SiDHEaD

Wondering whether to buy something on ebay.

Fuzz

if it's wrapped up like a crimbo present or marked as "SAMPLE" you should be alright.

Andy

Fuzz

doesn't always work though.

SiDHEaD

Farks me off more than fuel tax. Absolutely stupid!!!

GC8

Theyre myths. Items marked as 'gift' are subject to slightly higher allowances than commercial products but if its worth £50 then the assessed duty will be exactly the same. Its risky having the value dishonestly understated too; youll be held responsible if it is discovered, not the sender.....

SiDHEaD

So there's no point in buying it ! I will wait till my boss goes over to the USA in a couple of weeks. Wanted it for party this week tho

THANKS SHYTE GOVERMENT BARSTS!!!

maxxielives

Anything over £18 is liable for duty. You will pay 17.5% on the whole amount including the cost of postage + £10-£13 for the Postage Company to collect it.

So, for example, if the item cost £100 + £10 postage, you could end up paying around £30 in extra costs. There again, I've shipped a few things in from the US and if you can get the sender to mark the value down to less than $40, you could getting away with the duty altogether.

It's a real Gordon Brown rip-off Britain episode

edited for spelling

jd

It's always 50/50... Customs may stop it and charge you if the package is 'marked' over £18...I think it's £36 if it's marked as a gift and from a personal address.

Only way round it is if you get the sender to mark the value down on the package.. This is (of course) illegal and not such a good idea on more expensive items in case you need to claim on insurance....

SiDHEaD

Will this include stuff from Germany, or is it just for outside the EU?

maxxielives

My understanding is that goods shipped as VAT already paid within the EU are exempt from further duty coming into the UK with the notable exception of booze and cigarettes where there is a fixed allowance. You don't even have to make a customs declaration on the packaging.

movi-star

iTrader: (1)

Chances are if its marked "gift" you wont get charged on it, especially if the item is second hand. Id say about 1 in 10 chance of being charged.

If the item is second hand get the sender to mark "gift" and a lower value, say $20, there is no way, you the receiver, will be liable for any tax on that.

If the items being sent are easy to value/high value, ie digi cameras, mp3 players and the like, then your more likely to be charged.

Deviate

Rubbish! You will be held responsible, the law is clear. I fully agree about Mark & Lard though...

DV8

ice maiden

Dont order anything like that in the run up to xmas

I know of lots of people over the last few weeks who have bought stuff marked gift and got totally stuffed by customs.......easy pickings ebay stuff

2000TLondon

It's a tricky one, it's best to assume that you will get charged import duty. I send a few things back, and I have marked down values slightly, but you have to be careful doing this as if the parcel gets lost, and the $250 item you ordered was marked as being worth $25, how much do you think FedEx will pay out in insurance??? I'd say only 20% of my packages have been opened and had charges levied against them.

I generally don't send expensive, valuable or fragile items back, and I would recommend you never use USPS (US Postal Service) if you actually want to receive the item!!!

Critical Bill

Of course in practice C&E are a law unto themselves and they will rape you for whatever tax they see fit, seemingly on a random basis. They are of course complete dullards who rely on their powers to make up for their lack of intelligence.

For example, I have recently had high value electrical components Fedexed in from the States and have had no trouble with customs whatsoever.... and then had something marked as 'documents' held, opened and searched for apparently no reason at all. It was documents by the way... the high grade cocaine already came in via the 'electrical components' consignment.

2000TLondon

Critical Bill

I only say this because I know the police-reject, ex doormen plebs will search my electrical consignment next time, when of course the contraband will be in the 'documents' pouch!

But seriously, these people are stupid, they work on archaic laws shamelessly drafted to make the treasury as much money as possible. Selling hooky, non-VAT **** will net you a worse sentence than mugging someone for their cigarettes... why? Because the government thinks stealing something someone has is less important than stealing something the government never had.

Bollox say I. You only had to watch that shameless self-promotion series about customs on the recently defunct 'Men and Motors' channel to realise these people are chumps.

They only catch big hauls when the smuggler's competitors grass them up. It's all on tip-offs.

As for the rest of us, well it's random. They stop what they like and they charge what they like. If you are a gambling man I'm sure you can work out the odds.

i8gtmf

Only had one occassion when buying from ebay when it didn't get through when marked as gift.
Bought a PSP before the uk version was released and the courier arrived with it and asked for the cash before he would hand over the parcel

StudentScooby

I have had 4 pairs of trainers off ebay that were sent as a gift and ive never had any problems with customs. picked them up from the airport everytime...

SiDHEaD

Think i'm just gonna have to wait. Would have been nice to have had them this week, but the boxes are too big i reckon. It's such a bummer.

Kevin Groat

I bought a new S/S downpipe a couple of months ago from the US. The supplier had good Ebay feedback and claimed no-one in the UK since 2003 (I think it was 2003) had ever been charged import duty.
Anyhow, ordered and duly arrived, cost me £129 incl p&p and when it arrived the post office paperwork said item was second hand and valued @ $16 - no import duty/VAT

homerdog

Customs have no powers to open your parcel, it would have been done by the courier, as they collect any duty/Vat on behalf of Customs. I doubt whether Customs see more than 1% of parcels entering the UK.

You obviously have issues with Customs though, has one of them had their fist up your **** or something?

GC8

Customs have the power to do a hell of a lot more than open your parcel!

DCI Gene Hunt

Customs have more power than the police

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

GC8

Is that a hamster???

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Whatever floats your boat I guess

movi-star

iTrader: (1)

I dont think that is "rubbish", its from experience. If I buy a rare piece of 2nd hand clothing for $100, they mark customs as gift $10, there is no way customs will charge me tax, they simply see an old piece of clothing when they open it.

SiDHEaD

Hmmm not really gonna work with obviously-new DJ equipment

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

If you ever send a parcel TO Germany DO NOT mark it as Gift!!

"Gift" in German means poison and is treated suspectly by customs.

You need to mark it as "Geschenk" as this is "gift" in German