Importing BDs Above VAT Exemption Threshold

[strapped for cash]

Does anyone have experience of importing BDs from the US when the price exceeds the £15 threshold?

I've imported various BDs from the US, but they've all cost under £15 and have therefore been exempt from further charges. Delivery has been no hassle whatsoever.

I've read tales of Royal Mail charging an £8 handling and re-delivery fee once the item cost exceeds £15, however, and it's far from clear whether I'd be asked to pay VAT on top of this.

According to the seller, VAT is pre-paid, but I have no idea how this would be interpreted by UK customs. Thankfully there would be no duty to pay, since item and shipping costs are well below £135.

Nevertheless, I might have to pay almost £15 (Royal Mail charges plus VAT) on top of the original item and delivery cost, pushing the total outlay beyond a level I'm willing to pay.

All advice much appreciated.

 

[Q5]

Does anyone have experience of importing BDs from the US when the price exceeds the £15 threshold?

I've imported various BDs from the US, but they've all cost under £15 and have therefore been exempt from further charges. Delivery has been no hassle whatsoever.

I've read tales of Royal Mail charging an £8 handling and re-delivery fee once the item cost exceeds £15, however, and it's far from clear whether I'd be asked to pay VAT on top of this.

According to the seller, VAT is pre-paid, but I have no idea how this would be interpreted by UK customs. Thankfully there would be no duty to pay, since item and shipping costs are well below £135.

Nevertheless, I might have to pay almost £15 (Royal Mail charges plus VAT) on top of the original item and delivery cost, pushing the total outlay beyond a level I'm willing to pay.

All advice much appreciated.

I have been caught out by this my self, RM charged £6.00 and then I had to pay the duty / tax

e.g. Blu-ray has an import duty rate of 3.5% and a VAT rate of 20% .

 

[Xanderzdad]

Whenever I've done this, the seller has automatically declared the item at a value below the £15 threshold. I have even received very expensive items valued at a notional £12!

Email the seller and ask them what value they will declare on the pakage.

 

[strapped for cash]

Thanks both for your replies.

I asked the seller and the declared value would be the full sale price + postage, which is certainly above the £15 threshold.

I'd like to order, but feel I would risk getting stung. I can live with the VAT payment if demanded. It's the potential Royal Mail surcharges that seem extortionate, and I've no way of knowing whether, or indeed why, such a surcharge would be applied.

None of the above is catastrophic; it'd just be nice to know the total outlay before placing an order.

 

[strapped for cash]

Blu-ray has an import duty rate of 3.5% and a VAT rate of 20% .

As I understand it, any duty payment under £9 is automatically waived, so I should be exempt in this regard.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Whenever I've done this, the seller has automatically declared the item at a value below the £15 threshold. I have even received very expensive items valued at a notional £12!

Email the seller and ask them what value they will declare on the pakage.

Yep, sometimes they have made the value below £15 for me too. Like if you buy on eBay America but on Amazon America you can get stung.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

What shop are you buying from if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Q5]

You are correct on the £9.00 limit

For imports into the EU, there are minimum thresholds below which duty is waived. Duty is not charged if either:

• the total value of the goods (not including shipping charges or insurance) does not exceed £135 (€150, or equivalent in local currency), or
• the amount of duty payable on a commodity, does not exceed £9 (€10, or equivalent in local currency)

Neither duty nor VAT is payable if the total value of the goods (not including shipping charges or insurance) does not exceed £15.

 

[bigboss]

Amazon US will take an import fee deposit at the time of order which is refunded if no import fee is charged. I find that very useful for avoiding the handling charge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=14309551&pop-up=1

 

[strapped for cash]

Thanks Q5 and BB.

I'd need to set up an Amazon.com account to buy direct from the US website and I'd rather not for a single order. Appreciate the suggestion, though.

I still don't understand the basis on which Royal Mail calculates or applies handling charges. If I could understand their practice, and when the fees apply, I could at least work out whether I'd need to pay extra for the goods to be delivered once they've passed through UK customs.

The really annoying thing is that I used to work for a logistics company and regularly dealt with UK customs, including preparing and processing mainfests and bills of lading. This was over a decade ago now, however, and whatever knowledge I've retained is probably obsolete.

I think I'll just order the BD and if I have to cough up some extra, so be it!

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Thanks Q5 and BB.

I'd need to set up an Amazon.com account to buy direct from the US website and I'd rather not for a single order. Appreciate the suggestion, though.

I still don't understand the basis on which Royal Mail calculates or applies handling charges. If I could understand their practice, and when the fees apply, I could at least work out whether I'd need to pay extra for the goods to be delivered once they've passed through UK customs.

The really annoying thing is that I used to work for a logistics company and regularly dealt with UK customs, including preparing and processing mainfests and bills of lading. This was over a decade ago now, however, and whatever knowledge I've retained is probably obsolete.

I think I'll just order the BD and if I have to cough up some extra, so be it!

You don't need to set up an account with Amazon America or eBay America you just use your UK account log in details. This is the same for European purchases too. I use Amazon France a lot and it's fantastic! I have used Amazon America too.

 

[strapped for cash]

You don't need to set up an account with Amazon America or eBay America you just use your UK account log in details. This is the same for European purchases too. I use Amazon France a lot and it's fantastic! I have used Amazon America too.

OK, cheers Gel.

I didn't know you could use your UK Amazon account in Europe and the US (to be honest I never tried, I simply assumed you'd need to set up a new account).

 

[bigboss]

You don't need to set up an account with Amazon America or eBay America you just use your UK account log in details.  This is the same for European purchases too.  I use Amazon France a lot and it's fantastic!  I have used Amazon America too. ?

OK, cheers Gel.

I didn't know you could use your UK Amazon account in Europe and the US (to be honest I never tried, I simply assumed you'd need to set up a new account).  

You can use existing Amazon login for all Amazon sites in the world. I've shopped from Germany, France, Italy, US, India and Australia sites (Australia just sells books).

 

[ellisdj]

what did you buy from India?

 

[strapped for cash]

You can use existing Amazon login for all Amazon sites in the world. I've shopped from Germany, France, Italy, US, India and Australia sites (Australia just sells books).

Good to know, thanks BB.

Out of interest, when you bought directly from Amazon.com, were you charged extra for postage once the package hit the UK, and have you ever bought anything from Amazon.com that exceeded the £15 threshold?

The BD I want is marginally cheaper if I buy directly from Amazon.com, so this probably makes sense, combined with the refundable pre-payment option you mention above.

 

[bigboss]

You can use existing Amazon login for all Amazon sites in the world. I've shopped from Germany, France, Italy, US, India and Australia sites (Australia just sells books).

Good to know, thanks BB.?

Out of interest, when you bought directly from Amazon.com, were you charged extra for postage once the package hit the UK, and have you ever bought anything from Amazon.com that exceeded the £15 threshold?

The BD I want is marginally cheaper if I buy directly from Amazon.com, so this probably makes sense, combined with the refundable pre-payment option you mention above. 

Yes I have, twice.

1st was this is 2011 for £30. They took an import fees deposit and refunded it to me afterwards.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000071NUS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I then ordered this last year:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0073D8F3Q/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They again took import fees deposit which was not refunded.

Bear in mind I only buy products sold by Amazon themselves, and not a third party seller.

 

[bigboss]

You can use existing Amazon login for all Amazon sites in the world. I've shopped from Germany, France, Italy, US, India and Australia sites (Australia just sells books).

Good to know, thanks BB.?

Out of interest, when you bought directly from Amazon.com, were you charged extra for postage once the package hit the UK, and have you ever bought anything from Amazon.com that exceeded the £15 threshold?

The BD I want is marginally cheaper if I buy directly from Amazon.com, so this probably makes sense, combined with the refundable pre-payment option you mention above.?

Yes I have, twice.

1st was this is 2011 for £30. They took an import fees deposit and refunded it to me afterwards.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000071NUS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpag...

I then ordered this last year:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0073D8F3Q/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They again took import fees deposit which was not refunded.

Bear in mind I only buy products sold by Amazon themselves, and not a third party seller.

Links now clickable.

 

[bigboss]

what did you buy from India?

Mainly blu rays, have got people in India I ship it to. Then then bring it with them on their next trip here.

Lion King blu ray for example was released in India many months before UK release. I sold it for a higher price than purchase after watching it.

A lot of blu rays are cheaper in India, have to confirm they're region free before buying.

 

[ellisdj]

Thats sprinkler animal defence you have bought thats awesome - reminds of the turret gun used in the Aliens Directors Cut Special Edition.

Now if you have not seen that verison - you really must !!

 

[Deleted member 2457]

You don't need to set up an account with Amazon America or eBay America you just use your UK account log in details. This is the same for European purchases too. I use Amazon France a lot and it's fantastic! I have used Amazon America too.

OK, cheers Gel.

I didn't know you could use your UK Amazon account in Europe and the US (to be honest I never tried, I simply assumed you'd need to set up a new account).

quote]Amazon.fr you just pay £3-£4 on £170 headphones and that includes delivery. My mum just bought my niece this pair of Beats headphones:

http://www.amazon.fr/Beats-Dr-Dre-Solo2-Casque/dp/B00KD80B0S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1445612034&sr=8-4&keywords=beats+solo+2

All you do is go on with your laptop and use google chrome and then right click on the French page and click translate to English and you can read it all in English too. But sometimes you don't need to because it's pretty obvious what you are doing anyway. My mum saved £90 on these headphones because they were a little cheaper a couple of days ago. £170 in John Lewis. My 12 year old niece is going to be well happy. Same with Amazon.es (Amazon Spain).

 

[strapped for cash]

OK, thanks for the tips and info folks. Much appreciated.

 

[chebby]

OK, cheers Gel.

I didn't know you could use your UK Amazon account in Europe and the US (to be honest I never tried, I simply assumed you'd need to set up a new account).

I've been doing it for years to get books that are published in the USA but not here.

And France. I got all of my Avengers (1960s British TV series) boxsets there because they don't make them for the UK. (The Avengers are very popular in France.) They all default to English dialogue - without subs - and are recorded in the same PAL format we use.