Brexit and Dodax/other large international sellers - has anything changed?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by leavingthistown, Feb 9, 2021.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. leavingthistown

    leavingthistown Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorks
    Hi,
    I just ordered a CD from Dodax uk. Now, when I ordered it, it said that VAT was included and it quoted me a price which looked like 20%. Now it has been ordered, the receipt says "£0.00 VAT incl." which worries me, given the recent fuss about VAT charges at the ports and getting stuff into the UK from abroad.

    I'm not entirely concerned because, as I understand it, Dodax import en masse to their UK arm and then post within this country (I've never had a Dodax package with a customs label on it, despite it coming from outside the EU). But should I be worried? I'm going to send them an email to query this, but I'd value hearing anyone's experience with ordering from their website into the UK since January 1st.

    I thought about ordering the CD from Dodax on Amazon, where it was there for the same price earlier, but I didn't as the price had risen by the time I got around to it and I thought I'd be paying the VAT anyway. My understanding is that both Amazon and eBay are making sure that VAT is paid at the point of purchase for marketplace items. Is this a safer option? Or is it OK to order into the UK from the Dodax uk site without any worry? I'm also interested to know how this applies to other international sellers with UK outposts (All your Music, Rarewaves USA, et al)
     
  2. leavingthistown

    leavingthistown Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorks
    Bump!

    Has no one ordered from the Dodax uk site this year then?

    I asked them to cancel the order unless they could confirm that the Uk VAT was paid, and they cancelled it, which I guess is an answer of sorts. But I didn't get an answer to the question of whether orders would go through customs without incurring extra charges, so I may ask again without there being an order in play.

    Still interested in anyone's experiences with Dodax, or other examples of this kind of seller.
     
  3. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I have ordered fairly regularly from Dodax ( and from Base) and I decided to give them a miss until the dust settles. The worry is that they don't "block" import whereby postage to you is effectively from within the UK and then customs/post office get hold of you for the vat plus handling. I think a good few of us are keeping an eye on this.
     
  4. leavingthistown

    leavingthistown Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorks
    Thank you for yr reply. In the end, I asked them straight and was told that there wouldn't be any extra charges and, if there were (an interesting line in itself), then I should send a photograph of the communication and they would reimburse me. So I ordered the CD on this basis and, inside of two or three weeks, we ought to find out.

    The thing that makes me think that this should be fine anyway is that Switzerland is outside the EU, yet I've never once seen a customs label on a Dodax purchase into the UK. I've checked up on this and, even with whatever deals the Swiss have with the EU/single market, if it were coming in packet by packet, they would all have individually had to go thru customs and each have a declaration label.

    Certainly in the past, I've had stuff that went over the £15 limit that I wasn't charged VAT on, though having not come down in the last shower, I'm not naive enough to think that this means very much.

    I would think that they'd bend over backwards to reassure people on this, since aiui the UK is a huge market for them, one they won't be keen on losing out on because of bad press over hefty charges

    Anyway, I'll be back in this thread in good time.
     
  5. Highwaystar

    Highwaystar Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Just ordered from Dodax via Amazon, was wondering why there was such a long dispatch wait, and then realised. Not sure whether to cancel and just pay the premium to get it from Amazon, £18.99 plus delivery making it about £22, vs a straightforward £29.99 (and getting it the day after).
     
  6. leavingthistown

    leavingthistown Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorks
    Dodax is always the store of choice for patient cheapskates. You will always wait at least two to three weeks, although £8 is a pretty hefty saving (I'd end up going dodax for a quid tbh)
     
  7. leavingthistown

    leavingthistown Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorks
    Btw, i doubt any of the stuff in this thread applies to stuff ordered thru Amazon, reviews on there look fine
     
  8. leavingthistown

    leavingthistown Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorks
    Ok, this turned up today.

    Point 1 - No charges. No one has bothered me about this at all. It's even here not much more than a week after ordering, which is a first for Dodax.

    Point 2 - It has definitely been thru customs, there's a label on it declaring its value.

    So I don't know if it's "safe" or not: maybe they have a legal way that they're using to deal with the VAT issue (Dodax certainly have a set up in this country), or maybe they're just counting on getting lucky and, should the packages not bear close scrutiny, either we or they will have to pay up. I guess we'll know when we know.

    Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, I have my cheap CD
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2021
  9. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    That is an interesting update. I have been waiting since the second week in January for a parcel coming from a private seller on Discogs from mainland Europe. It is a long wait and I will see whether it is held up in customs and whether there are any unexpected customs/vat issues before I dip back in to ordering from Dodax/Base. In the meantime I am happy to support UK independent stores even if it costs a quid more.
     
  10. MikeMusic

    MikeMusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Surrey, England
    I'm ordering from momox (UK)
    All fine
    Nothing from dodax
     
    leavingthistown likes this.
  11. leavingthistown

    leavingthistown Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Yorks
    The problem with this is that it was one of those imports which will never turn up again in the UK other than with the big import sellers, there really wasn't another option other than paying a lot (£20 +?) from an American seller.

    My instinct is that, as Dodax has a UK operation and is registered for VAT in this country, they've been put on a list somewhere and waved through. They do a lot of business here and I can't imagine them being as bullish as they are about this site (which is purposely directed towards UK sales) unless they felt that they were on top of this.

    Fwiw i think that there are much more likely to be issues with small private sellers than the big importers, unless said sellers are operating thru Amazon or eBay, I've seen a lot of people talking about this on Twitter and the like. Aiui, software is being developed to be used on Bandcamp to charge the VAT at point of sale for international sales in the same way they do with digital, so maybe that can be rolled out on Discogs in the future too? It's all v messy and uncertain
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2021
    Highwaystar likes this.
  12. Highwaystar

    Highwaystar Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    My Dodax order came through today. Couldn't track it at any stage and was via Royal Mail. Foo Fighters 'In Your Honor' double vinyl, £18.99 plus a bit of postage. No extra charges were applied in my case. Just a shame it came three days after my break from work ended.
     
    leavingthistown likes this.
  13. Highwaystar

    Highwaystar Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I think your instincts are probably correct. I am filtering solely to UK sellers when looking at Discogs. It narrows your options down a lot though.
     
    stillrockin and leavingthistown like this.
  14. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I just got a new cd from Dodax posted from the Netherlands. The value was low in UK sterling and it came through fast and with no issues at all. Contrast with a relatively low value used item ordered from a seller on Discogs weeks ago which has still not arrived. Strange but true.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine