Beware Customs Read On

[Gerry H]

2 of us have been charged by customs ebay seller putting the right price on record i bought a record for $48 and got charged £13 and someone ells was £40 i told the seller i wasn't happy he said he was Dear gerry_h,

I'm very sorry about this, but this is something I can't control. I am legally obligated to put the correct value on those forms. Regards, -Brendan (keepdavisboring)

he should put in his description that we would have to pay customs or we should do like they do make up our own rules $2 or a gift or keep the record themselves must think he`s the only one posting from the states or something eh

[Pete S]

2 of us have been charged by customs ebay seller putting the right price on record i bought a record for $48 and got charged £13 and someone ells was £40 i told the seller i wasn't happy he said he was Dear gerry_h,

I'm very sorry about this, but this is something I can't control. I am legally obligated to put the correct value on those forms. Regards, -Brendan (keepdavisboring)

he should put in his description that we would have to pay customs or we should do like they do make up our own rules $2 or a gift or keep the record themselves must think he`s the only one posting from the states or something eh

He doesn't know if you'll have to pay customs or not though, you just have to pay if you get unlucky and customs get hold of it. Ebay actually tell the US sellers to put a message saying 'item may be subject to customs charges' and says basically what he says, I think they actually get frightened into putting the full value on, I just ask them before it ends if he intends to put the full value on and if he says yes, I don't bid.

[Jnixon]

theres usually an additional £8ish charge for a 7" from the post office on top of customs charge..

[Amsterdam Russ]

Combine the increasing frequency of Customs charges with the new hefty rise in postal rates and it's hardly going to be worthwhile buying from the States!

[Bigsoulman]

Caught me out twice for £11 each time which was only about the equivalent to what I had paid and I simply let them return the records to the senders but had to wait an age to get a refund, I now ask the seller not to put the full amount on the customs ticket or they will be returned, currently waiting on one from the US so hopefully they have paid attention to what I've asked.

Just another way of the UK authorities trying to screw us all over, greedy bastards.

Edited January 28, 2013 by BIGSOULMAN

[Steve G]

Isn't the problem for the seller if the pack gets lost, the only proof they have of value is what they've put on the customs dec? That's why I thought (apart from any legal requirement) some sellers put full value on the package.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Steve G

[Amsterdam Russ]

If you're buying from eBay the proof of value is the sale itself, not the postal docket.

[Steve G]

No, if you have to refund someone because they say they haven't received a packet and try and reclaim from the PO they are only interested in the customs declaration, not an ebay sale.

[Chalky]

If you're buying from eBay the proof of value is the sale itself, not the postal docket.

Try telling the post office that. I had one where the seller declared the records value and the post office weren't interested in what I'd paid.

[Amsterdam Russ]

Try telling the post office that. I had one where the seller declared the records value and the post office weren't interested in what I'd paid.

Not sure I understand why you'd be claiming from the post office when you should be claiming through eBay/Paypal - unless you're talking about sales not done through eBay.

[Steve G]

buyer claims through ebay, seller has to claim back from PO......

[Geordiejohnson]

this happened to me a few years ago when i won an innersection for £43 but the tosser on the other end in the USA put that it was worth more for "insurance purposes" DHL charged me £65 customs ...yeh ok i still got a bargain, but its still a topic of conversation today bargain turned sour.

Geeoooooordie

[Ric-tic]

you actually are allowed 'gifts ' to the value of 34 pounds [just reduced from 40 pounds] but the post office are just ignoring that. its not just records they are stopping for example if you live outside the mainland and have a kid in university and kid wants clothes posted they are being stopped and they write to the university and ask for proof, same is happening with some business samples. but heres the best i know a girl from jersey who sent her nephew a 1.99 plastic toy marked as a gift and it was pulled and charged so in total there was about 8 pounds something to pay hard to believe but true, that has to be illegal no?

[Guest Polyvelts]

The us customs are asking the 'value' as opposed to the 'cost' of an item, the value of a second hand forty year old vinyl record that has been set by an open Internet auction is surely debatable. I have asked sellers in the past if the starting price is $9.99 or $5.99 and they are prepared to sell the item at that minimum bid cost, then that is surely the actual bottom line value they are putting on it. A few sellers accept this and value accordingly, but the majority are jobs worth patriotic morons who are terrified of the IRS, customs dept etc,

[Guest julesp1905]

you actually are allowed 'gifts ' to the value of 34 pounds [just reduced from 40 pounds] but the post office are just ignoring that. its not just records they are stopping for example if you live outside the mainland and have a kid in university and kid wants clothes posted they are being stopped and they write to the university and ask for proof, same is happening with some business samples. but heres the best i know a girl from jersey who sent her nephew a 1.99 plastic toy marked as a gift and it was pulled and charged so in total there was about 8 pounds something to pay hard to believe but true, that has to be illegal no?

HMR&C set customs charges, Royal Mail collect them after paying them on behalf of the importer, The Post Office play no part in the process other than an entry point when sending items through Royal Mail Network

[Amsterdam Russ]

buyer claims through ebay, seller has to claim back from PO......

And as my post clearly states, I'm talking about the buyer's perspective...

[Dave Moore]

I was charged Import duty + VAT on a 45 package valued at $15.00. I questioned that and it was scrapped. I was then charged 13 Euros as an admin charge by the PO for the priviledge of them stopping my package at the point of entry, moving it to Madrid, processing it (?) and finally delivering it to me. (Two weeks later). This charge was not waived!!?? So it cost me 13 Euros for fook all. And...I was originally charged the VAT even on the postage costs.

It seems this isn't just a UK thing. With the cost of sending a 45 from US to Europe now over $12, (As from yesterday), some of the cheaper end bargains are going to get passed over for sure.

Regards,

Dave

[Guest john s]

[Mr Smithy]

Regardless of putting on the full value ( I always put on $5 or $10 ) if you do a fairly sloppy looking ( but solid ) hand made mailer

they tend to get stopped a lot less than nice "professional" ones. The Auntie Madge approach.

Printed EBay labels have made it harder to make then look homey but if you put them on crooked I think it helps.

Been a while since any of mine have been nailed for customs - private sales anyway - Ebay I don't know about, sometimes I ask but rarely get an answer

[boba]

I don't put the full value but I never understood the attitude that the seller is obligated to falsify customs and should get negative feedback / or even be viewed negatively for not falsifying customs because of how it affects buyers in certain countries. If you want the seller to falsify customs, ask ahead of time.

[Steve G]

Agree Bob, I think some sellers want it both ways.

Anyway good to see none of the regulars that bleat on about "tax avoidance" in the UK are popping their heads above the parapet on this thread! :lol:

Edited January 29, 2013 by Steve G

[Amsterdam Russ]

I was charged Import duty + VAT on a 45 package valued at $15.00. I questioned that and it was scrapped.

Regards,

Dave

There is a threshold here in the Netherlands of something like 48 euros (I'm not sure what it is exactly). Anything valued above this amount is subject to duty, which is around 30%.

On the other side of the coin, spare a thought for our poor cousins in the States. In two instances now, when my other half has sent packages over there, US Customs have refused to release them unless the social security number of the recipients were included in the paperwork! Try telling a customer stateside that, even though you're 1,000s of miles away and in a different country, you must have their social security details when processing a financial transaction with them! It sounds awfully suspicious, even to the most understanding of customers.

Even worse, in one of these instances the recipient was a mature student from overseas. They had a study visa and all the documentation needed to show that they were legitimately living and studying in the States. However, US Customs refused to release the package to them. Why? Because they weren't a United States citizen!

In the end, a sympathetic Customs official suggested that all the paperwork - invoice & Customs documentation - be altered and made out to a friend of the student who was a US citizen. That way the other person could collect the goods on the student's behalf!

Sadly, I'm sure that any dealings with Customs - on either side of the pond - are only going to get worse.

[boba]

This is surprising to hear (about US customs causing a hassle). We don't pay any duty / tax on incoming items. The main thing that US customs are concerned with is ordering drugs or other illegal items from overseas (and they tend to come from certain countries like india). Not sure why they would ever ask for a social security number, I think legally they can't even do that (SSNs are supposed to only be used by the IRS, even though every company / agency uses them now).

[Paul McKay]

I think the UK limit is £15. Above that you get charged VAT (Inc on the postage) at 20% and above about £120 import duty, oh and £8 for the pleasure of being charged. I buy quite a lot of books from the States and luckily don't get this hassle as they're VAT free.