Customs Charges Questions

[SG]

Importing a Wii:

Will 'gift' swing it? I'm becoming a student in September, maybe I should wait until then - however I have a university acceptance letter now.

[Strolls]

Importing a Wii: Will 'gift' swing it?

Surely not. VG+ marked my PS3 down as $20 - and I think they're doing this as a matter of course - but it's not something I'd ask someone to do. If they mark it down on their own initiative then I can argue it's their liability should it get damaged in transit & an insurance claim need to be made. If I ask them to undervalue it then they may be able to say it's my problem.

I don't see what difference being a student will made.

Stroller.

[SG]

Thanks.

I was under the impression that students are exempt from Customs tax. After researching it further, it seems I'm wrong.

[MJ]

With the great exchange rate at the moment it's a good time for importing from the US. I bought something for my R1 and it arrived today with a ?12.36 Customs charge, which was a bit higher than I expected, and when I got the parcel VAT was in fact only ?4.36 but the majority of the charge was the ?8 Royal Mail International Clearance Fee. Woah! Still a good price overall though.

[MattyD]

... the majority of the charge was the ?8 Royal Mail International Clearance Fee. Woah! Still a good price overall though.

Unfortunately that reflects the costs involved in getting international items back from customs before we can deliver them. Customs won't release the item unless Royal Mail agrees to pay the customs charges itself first

[hillbiyy]

my uncle had purchased me a wii and is sending it over from the US, he has packaged it without the wii box, in a cardboard box with alot of bubble wrap - will that be charged to seeing as it is not from an overseas online shop?

[Strolls]

my uncle had purchased me a wii and is sending it over from the US, he has packaged it without the wii box, in a cardboard box with alot of bubble wrap - will that be charged to seeing as it is not from an overseas online shop?

Luck of the draw, mate. It's less likely to get opened by customs if it's in a Sainsbury's biscuits cardboard box resealed with brown tape, but if it does get opened you're likely to get whacked with tax on retail price.

Stroller.

[Giga_Death]

VG+ marked my PS3 down as $20...

didn't the total (postage) still go over ?18 for customs to a small tax anyway?

[Strolls]

didn't the total (postage) still go over ?18 for customs to a small tax anyway?

Nope. VG+ didn't mention shipping on the paperwork. They provide a very minimal "commercial invoice" which pretty much just says "Game $20".

Stroller.

[Balderak]

Hi folks,I have a question and I would appreciate any help. I ordered a game from Yes Asia and it was shipped on July 7. It is now August 1 and it still hasn't arrived. Is it possible that customs or the Royal Mail have my item? If so, is there some way of contacting them and arranging delivery? I assumed that the if this was the case then I would be infomed by letter.

Yes Asia have said: 'There may be a custom clearance causing the postal delay. May we kindly request you to wait until 6 Aug to confirm the postal lost from the delivery agent. Should you have not receive the order on the provided day, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will arrange the reshipment of the order to you at the earliest time.'

Just who is the delivery agent and how do I contact them.

Apologies for the long post, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

[MattyD]

Bearing in mind there have been strikes for the past three weeks I'd say wait it out a little longer. Airport and customs staff have been taking part in the action as well as sorting and delivery staff.

Also, you could try calling your local delivery office (if you can't call in person and/or don't know the number, call Customer Services on 08457 740 740 and ask for it) and asking if they have it. This shouldn't happen but, sometimes, and god-only knows why, delivery officers may not be able to deliver an item for some reason (such as needing a signature) and return it to the office, leave it somewhere like a garden shed, or drop it off with a neighbour. Without telling you. Not helpful at all, that.

[MattyD]

BTW just thought I'd let everybody know for future reference, I bought a Wii from dvdboxoffice.com which arrived last month, about three weeks ago. I thought it had passed through customs fine but yesterday I got a letter from DHL billing me for the customs charge of £19. The DVD Box Office invoice on the outside of the box gave the full value in USD so I suppose that didn't help much

They must bill everyone at the end of the month, not happy about it TBH - I'd rather have known and paid straight away. On the other hand, the admin charge was only £1.37, rather than the £8 it would have cost with Royal Mail

[Balderak]

Thanks for your advice MattyD. My concern stems from the fact that Yes Asia mucked me about once before. I shouldn't have used them again, but that was the only place I could find that exported Japanese PS3 games. I'll give customer services a call. Ta

[woof72]

Hi All,

I've finally got around to ordering a ps3 and just wanted to check a couple of points first.

I was going to order from VG+. Containing ps3, extra controller, x3 games, this comes to a total of £364.31, excluding delivery.

Could you tell me roughly would I might expect to pay in total with customs etc. Having a read through the forum, I'm guessing that it's about £120 if the parcel is checked.

Because I am buying the console I think it all gets shipped using DHL express. Do they tend to send the parcel, then invoice you at the end of the month if customs is due. They don't hold the parcel?

Final point is, what sort of time scale could I expected delivery. Ideally I would like it all to turn up from Tuesday onwards next week?

Many thanks,

[MikeF]

If ordered today and in stock it will be sent today so you should have it by Tuesday. DHL bill later for any custom charges