Author Topic: Buying from Europe  (Read 5274 times)

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maturin

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2021, 10:54:28 AM »
Update: Ebay just called to say they will be refunding the VAT I paid on postage - I had paid 20% on one shipment, but 0 on another from a different seller. They won't say whether this is a change of policy or correction of a mistake, but they are 'working on what is in the best interests of all our customers'. Whatever that means. Meanwhile two shipments from Germany are stuck in UK customs for longer than normal....

Ed Humphreys

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2021, 10:34:21 AM »
Not all the population, Michel. Some of us were and always will be committed Europeans. It saddens me to think my friends all over Europe might think I subscribe to this folly.
Ed

Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2021, 09:21:20 AM »
With the added frustration that quite often the service provided does not match the fees paid, at least in the U.S.  Never know when will receive package these days.  Tough situation all around
JBA

Hannibal

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2021, 07:01:07 AM »
Sorry for this but it was a deliberate decision from UK population to separate from Europe with the consequences, like VAT, language, visas, jobs ... and at the end ..


Michel
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Men are a bit like God: everything they can do, they do it. Or they will do it.  (Jean d'Ormesson)

GrahamC

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2021, 05:11:44 AM »
I buy and sell to and from Europe, my sales to Europe are down by around 75% partly through the customers uncertainty about what charges if any they will face and partly because as a very small business I'm unable to remove the VAT from my sales.
On the purchasing front I have since very little consistency except where the goods are coming via courier I've had two orders both over £230 excl. VAT from Europe I paid an additional £53 that was based on VAT and an £11 handling fee by DHL

maturin

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2021, 07:45:54 PM »
A UK perspective.
I made a number of recent purchases both on Ebay and directly from sellers in Germany.
Orders under £135 were charged 20% VAT by Ebay. Some, but not all, were charged not only on item cost, but on postage! I queried this, and Ebay will get back to me - although I was warned that the likely answer is that I should have paid postage-VAT on all under-£135 orders.
Orders from Ebay and direct from suppliers over that sum have arrived without VAT or import charge, but the last two were delayed by requests for more paperwork - and one is mired in Customs now being 'assessed'. So far, buying more than £135 of figures avoids tax.
I also buy 1/1250 scale ship models, and these are subject to long delays, charged at 20% whatever the value, and hit with a service charge on top if over £135. One big US supplier has suspended shipments to the UK citing long delays and excessive paperwork.
I contacted HM Customs and asked whether model soldiers/ships are still classed as 'toys', which used to be exempt from charges when I bought them from the US. No answer yet.
Berliner Zinnfiguren (direct) and Sammelsurium Berlin (Ebay) were accommodating when more paperwork was required, other, likely smaller, companies have been understandably confused.
Like me.




Ed Humphreys

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2021, 01:25:15 PM »
People were warned!

errant49

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2021, 11:03:02 AM »
Thanks to the Brexit !
Eric

Erich

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2021, 10:57:45 AM »
And it will make a difference whether the seller on Ebay is a commercial firm or a private Collector, I think.A private seller has not the possibilities which a commercial has.

As I have read only an amount up to 22.-- Euro   (goods and shipment)  is free of duty.
That is a sad thing.


fesak_j

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Re: Buying from Europe
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2021, 07:54:22 AM »
I was selling on ebay some stuff a few weeks ago and the buyer from UK has been charged 13 pounds in the end of transaction  :-X ....depend on the value probably.
The positive is that some stores give - VAT reduction like: Customer orders now being shipped outside the United Kingdom will receive a VAT reduction on their order. The VAT is automatically deducted from your product price, at the 'Checkout' stage, after you have selected your delivery country outside of the United Kingdom and confirmed your delivery details. Where purchases are offered on a "VAT-free" basis, the prices of qualifying items will be reduced by the equivalent of VAT. At the current VAT rate of 20% this equates to a discount of 16.67%.


However it might not be possible to apply via ebay or better to say that ebay is not able to allow/give somekind of this rule for the shopping/buying as it is  IT difficulty, i guess.   

BobLeighton

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Buying from Europe
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2021, 07:16:01 AM »
Just to say that I have recently purchased from France some prints, been charged 20 %VAT on top of the purchase price, and on receipt of the packages found customs forms completed in triplicate by the sender for the French Customs. No doubt the cost of the this form filling will filter down as extra costs.
Also noticed that on German and French E bay, that one or two vendors are stating that 20% VAT will apply to the sale. There was an article in the Daily Mail outlining charges that buyers of European clothing can expect to pay suggesting that charges/taxes from both sides of the channel will be levied.
The Mail article also said that Courier companies are lumping a handling charge for theire time and trouble which you will not know about until they make delivery.
If all this is correct will these extra charges make it unviable to buy figures and material from the EU????
Has anyone else has the VAT charge added to recent purchases.