Seeing as this is an import forum - first customs charge!

[kernow]

Hold me

Never had one before in 10yrs of buying items internationally. It seems that looking at my tracking this time I'm going to get one indeed. Damn! I can't really complain because I've had a good run I guess.

Item was a 'used video game' and marked down at $75, I wonder how much it'll be? Probably like ?20 or something.

I guess some of you are used to it by now. But I feel emotionally damaged and I haven't even had the letter yet.

[speedlolita]

If it was via USPS then Parcelforce will handle it. I always thought it was VAT + handling sooooo:

$75 = £48 x 0.175 = £8.40 + handling (£12 - 13) so yeah about £20.

Btw, it's best to mark as "used software", video games have value.. lol. Unless it's a high value item like a PCB..

[smouty]

The worst bit is usually the admin charge the delivery company add on. It is usually more than the customs.

[kernow]

I've heard thats technically illegal as they've been paid already, not sure I can be bothered to argue the fact though, hmm.

sigh.

[Wools]

I was importing for years with no problems, at the high point importing Arcade sticks worth something approaching £200, and then got hit twice for relatively small items.

The worst one was importing a few PSP items worth less than £30 but being hit by a customs charge for over £30! As Smouty mentioned, it's the Admin charge that got me on that instance.

[kernow]

Yeah I've bought a fair few ridiculously heavy/large/valuable things in the past but somehow always got away with it, so I guess its not too bad having this charge this time. Haven't had the letter yet but on the tracking site its saying 'awaiting customs charge' and has been like that for a couple hours now. So..

[speedlolita]

I've bought BlazBlue CS and beatmania IIDX full price from Japan and had to pay customs on them too. £20 on top of the £50 I'd already paid each.

[Sketcz]

I feel your pain, bro. You feel kind of violated after those bastards at Royal Mail get through with the wallet ****ery.

My game was a few quid over the limit, and so charged me something ridiculously small like £1.20 in customs (probably less, I'm making that up - it may have even been less than a quid). Which is cool. I'd happily pay that.

But the real buggery was when they asked for something like £15 for "handling". Yeah, because it costs that much to sit at a desk and TAKE MY MONEY. That added like 50% to overall item cost.

So, expect a minuscule customs charge, and a HUGE handling fee.

Bastards, the lot of them. Hate Royal Mail. Hate them hate them hate them.

EDIT:
Actually, they're no different from rogue clampers really. Scourge of the greedy society we live in.

[Wools]

Bastards, the lot of them. Hate Royal Mail. Hate them hate them hate them.

Actually, they're no different from rogue clampers really. Scourge of the greedy society we live in.

It's nothing specific to Royal Mail, TNT, UPS and all the shipping companies charge in the same way. I mean if I book Cinema tickets online, even they have a handling fee! Except that costs around ?1 whereas how on earth these shipping companies are allowed to change ?15 or more to what amounts to printing out a customs ticket is beyond me.

[Kongster]

Never choose fedex lol.

[abigsmurf]

I find the more expensive the shipping, the more likely it is to be hit by customs.

$30 2-3 shipping? Gets me hit every time.

$5 7-14 day shipping? Very rare I get hit, only tends to be very large packages.

Last time I got hit by customs was ordering a bunch of manga from Amazon.co.jp. Got it refunded though (magazines and 'art' are exempt from duty)

[speedlolita]

Very true. Airmail is usually fine, EMS gets me buttraped.

[wakka]

Yeah that's always been the case, just on the basis that couriers take all packages through customs and if it's through the post it most likely won't go through customs because there's just too much post to bother with it all.

EMS is **** anyway, it's just an agreement between national couriers so you always end up with ParcelFarce handling it here. It took 3 days for my Wii to get from LA to a town 10 mins from home at launch, and it took ParcelFarce a further 4 days of driving it endlessly about in their van (so I couldn't even pick it up) to actually get it to me.

[abigsmurf]

Going to be a pain if the 3DS is a November US launch. I'll want it fast and insured but if it gets stuck in customs it'll add a week to the delivery time.

[charlesr]

Yesasia will ship tax free for the 3DS (they pay the tax/duty in advance). But not speedy delivery.

Yesasia affiliate link: