Customs for UK buyer from US seller?

C

citychris

O.G.
Aug 5, 2006
3,070
4
#1
I am in the US and had an inquiry from a potential bidder in the UK re: customs fees. I have never sold to anyone in the UK and really have no idea what customs charges would be.

Is there anyone in the UK who can comment on customs fees when buying bags from the U.S.?
 
#4
^^Only if it gets lost, because it will only be insured for what you put down. If it is lost or damaged, then the buyer can put in a Paypal claim and will likely win. Which means you will be out of pocket.
If you want to take the risk, but I wouldn't. The buyer has to pay the charges and should understand that really. I did.

And if you saw the way they treat parcel's en route...you would insure for damage at least!!
 
#5
I would not mess with the value of the item, if it gets lost or damaged you are going to be the one who loses money. The people who have to pay customs don't understand that it is the seller who gets screwed if anything happens. They are just trying to save money by not having to pay the full customs fee.
 
#8
Thanks for your input everyone.

Do you think the shipping method matters (i.e., UPS or DHL vs. USPS). The reason I ask is that when I order bags from Belen Echandia in London and they are shipped via DHL, I get hit with a DHL customs bill every time. But when BE ships via Royal Mail, I have never had to pay customs. I don't know if works going the other way though.
 
#10
When you go through a courier, they pay to get it expidited through customs. So the courier then sends a bill after it is delivered. In the UK, Parcel Force pays for the customs and you have to pay before it is delivered. It is hit or miss though because sometimes you get them and sometimes you don't.

With a bag of that value...you will most likely get charges with any delivery method.
 
#12
citychris said:
Thanks again for the info. everyone!
Click to expand...

Hi Chris.... its ivy.... I am still finding out how to send it over here in the UK... every1 is right not to declare it to a lower value...OMG!!! I certainly wouldnt. I will ask the courier service my other half uses if they are available in the US...I will let you know.... cheers...
 
#13
Hi, I am at the other end of the situation (I actually just made a thread about this in Handbags and Purses). I bought a bag for $760 from the US and asked for it to be shipped to the UK. The seller insured it for $600. I just got a notice saying that it will cost me 75 pounds (about $150) for tax and duties. :sad: I think I got charged customs for the $600 insured value though, not what I paid, so I guess I was lucky in that sense, but damn. :sad: Is there any way to get round this so that no one, either buyer or seller gets gipped?

Kerilynn, so sorry to hear about those fees. That seems to be higher proportion-speaking than what I paid.
 
#14
I buy alot of shoes from the US and I tend to plan on paying around 30% of declared value in customs fees. If the seller marks it as a gift then the only difference it makes is that Customs won't include the postage costs when calculating tax payable.

The only way it sneaks thru customs if is sellers declare a significantly lower than paid value and even then you run the risk of random checks :shrugs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back