Customs Charges From Outside Eu

[Ted Massey]

Is this the face of things to come or a one off ...?

Just won a record for $99 ..

Postal costs of $18.50 global express

Then import duty costs upfront of $24 .

Looks like they are calculating the customs and I'm paying it upfront to avoid it being held in UK depot ?

No Nev its new system some dealers refuse to put a small amount on the package so at least this way you know what you are going to pay. ive used it and all I did was work out how much I wanted to pay say 1000$ then add 27% that gives you an idea what it will cost total. its up to you then to bid. you just have to read the item description carefully. it just worked in my favour because some one in Australia that out bid me tried to get the guy to put 12$ on the ticket the dealer refused and relisted it, I won it below the first auction price. think they use Pitney Bowes to deal with the shipping. my only concern is when the item arrives and its not as described you may be losing some money cause from what I can see you only get back the bid figure and not the charges. 

[Denbo]

No Nev its new system some dealers refuse to put a small amount on the package so at least this way you know what you are going to pay. ive used it and all I did was work out how much I wanted to pay say 1000$ then add 27% that gives you an idea what it will cost total. its up to you then to bid. you just have to read the item description carefully. it just worked in my favour because some one in Australia that out bid me tried to get the guy to put 12$ on the ticket the dealer refused and relisted it, I won it below the first auction price. think they use Pitney Bowes to deal with the shipping. my only concern is when the item arrives and its not as described you may be losing some money cause from what I can see you only get back the bid figure and not the charges. 

Thanks for that Ted. Very concise. 

[NEV]

No Nev its new system some dealers refuse to put a small amount on the package so at least this way you know what you are going to pay. ive used it and all I did was work out how much I wanted to pay say 1000$ then add 27% that gives you an idea what it will cost total. its up to you then to bid. you just have to read the item description carefully. it just worked in my favour because some one in Australia that out bid me tried to get the guy to put 12$ on the ticket the dealer refused and relisted it, I won it below the first auction price. think they use Pitney Bowes to deal with the shipping. my only concern is when the item arrives and its not as described you may be losing some money cause from what I can see you only get back the bid figure and not the charges.

hi Ted,the one and only time I got hit by this was a copy of Guitar Ray for $230, so as you can imagine I wasn't worried about the customs fee.

Sadly though, it got lost in transit and I got refunded.. Ffs

[Tiberius]

Just had a record which the seller used the ebay Global Shipping Program to send.  Inside the mailer was a piece of paper face down which I assumed to be one of those flyers or business card type things which you often get but when I picked it up it was a notice that the package had been opened.  Although there was no damage I was pretty hacked off that someone, probably clueless with regards to vinyl, had been potentially messing around with my precious 45.  The thing is that ebay, and I assume their 3rd party courier, can see the listing and son knows exactly what the contents of the package is and the value at time of sale.  Quite why they then have to open the thing is beyond me and what rights ebay have to do this I don't know.

Perhaps others on here have had their parcels opened?

[Ted Massey]

I had that notice as well but I couldn't see where it had been opened. Im fairly cool about it as they must know that its valuable as they must have sight of the listing

[Tiberius]

I had that notice as well but I couldn't see where it had been opened. Im fairly cool about it as they must know that its valuable as they must have sight of the listing

It isn't about value as such it's the principle as Ebay have no right as far as I can see to open my mail, especially when my mail contains a fairly fragile item.  I can only see all the hassle involved if someone opens your latest puchase whilst in transit & it slide out onto the floor.  There's the potential that your M- disc will end up a trasher.  What if said individual then repacks your 45 so you "couldn't see where it had been opened", who will you blame?  I could go on with the "what if's" but it's inevitable along the line there will be some agro/tears with this policy.

 

EDIT:typo

Edited January 25, 2014 by tiberius

[Guest sharmo 1]

I just take a risk and have signed for but no claim insurance then get who I;m buying off to put record samples of no commercial value on the packet and don't have any problems.

[Steve G]

You must be lucky then Simon….there are a lot of people out there who claim they never received the record, or it was damaged etc.

[Guest sharmo 1]

You must be lucky then Simon….there are a lot of people out there who claim they never received the record, or it was damaged etc.

Hi Steve no I always pay for extra signed for which is cheaper but even with fedex on very large orders once it's has record samples of no commercial value your home and dry.I do this with machine parts as well and I have a friend who does the same with Harley Davidson Parts we've never had a problem see you soon Steve , Simon.

[Tiberius]

Hi Steve no I always pay for extra signed for which is cheaper but even with fedex on very large orders once it's has record samples of no commercial value your home and dry.I do this with machine parts as well and I have a friend who does the same with Harley Davidson Parts we've never had a problem see you soon Steve , Simon.

I'm afraid not all ebay sellers are this compliant.  Many now insist on using the Global Shipping Program so all the fees are paid up front at the checkout.  Although not happy about this situation I was prepared to factor in the added costs and where the total still represented a fair price purchase the odd item from sellers who would not, when asked, use anything other than G.S.P.  What I wasn't expecting was that part of the service involved ebay tampering with my mail.  So I'm having second thoughts now as after incuring greater costs I'm also exposed to greater risk of damaged goods landing on the mat.  I've sent a message to ebay but I don't expect enything other than a standard response.

[Guest]

bo diddley, on 04 Mar 2013 - 3:48 PM, said:bo diddley, on 04 Mar 2013 - 3:48 PM, said:

As I mentioned above, I had to pay a (small) charge for a record which I then returned as it wasn't as described. I didn't look into the possibility of reclaiming the charge but.....I wonder if your could reclaim with an expensive item and the charge is THAT big? Also, if you could, what proof would be needed?

I always just assumed that you could get the tax fees refunded if you returned the item, but I just checked the rules and it doesn't seem that simple. Here in Denmark, you don't get the tax refunded if you simply decide to return the item because you don't want the item afterall. If the item, however, is not as described, and you, therefore, need to return it, then you can have the tax refunded. With second hand records, it's easy to claim that they were not as described. I imagine the rules might be similar in the UK.

 

Edited January 25, 2014 by SebDK