydVivino

    FloydVivino Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Portugal
    Europe - with UK so far - is my prime shopping ground!
     
  11. Doghouse Riley

    Doghouse Riley Forum Resident

    Location:
    North West England
    Shipping costs from the USA have escalated over the last few years.

    I've stopped buying "new old stock" 45s because of it.
     
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  12. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Will keep this to the point, the UK doesn't leave the EU until the end of 2020 so nothing will change until then.
     
  13. Echo

    Echo Forum Resident

    I've ordered hundreds of cds from the US, but got cought just once by the customs for an expensive cd (Blondie's 'Parallel Lines' at DCC).

    I purchased mostly used cds from the US, most sellers thankfully didn't write the real price at the item when expensive. That helped.
     
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  14. Lost In The Flood

    Lost In The Flood Feeding an invisible goat

    Location:
    England
    yeah, we've officially 'left' but nothing's meant to change til after the end of the "transition" period in December.

    Not looking forward to having any extra postal charges, custom forms/fees for sending to & from Europe.
     
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  15. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Other than Royal Mail's yearly price rise in April there is no reason for postage to increase, customs forms are probably inevitable, not sure how VAT can be charged at either end as long as we still have it and already charged it, that would be double taxation, but who knows.
     
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  16. sacdfan

    sacdfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I have bought many cds through importcds and more recently Collectors Choice over the years. Recently they have begun collecting 20% VAT on the value of the cds and the postage. The advantage of using these companies is that they are able to insert them into the uk postal system and no further import charges are due. I also use a Hong Kong seller whose packaging is excellent and so far I have not incurred any additional import/customs charges.
     
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