Buying phone via Ebay from China - Customs?

herrzeba

Hi,

I'm thinking about buying Nokia Lumia 800 from China seller on Ebay. The seller is secure (plenty goods sold, positive feedback), so I'm not worried about that.

What I'm worried are customs/vat. Duty is not charged for items below €150, the phone costs €110, but they might charge vat.

Have someone of you bought a phone that way? Were you charged customs/vat?

I can always buy the phone from England, but it's considerably more expensive - €50 more. 4 years ago my brother sent my goods from US, it was a Wacom tablet and I asked him to include invoice in the envelope, because I inquired about it by calling customs office. I was positively surprised when I wasn't charged a penny extra from customs. That was however not the case 8 years ago, when my brother sent me HP laptop and I was charged over €100 customs.

So, to repeat my questions, is it worth it to buy from china via Ebay? Is it just a case of luck - they might charge customs/vat, they might not. I don't know how the good will be marked, as a gift or not.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Davy

Why not buy something a little newer than the 800......


What network are you with?

herrzeba

Well, actually it's for my girlfriend and she wants Nokia and doesn't want to spend more than 100+