Brexit: Alternatives to Amazon.co.uk

tiny timy wrote: »

HI,

Can anyone confirm for me please when the actual import duty tax will come into force? Is it immediate or from January 1st?

Reason i'm asking is, alot of items from the UK on ebay (that will be sold before January 1st) are now stating an import tax. So I just wanted to be sure before I done anything. Thanks

Peebay is a pain in the hole now.


They are trying to foist their Global Shipping Program (GSP) on all their UK seller so they don't have to go through the trouble of writing a foreign address on envelope. They have been at this for years, hoiking in sellers as they go.



Before buying through GSP just meant expensive shipping charges and a separate line on your bank statement from PitneyBowes but now they have pre-emptively thrown on import duty as well


Trouble is because GSP is so expensive even if you buy something for 5 or 10 quid the GSP charge will push you through the threshold. The odd few brave sellers still sell direct without using GSP and deal with international shipping themselves but you can't filter for those. Also selecting "EU only" still includes UK results, hopefully they will get rid of those soon.

Ubbquittious wrote: »

Peebay is a pain in the hole now.


They are trying to foist their Global Shipping Program (GSP) on all their UK seller so they don't have to go through the trouble of writing a foreign address on envelope. They have been at this for years, hoiking in sellers as they go.



Before buying through GSP just meant expensive shipping charges and a separate line on your bank statement from PitneyBowes but now they have pre-emptively thrown on import duty as well


Trouble is because GSP is so expensive even if you buy something for 5 or 10 quid the GSP charge will push you through the threshold. The odd few brave sellers still sell direct without using GSP and deal with international shipping themselves but you can't filter for those. Also selecting "EU only" still includes UK results, hopefully they will get rid of those soon.

Most US sellers use the GSP too - although some, if asked, will re-list and ship via normal USPS.

Ubbquittious wrote: »

Indeed. It was a Statesian seller where I encountered it first. Before this came about you had a chance of getting away without paying customs charge and this added to the excitement of the purchase.

In my experience, most purchases from US get through if shipped via normal USPS - once you avoid November and December.

maswala82 wrote: »

Would you happen to know why that is? And has it changed now that we are all stuck at home and buying online?

Anecdotally it was due to higher parcel volumes and additional staff being taken on in those two months.

In 2020, I was charged import duty on two packages of CDs from Japan. That was a first in more than 15 years ordering from there. Although one was shipped via Fedex so not surprising.

This really doesn't affect us much as Amazon are setup for vat in Ireland. It is already done for you at the checkout stage.

Nothing to see here, move along please :cool:

dxhound2005 wrote: »

For high value items will they be adding customs charges at checkout as well?

Amazon now calculate estimated import fees and add them to your order. I was looking at something for £400 and nearly £100 added for import fees 😵

I ordered an item on Amazon UK a few weeks ago. Price was £70. When I checked out, there was the usual adjustment and it cost me just under £72.

Added an item costing £108 to my basket just now. Went to checkout. The VAT has been taken off and it's now £90 with the import fees deposit of £20 bringing to a total of £110.

So no different to what it was before.

dxhound2005 wrote: »

That is under €150 value, and it looks like they just replaced UK VAT with Irish VAT. If it was over €150, there could be customs and sometimes duty charges.

Depends totally on the item, and it’s country of origin

For instance, there’s zero duty on digital cameras, no matter what value or where they’re made. There’s also zero duty on items made in Japan, because the EU has a trade agreement with them (same with items made in the UK). But there’s 16.9% duty on trainers made in China.

Some detail here. Loads of common item types are duty free, and others are only a few percent.

https://www.moneyguideireland.com/irish-customs-duty-on-uk-online-purchases.html

But the best thing to do is to throw the item onto Amazon’s cart and see what’s charged in the checkout. For items sold or fulfilled by Amazon, you’ll. see the final price to be paid - including Irish VAT and any duty - in the checkout. You won’t be charged anything else on delivery, as Amazon will collect the charges up front and supply the correct paperwork for Irish customs. For 3rd party sellers, it’s a different matter.

Mr.S wrote: »

That's just what Amazon are charging you, you could still end up with an import duty bill from Irish customers to release the package.

The idea is that you won’t, assuming Amazon’s paperwork is in order. As Amazon are VAT registered in Ireland, they’re fully set up for collecting all VAT and duty due. That’s the whole idea behind what they’re doing.

Here’s what An Post says about it.

******************************
Parcels from Great Britain

Parcels from GB into Ireland may incur customs charges and tariffs.

We have negotiated with 95% of retailers we deliver for in Great Britain to apply any charges when you purchase your goods online, so no action is required by you before delivery.

For the remaining 5%, customs charges may apply and you will need to pay them before delivery. Personal gifts from GB with a value of €45 or more, may also carry a customs charge.

https://www.anpost.com/Post-Parcels/Receiving/Delivering-after-Brexit

*******************************

They don’t mention Amazon, but they are one of the 95%. Undoubtedly the biggest one.

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

Ok
I have just gone back and added 2 copies of the same £108 item (a CD box set sold and fulfilled by Amazon) to my basket and gone to check out. Exactly the same outcome - total cost is £220.

CD's are duty free, on the list in the post before yours. But saying "no different than it was before" does not cover every transaction.

I suspect this will take a few weeks to settle down. Some Amazon suppliers will err on the side of charging extra because they won't want to be caught out (some will do it as a way of boosting profits). In a few weeks it will all settle down and competitive pressures will mean only the correct charges are applied. In the meantime I don't plan to buy anything from Amazon.

Syferus wrote: »

Anyone in the same boat as me - I have Prime and location set as the north so Prime Video until the turn of the year was giving me the better UK library (as well as extra sports coverage like the PL games Prime has in the UK) but now they're actually geofencing by IP like Netflix.

Is there any way around this by contacting Amazon or is it time to finally get to work on a Pi Hole + VPN setup?

There is a Firestick forum for this ..

Is there a thread I can post on regarding customs charges trouble I'm having with an order from a UK seller on Ebay? Or can I ask here?

KungPao wrote: »

Try having a look in the shops in your town, instead of sending all your money to Amazon / the Fatherland.

ELM327 wrote: »

And when the shops in your town are selling for double the price on amazon?

not to mention half them closed due to covid

foxy_j wrote: »

Has anyone has experience with Amazon adding the import fee deposit on orders under €22?

I wonder will they refund it once it's cleared as it shouldn't be charged..hmmm

See screenshot attached. Thanks

VAT is charged on the amount including the value of the P&P, so your 19.46 + 6.74 brings the order value up to 26.20, and this is the amount the VAT calculation is done on (which is over 22). You've then got a discount for the P&P, but that comes off after the VAT calculation.

If you had Prime, there would be no shipping charge at all, and you'd get the order VAT free too, as it would then be under the threshold.