Official worldwide thread - Tips/Advice for customs, VAT, etc...

[Darrin879]

if you were ordering a bag from overseas & had the option of their declaring an artifically low value to avoid duty, would you take it? does anyone know (a) what duty costs, and (b) what happens if customs decides to open a package and changes its value? how common is that?

anyone a customs expert here?? :shame:

thanks so much!!

 

[hollywoodbadgrl]

I recommend not doing it. I am sure customs will open the package as they do most of them. If you can afford the item you should be able to pay full duty fees. Besides if your caught you will have to pay the full amount for the duty anyway. Also the item could be seized if they find out the amount mis-declared on purpose. You may end up paying the duty plus penalty.

 

[kumimomo]

Does anyone know the % of tax refund in UK? Thanks.

 

[tingy]

I could never understand tax refund in UK. I'm right now in London, Selfridges applies 15% tax refund to the tax slip they prepare for you , and today Harrods Chanel told me 12%? I don't know why the difference...very confusing.

 

[780228]

if you ask the refund to your credit card, you can get about 15%, but you need to wait for a while, and sometimes they dont refund you successfully for the first time and you need to call them up to ask them do it all over again
if you wanna save some time and wont mind losing some money, you can ask for a cash refund in the airport, the charge about 5% formalities fee, but you get the money right away
HTH

 

[noshoepolish]

I am trying to figure out what a buyer might have to pay if she buys a $350 handbag from me in the US. Buyer lives in Greece.

I realize that sometimes they don't charge, but if she gets charges, what might be the appx VAT & Customs fee?

Thanks.

 

[Kittie LaRoche]

The VAT for Greece is 23%, custom duties range from 2%-7% depending on the type of item.

 

[noshoepolish]

Thanks. That calculator posted in the other thread is showing it would be about $89 USD for an item costing about $350...

To me, if I were the buyer, it would not be worth it. She should look for the item on ebay in Greece.

 

[Kittie LaRoche]

^yeah, and that's the reason why I mainly shop within the EU nowadays unless it's either something cheap or something not available here. ush:

I'm in Germany and I pay 19% VAT and 3%-17% custom duties on every purchase that custom catches and lately that have been all. You can only get items under 22€ without having to pay import duties, no matter whether it's a gift or not.

I'd maybe sent your buyer a link to that site so she can see for herself. I think a lot of buyers don't expect the additional costs to be THAT high because they never really looked into that topic, kwim?

 

[noshoepolish]

I looked at her FB left for others and was getting the impression that she did the "can you mark it as a gift" scam. I sent her a few messages and will not exempot her until she tells me she understands she may have to pay around 68 euros in customs & VAT plus the Express Mail shipping fee of $44 or so...

 

[Kittie LaRoche]

^Ugh, sounds like trouble then... ush:

Did she already win or is she just interested? If the later, I'd probably just block her. :shame:

 

[noshoepolish]

She's just interested in it right now. All my items are store items and she is blocked because she lives in a country to which I don't ship...

 

[ginaki]

OP, I am from Greece.
I have purchased many items from US, and I have to tell you, that regarding custom fees, if the item is sent via USPS, until now I have never paid custom fees. When an item sent via USPS arrives here, it is handled by hellenic post. Hellenic post, has its own custom employees, and they usually don't charge such fees. I have only paid a 3 euro cost for each package (it is a fix cost for all the parcels outside EU). Even if she has to pay, custom fees if the item is handled by hellenic post are really low. The problem is when the package is sent with private courier companies. These companies charge excessive custom fees in EVERY parcel. They collaborate with people doing this job as free-lancers and not as employees of the state, and no one can control what they charge. In this case, you also pay money for other reasons, such as airport fees etc. Also, you have to go to the airport and do the procedure yourself (complete many documents), otherwise, the courier company does it on your behalf and charges you a lot.
I had an awful experience, buying an alexander wang rocco from aloharag, and paying another 220 dollars to get my bag!

For the record, I received recently a chloe bag (price 399 dollars) and I only paid the fix 3 euros.

Hope that helps.

 

[noshoepolish]

Thanks. Thing is I can't guarantee it to her.

 

[ginaki]

Thanks. Thing is I can't guarantee it to her.

OP, I believe that when a buyer decides to purchase something from US, he/she should be ready to pay custom fees, because as you say, even if the routine is this, there is no guarantee that additional cost may occur. I would never put the seller in a difficult position, and I prefer to buy from Europe for these reasons. Of course, many items are only available in USA and then I am thinking ''do I really want this''? And ''am I ready to pay more''? I can undestand that if the buyer is not clear about his/her intensions, selling this item will provoce anxiety to you. If the seller is not ready about this, I suggest you should not proceed to the transaction.

Edit: Just remembered, I purchase a $1200 balenciaga from USA, and I paid again 3 euros!