Buying LV from Japan ( UK only )

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Konicek007

Konicek007

LoVe & Mulberry
O.G.
Apr 2, 2012
673
378
#1
Hello, I’m in UK and I bought many bags from Japan, that’s not an issue but this time I am watching two bags from same Japanese seller and he sent me two offers on both bags.
One of the bag is in better condition than the other however the total says £150 but when I click to pay it has added US $40s VAT however the second bag doesn’t have this $ VAT added and comes with the price as stated.
I am confused as usual with the VAT I always pay upon arrival to the couriers ( DHL, UPS etc) so I don’t want to pay it twice really.
Can someone from U.K. to clarify please?
 
#3
Are the bags at different price points? I don't know about in the UK but in the US there's a threshold of $800 that are exempt. So if an item is under $800 there shouldn't be additional customs duties but if over $800 then I have seen these fees automatically calculated on sites like Vestiaire.
 
#4
I’ve been purchasing from Japan for about ten years now, delivered here in London. It used to be that parcel force would process the tax and fee and you’d pay them directly. But on a more recent transaction, the tax was added at checkout, labelled on the shipping documents and it came directly to me with no delay as tax was already paid. I think both processes still happen, but I’m not sure why there are different procedures on items from the same seller.
 
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#5
Konicek007 said:
Hello, I’m in UK and I bought many bags from Japan, that’s not an issue but this time I am watching two bags from same Japanese seller and he sent me two offers on both bags.
One of the bag is in better condition than the other however the total says £150 but when I click to pay it has added US $40s VAT however the second bag doesn’t have this $ VAT added and comes with the price as stated.
I am confused as usual with the VAT I always pay upon arrival to the couriers ( DHL, UPS etc) so I don’t want to pay it twice really.
Can someone from U.K. to clarify please?
Click to expand...
From what I can work out, Customs tax is payable at £135 or over. How much is the second bag? If less than £135 then no customs tax needs to be paid. Could that be why? And could it be the case that the $40 the seller is charging for your £150 bag is to cover the VAT+customs and is doing the paperwork/paying it on their end so that you don’t have to do it your end?

There’s a bit of info here: https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

I know it can be a bit mind boggling when it comes to working out import costs. Not currently living in the UK, I get my Japanese items delivered via the US postal system, and one day I asked someone at the PO in person how it worked with importing above the threshold and even they couldn’t give me a definitive answer!
 
#6
They were both listed under around £150 and the seller send me even lower price, both got under £110-120 after offers sent but originally both were listed for £250 around but reduced 2x.
in the end I paid the tax and it just arrived, did not need to pay anything to FedEx, it was processed straightaway in the customs.
I worked out if I pay straightaway the tax on the eBay transaction, it wil be cheaper as FedEx or whoever it would arrive with would add their admin fee of another £15 apprx.
 
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