The first sting were custom charges. I had bought something from Japan at a reasonable and low price but then Parcel Force/ UK Customs demanded a £22 customs charge before releasing the parcel. That was twice as much as the value of the item! Begrudgingly I paid but it has made me wary of buying outside the EU. But I love Japanese toys!
Speaking of the EU, my second salutary tale involves Spain but it could be anywhere I suppose. I bought an item from a Spanish seller at a very reasonable price. As for payment, he wanted a direct Bank Transfer. I thought, OK. I rang my Bank and they said that it would cost a minimum of £15 and a maximum of £40. I thought Good Grief! Fortunately it cost me the minimum but it still doubled the cost of my purchase!
Does your collecting incur similar hidden costs, which you hadn't banked on?
Very much so Woodsy. Add 24% VAT plus occasionally additional 5% Customs Tax to the final value of everything bought from outside the EU - that final value including the shipping cost. You are exempted only if that total does not exceed €20 (£17).
ReplyDeleteThe bank fransfer within the EU is more reasonable, €8.50 which is around £7.
It's the handling fee that annoys me. I bought a kit from Japan, had to pay tax of £4 plus £8 handling fee. £8 ?! What a rip off.
ReplyDeleteOccassionally the Post office manages to miss the charges completely and that makes my day.
I think part of it's the drawback to not being in the Eurozone, Paul. Means UK banks still charge exchange fees. Though for EU payments the costs are mandatorily split nowadays, which your bank should've taken into account.
ReplyDeleteTrouble with that particular Spanish site is that its sellers aren't as advanced as their ebaying compatriots. So most don't even know what paypal is, and I've had to explain what IBAN and Swift codes are to get somebody paid from here. But I take that into account before deciding to buy something there.
Basically anything in euros I prefer to pay by direct transfer, paypal being used as an alternative of last resort in euros but preferred for anything in Sterling or US$ to avoid those fees.
From within the EU incl Britain I haven't had to pay additional shipping charges or duties. From outside the EU I think the belgians have woken up to the fact that second-hand stuff gets sold for quite a bit of money here and there, and (having a hole in their state budgets plural to fill) have started charging accordingly. VAT, import duties and indeed a handling fee - stated in pale grey type on the slip that one accepts that by signing... Added to the fact that epay has warned sellers about stating lower values, that makes me think twice about deciding to buy stuff outside the EU too.
Best -- Paul