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Grrr customes fees on my designer pins!!

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Grrr customes fees on my designer pins!!

tankgirl_13

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I CANT BELIVE IT!!! I've been waiting ages for my Designer Pin set! I know I paid a silly amount of money for them on ebay, but I figure the complete set was worth it plus I love them and dolls so much that I had to have it!

Now I know customes fees in the UK are expensive and have oftern been hit with 40 or 50 pound worth of fees BUT this is MENTAL they are charging me wopping £128 , just for bringing the set into the country and stamping a few bits of paper!!!!!!! I cant belive how they can justify so much money! its not even as if they are very heavy!!


GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Just makes me soo angry! If it wasnt for my most wonderfull Dad i'd have to refuse the set and send it back to the seller as i dont have a spare £128 floating around! As it was i just about maxed out my credit card buying the set from ebay.
All I can say is Im soo greatful my Dad is helping me pay the Bill and hopfully i'll have the designer pins in a few more days, and they better be as beauitful as they look on the photos to make this all worth while!


GRRRRRRRRRRRR CUSTOMES GRRRRRRRRRR





Ok RANT over, sorry peoples just needed a vent!!!
 
wow that is alot for custom fees. I suspected youd have gotten them but not that much.
hope you get them soon and like what you see.
 
I know, I sent some pins back because an Ebay member put $50 on them when I only bought them for $20 including postage on Ebay! They wanted to charge me £25 in customs - so I sent them back and complained to the seller. $20 was well below the charge boundary - anyway, it took nearly 3 months to arrive back to the USA.

Hope the pins get to you safe. They'll be worth it, I'm sure.
 
Wow so sorry to hear! And awesome of your dad to pay!

I know once when I bought clothes from Hot Topics site I had to pay £48 customs fee on top and I thought that was alot.

Sorry to hear and I hate the UK Postal System, it is terrible!
 
How much did you pay for the set, and what waw the delivery method (courier or normal mail). I presume you paid a huge amount and then got 3.5% customs and 20% VAT. Basically the way it's worked out is:

[(price of item + shipping cost) * 1.035*1.2] + admin fee

The admin fee is £8 for Royal Mail but for couriers can be dependant on the value of the item.

It's worth bearing in mind for the future, as anything with a value over £18 can attract customs charges.
 
ive often had stuff marked other (not gift) with $70, $165 and $215 marked as the price with no custom charges for pins. I think I might be just lucky with the irish post but then again other half buys statues and they get sent with a marked price of $200-$250 and only ever 1 has been charged for.
 
Ireland may have a different limit. In theory, if it's a gift you get double the limit (£36). But it's all nonsense as the limits have been at this amount for many years. They should've gone up in line with inflation. It's ridiculous.
 
They need to learn to mark the package as a gift and to put little or no value on the items. Then you don't pay any custom fees. I do this for all my shipments to the UK.
 
I suspect in this case they wanted to send it insured as it's such a high value. I was lucky with my Designer set in that the person was willing to mark the package at $25! I was nervous as anything until it arrived though.
 
I can't believe the price they charge for Customs. It's not like they aren't getting money from you when you pay taxes. Gee Zew!

So is the best way to send things as a gift with a low dollar amount?

I usually send as a gift with a price of $10.00. Would this be good to continue?

I send things to Hong Kong, the UK, etc. Where ever there is someone looking for pins, I send them.

Vicki
 
You can send as a gift, but if you are buying it then it is the responsibility of the seller to make sure it arrives. If I sold a $700 pin set then I would for sure want to insure and track it and if I insure it I'd need to mark the value....it stinks, but in a case like this I don't think it os fair to ask the seller to take on a risk like that. Just another way of looking at it...
 

Yeah, I definitely agree. I know I wouldn't want to take on that risk.


So sorry that you had to pay so much in customs Awesome that your dad was able to help you out though!
 
It is comeing by courier so this would make sense, I never relised that fees could go to that much, I been ordering things from the US for such a long time and some really expensive items too and never had to pay this sort of money. but at least I know now for in future to always ask the seller to mark it as a gift or chose a cheaper optionn for shipping. the seller i got these from didnt state in the auction what shipping method they would be using either. I can understand the need for insurance and have always asked for it in the past, but im sure the normal post service can provide that?!

I usually send as a gift with a price of $10.00. Would this be good to continue?
Click to expand...
Id say yes unless the person your sending to asks you to do otherwise!

Anyways its all done now and my wonerdful dad has paid the bill for me, so just gotta wait another few days for my pins to arrive!! Im sure they'll be worth it!
 
I just wanted to say that if you buy on E-bay, having a purchase marked as a gift is mail fraud. That's a felony here in the US. I don't think many sellers would risk that.
 
Roxane said:
I just wanted to say that if you buy on E-bay, having a purchase marked as a gift is mail fraud. That's a felony here in the US. I don't think many sellers would risk that.
Click to expand...

This is true. I just could not risk this as a seller. One thing I have done for overseas is send items one at a time so the value limit stays under the costum fee you may be charged. This means the buyer may have to pay more in shipping as I have to mail separate packages, but in the long run it is much cheaper than the customs fees you are charged.

But when I have pins as trades, I do mark that as gift. Nothing was sold ~ no money is being exchanged.

I do feel awful for you tho that you were hit with such a high fee!! That is just ridiculous!
Got to love Dad's tho! :0)
 

another thing you could do is if it is an ebay item that expensive and coming from the USA is to have a buddy here in the usa "buy" or bid for you have it shipped to them and then on to you. THEN it can be marked as a gift. and allways ask questions if the shipping terms arent clearly marked before the purchase or bid.
 
Bad luck but what everyone is saying is true a trade is one thing but you are buying and therefore liable I am waiting to have to pay when disney send out the lunch boxes I thought about it and looked at the one they had and decided still to keep the two I had on rsp but I knew that this will happen.

Jacqui
 
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