Please always mark international trades as a gift!

I really really really really really really really REALLY dislike customs fees, so outrageously high for holding a parcel for someone... really, now?! It's sad when your receive packages marked way over their value, or trades marked as merchandise... no money was involved so why mark it as anything other than a gift?

My fellow UK peeps, I feel your pain when we get slapped with a huge fee It's always down to the sender's discretion whether they mark the true value or not on trades, but it would be nice if they'd help us out a little :lol: <3

Items that are not marked as a gift but are £15 or less are exempt from customs and VAT. If it is sent as a gift though, it can be marked up to £36 to be exempt from the fees. If it's over £36 but marked as a gift you might get charged import VAT but not customs duty. If you do get unfairly charged though and can prove the real value of the item you should be able to claim the customs and VAT back.

Ok, here is my view. If its a trade, its fine to mark as a gift since no money was exchanged. It is wrong to ask an eBay seller to mark as a gift though. I have had several international packages go missing and I like to have items I sent out insured. You can't get insurance for a $100 pin and then try and claim its only $20 on the customs form. For people that have stated that they got declared values above the value, my guess is it was the person marking a higher value so they can insure it for more should something happen to it.

If I were to sell an item and ship it international, I would declare the value as the total amount of the payment including shipping so that the entire amount paid for the item delivered could be insured. Just safer that way. Yeah, fees and taxes suck but they are part of life.

I shan't be purchasing any pins off you then lol I'm sure you'd hate it of you ended up with a $20 fee for something only worth about that.

Although, like I say... If it was just the customs fee I'd be happy to pay. It's the Robbing beeps that are royal fail with their stupid handling fee. I'm going to ask them if they can explain the justification for such a charge!

Jazzy B Bunny said:

I shan't be purchasing any pins off you then lol I'm sure you'd hate it of you ended up with a $20 fee for something only worth about that.

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Precisely this. I can end up turning a fun hobby into not so fun!
At the risk of being told I'm wrong I've always marked any overseas package "NCV" No Current Value" whether that be something I've sold on eBay, something I've sold here or any trades.

In ireland we get a maximum we can put on a package so for US its €35 max so even.if sending a pin worth $130 that pin can not be insured higher even though its sent with tracking. I would have to go to courier and thats €100 for one pin O_O so for me when selling high priced pins I have to lie on value not for wanting to cause the post office here deems itself to have a max.

I agree on sellers marking them as gifts as a bit of a cheeky thing to ask as if it goes lost or something then the seller can only claim back the value, Im pretty sure anyone wouldnt like to be the seller and losing a pin and half the money you sold it for cause you marked it lower??

If you end up being a repeat customer to a particluar ebay seller then I would say its ok to ask as you've built a seller/buyer relationship where the seller may be ok with that.

I got stung once on a donation mark gift and $100 and sent signed for and it was nearly £40.

LUCKILY with me being in ireland the threshold for customs to come into play is very very high, I received 4 packages from someobe on the forum with a value of $330 each and I got 1 package a week (4 in total over 4 weeks) and no charges XD

I've had more expensive large items slip through customs before. I should only be paying £3.28 today but nope £11.28... Maybe I'll just offer them the 3 quid and see what they say!

When are u going to pick it up?

charlottetowell said:

When are u going to pick it up?

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In the next couple of hours. It's the last chance before I go away. Better get my skates on :rant: lol

I thought this was about sales on DPF not auction sites. I always discuss concerns with the seller on DPF before I decide to purchase, especially if they want me to send payment as gift or expect me to pay the fees via goods/merchandise...

The £8 handling fee is part of what Royal Mail / Parcel Force - they pay the charge - for getting the item released from Customs/Border Agency and on it's way closer to you. Customs has been checking every item carefully now. Although some people at my sorting office (diff from delivery) obviously can't read a card (otherwise I wouldn't have got it sent back to me when the item should have been delivered )

Just to clarify - £15 = $22.77 USD. So, if the item is marked under that amount it will not be subject to customs duties?

Another question, for those who have purchased insurance have you ever had to file a claim? If so, did you get paid the actual amount declared? The US Postal Service requires proof of the value of the item (i.e. a receipt). I have heard it is very difficult to actually get paid on an insurance claim. Anyone with experience on this?

I have to agree with Echo. I always put the actual value of the pin, not more or less. To put more is ridiculous because even if its insured you are only reimbursed for the actual proven value of the insured package.

I will not lie on a form. I figure if I won't lie for you, then you can feel assured I won't lie to you. I'm talking about pricing, not marking if its a gift or purchase.

Its sad that the postal services through our the world have to ad excessive fee's that seem to be gushing their mail clients. Unfortunately, I have to protect myself.

Unless I've traded with you before, I send the item(s) insured.

So far I have not had to file, but I have had to replace pins on packages that were NOT insured because the package was not delivered. That is very costly.

Jazzy B Bunny: We've never traded before so I don't think it will be a problem for us. Just thought I would state how I do things.


Vicki

echoharmony said:

Isn't it illegal to lie on a document like that? =/ I mean it sucks having to pay fees, but I wouldn't want anyone to get in trouble or anything either....

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I always ask if people want their pins sent tracked if its a valuable trade and I always mark the original price of the pin on the form. Never the inflated eBay prices. So far nobody has wanted me to send their pins tracked/insured.
I don't have a problem with the customs fee as that's reasonable, what I have an issue with is the extreme Royal Mail charge.
I have decided that if people won't mark as a gift, I won't trade or buy from them. It's just too expensive I'm afraid. Sad as it is.

Ok I've done some research on the HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) website, the following information is a direct cut and paste from there. Hope that it answers some questions.

Completing a Customs Declaration

All goods arriving in the UK from outside the EU by post must have a Customs Declaration fixed to the package. The declaration, completed by the sender, should be one of the following:

• a CN22 - for goods and gifts up to £270
• a CN23 - for goods and gifts over £270
• a Parcelforce Worldwide Despatch pack (incorporating a CN23)

You can get the above from any Post Office in the UK or abroad.
The declaration should include:

• a description of the goods
• their value
• whether they are gifts, commercial or personal items

Who is responsible for the information on the declaration?

If you are ordering or sending any goods from abroad, you - as the importer of goods - are legally responsible for the information on the Customs Declaration and for any charges due.
If you're ordering goods remotely, for example over the Internet or by mail order, it is in your own interest to make sure that the sender abroad makes a complete and accurate declaration.
If you're sending goods from abroad to the UK, then the recipient is legally responsible for the information on the Customs Declaration.
If no declaration is made, or the information is inaccurate, the package may be delayed whilst the UKBA makes further enquiries, and in some cases, the package and its contents may be seized.


Goods ordered online from outside the EU

If you buy goods online from outside the EU for delivery to the UK, you'll have to pay Customs Duty and Import VAT on top of the purchase price if the goods are above a certain value - though Customs Duty is waived if the amount of duty payable is £9 or less.
Some Internet sellers outside the EU have arrangements with the UK whereby you pay them the VAT that's due on the goods you're ordering. They then pay the VAT to their postal authority - which in turn pays it to HM Revenue & Customs. Note that these sellers must be authorised to do this. They'll have a special number that will be on the Customs Declaration. The declaration should also carry a message saying 'Import VAT pre-paid'. When this arrangement is used you won't be charged any import VAT or a Royal Mail handling fee when you get your parcel. Note that if the above procedures aren't followed properly you could end up losing the goods.

Gifts sent from outside the EU


f you're sending or receiving a gift from outside the EU:

• Excise Duty is payable on any alcohol or tobacco products
• Customs Duty is payable if the value of the gift exceeds £135, but will be waived if the amount of duty is £9 or under
• import VAT is payable if the value of the gift exceeds £36

To qualify as a gift:

• It must have been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in the UK.
• The Customs Declaration must be completed correctly
• It must be for the use of either you or your family.
• There must be no commercial or trade element and it must not have been paid for by the recipient either directly or indirectly.
• It must be of an occasional nature only - for example for a birthday or anniversary.

Gifts ordered over the internet - UK tax and duty still due

Ordering and paying for goods over the internet to be sent to someone other than you, doesn't count as a gift. The recipient will be liable to UK duty and tax.
Packages with gifts for more than one person

If one package contains several gifts for different people, perhaps family members, then each gift can benefit from the Import VAT £36 gift allowance as long as it's individually:

• wrapped
• addressed
• listed on the Customs Declaration

To qualify as a gift:

There must be no commercial or trade element and it must not have been paid for by the recipient either directly or indirectly.

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The rules out trading right there... Apparently there can be no monetary value element being returned to the sender (i.e., if you pay for it or trade for it, it's not a gift).

Also remember, regardless of the nature of the package, what you _declare_ as it's value is what you can get back in insurance. Even if I legitimately want to give someone a $200 pin, if I want to insure it for $200, I need to _declare_ it for $200... Which I probably wouldn't bother doing if I was just giving it away, but if it's a trade of a $200 pin for a $200 pin, and I declare it as a gift worth $0, then I can't insure it at all...

And someone mentioned asking eBay sellers to only declare things for $20 and mark them as a gift... If that seller asked you, in return, to pay with PayPal as personal gift payment, would you accept? That's the only way I'd even consider it... If you buy something off eBay for $200, and the seller agrees to only declare $20, and it gets lost or damaged, then the seller can only get $20 back through postal insurance. But YOU (the buyer) can still file a PayPal claim and get your entire $200 back. Do you honestly think that's fair? That's the reason most sellers will refuse to declare a lower value. Marking it as a gift isn't as bad (as the value is still declared), but if they include proof that it was purchased in the package (i.e., a print out of the eBay auction or something), then the seller could get hit with a fine...