Buying from the US and charges

[rodriguez]

Do you normally get stung?

I thought I read in another thread they had figured a way round it.

What is the Parcel Force handling fee at the moment?

[stidds]

I have been charged on pretty much every deal in the last 18 months.

The import duty is approx 2.5% of the total value (including postage cost) + 20% VAT and Parcel Force charge £13.50.

You shouldn't however pay import duty on goods valued between £0-135 (I think).

[chubby]

I had to pay import tax & the handling fee for 2 seat posts the other week 
Total value was 60 odd $ & I paid 11 ish quid !!!!!!!
Had a rotor n bits through that new ebay thing & paid fook all !!!!
Just had notification that a frame set & loads of other bits have cleared customs & dispatched for delivery & not had to pay fook all yet ??
Think it really depends what the seller puts on the paperwork  or just luck of the draw

[threaders]

Anything marked gift and under £32 should get through with no fees. It just depends if the seller will do that for you

[Badbaldie]

Anything marked gift and under £32 should get through with no fees. It just depends if the seller will do that for you

thats right ... BUT ..... if its only insured at £32 and it goes missing in transite .... you can only claim £32    thats the gamble

[Jono]

its all dependant on value lenny gift or not its taxable small items can go through sometimes but big frameset type items you gunna get scrutinized unless its less that mis £30's but that means risking losing stuff with no leg to stand on i had a robbo arrive this week from usa in wrapping paper as a gift marked as childs bike from uncle blah blah made no difference £38 but only cos hed put value at 300 dollars it would have been a lot more otherwise

[That Swan Guy]

they can still tax you even if it is under the threshold value if they deem the sellers address is a business.
nobody tells you that one!

[threaders]

Wouldn't it be possible to claim the money back through paypal, if your item goes missing and its only declared at £30?? You could claim it as item not received maybe.

[That Swan Guy]

Wouldn't it be possible to claim the money back through paypal, if your item goes missing and its only declared at £30?? You could claim it as item not received maybe.

Yes but the seller can only claim £30 back on his insurance, hence HIS risk when declaring it at a lower value. That's why they won't do it.

[Gnarlyscoots]

The only times I have paid VAT is when the seller has marked at $40 BUT, crossed the 'merchandise' or 'other' box.

If the seller marks it at $40 or less AND crosses or ticks the 'gift' or 'returns' box on the declarations form, you will not pay the VAT, regardless if it is a F+F.

The reason a lot will not do it Nick is because some English people think it only takes a few days for postage when in fact it can take up to 3 weeks, dependant on how fast it gets through customs. And because of that, the buyer hits the claim button through Paypal, gets a refund and low and behold, 2 weeks later, the item turns up. I can only assume the buyer doesn't declare it, keeps the item and his/her money, or they wouldn't have an issue in posting here.

The seller in turn cannot claim anything over the $40 regardless of insurance package so they lose out. Many have been stung this way so will refuse to declare it any other way than the full price. I don't blame them really, TBH.

Another good use of the feedback feature on the Museum, PLUS, word of mouth as a buyer, will get you a good standing over on the Museum.

The general charge for 'handling' from Parcelforce is £8. That goes up dependant on the size of the box.

[laidback]

 I collected my Master frame set and a load of other bits and pieces from my local ParcelForce depot today. I tracked it online and it was held up by customs for about a week. It eventually said 'customs charges paid' and was despatched to my local depot. I phoned up today and paid about £30 in fees. It was sent as a gift, but I guess customs are quite used to people trying to pull the wool over their eyes

[rodriguez]

they can still tax you even if it is under the threshold value if they deem the sellers address is a business.
nobody tells you that one!

And if it's sent from a business they charge VAT on the shipping as well whereas if it's sent as a gift they don't.

[stidds]

I've given up buying from the US, Feebay have it so rigged these day's it's just a con,

Last thing I bought was a thomson post because it was a bastard size, $40, ended up costing me closer to £80,

I agree Joe, I stopped using ebay for overseas stuff a while ago.  Now it is worse as ebay have this global shipping scam going where you pay import charges at source, even on stuff you wouldn't get charged on.