Advice/Help please from members in the USA

Michael Sith

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I'm looking to bid on 3 items in US ( South Carolina) cardbacks with attached bubbles.

They currently have postage at £18 per item ( seller has said if I win all 3 he will combine post) but how does the customs charge work as I've never purchased from US via eBay before?
Each item has a customs value against it, do I pay that value separately?

Sorry for being thick but I'm a newbie to this via the USA

Any advice gratefully received :D
 

stu70

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It sounds like the seller is using Ebay's Global Shipping Programme, where each item generates it's own separate postal cost and customs charge, which does't allow combined shipping. I recently wanted to bid on a couple of items from a seller in the US who was using this and I queried whether he could combine shipping to the UK. He told me to request an invoice after the auction had ended and he would then give me a combined shipping cost, using ordinary US post, which would mean one customs charge, instead of the Global Shipping Programme.

Using the Global Shipping Programme you pay custom charges up front, where using ordinary US post you pay when they arrive in this country, so you won't initially pay for them when the parcel is sent.

Unfortunately I didn't win any of the items so it didn't happen, but just to let you know what I was told by a seller in the US, he also said he had sent items to the Netherlands this way. Hope this helps a bit.
 

Snaketibe

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Assuming the seller is not using ebay's buyer-hating 'Global Shipping Program', which guarantees both exorbitant postage charges and that any import duties / VAT gets charged at source when you buy the item, then you will only be charged anything at all in this country if HM Customs decide to. Whether they do or not can be very hit and miss, however if the seller declares the full value on the parcel's customs declaration, you will almost certainly be charged import duty & VAT, if the value is high enough, plus a Post Office 'handling fee'. However, if the seller (as many do, even when not asked to) declares a value below the customs limit, then the chances are high that you won't be charged anything extra. However, I have had parcels arrive from the USA with the full value declared (i.e. one well above the threshold for paying duty), and yet not been charged import duty / VAT, and conversely I have received goods where the value was declared as being below the threshold, and yet been charged duty.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe HM Customs have the right to open your parcel to inspect the contents and to charge pretty much whatever the hell they like, since they often decide on the value themselves (although they can also ask you for proof of its value). Also, the value of the goods upon which they base their decisions INCLUDES the postal charge (i.e. if your item costs $30, but the shipping is $20, then Customs will work on the value being $50, etc.).

Here's what eBay has to say on the subject (https://www.ebay.co.uk/gds/UK-Buyin...y-Parcel-Force-Fees-/10000000013589137/g.html):

"If you buy goods online from outside the EU for delivery to the UK, you'll have to pay Customs Duty (if over £120 value) and Import VAT (if over £18) on top of the purchase price (including duties), though Customs Duty is waived if the amount of the calculated duty payable is £7 or less. Please note there is also an £8 Parcel Force Fee for collecting the Import VAT."

However, it's also worth noting the vintage toys imported into the UK should apparently actually be charged VAT at a lower rate of 5%, rather than 20%, as helpfully described by pmsbull here:

http://starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36617

Hope that helps and good luck :)
 

Michael Sith

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Wow, looks like the global shipping is a right moneyspinner, puts you off bidding altogether, seller is not by his own admission savvy either so it looks like a right can of worms :roll:
The items are exactly what I'm looking for but think I may just wait and be patient until things come along that are UK based.
Bloody import duties, tax and postage will end use being 3 times the value of the item, oh for a simple life :wink:

Not to worry, thank you very much guys for the advice :D
 

Mini99

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Michael Sith said:
Wow, looks like the global shipping is a right moneyspinner, puts you off bidding altogether, seller is not by his own admission savvy either so it looks like a right can of worms :roll:
The items are exactly what I'm looking for but think I may just wait and be patient until things come along that are UK based.
Bloody import duties, tax and postage will end use being 3 times the value of the item, oh for a simple life :wink:

Not to worry, thank you very much guys for the advice :D
You could always collect in person, South Carolina is nive this time of year. :wink:
On a more serious note, do you know anyone that lives in the US?
If you do that's the way to go, get them posted to them and then they can ship to you.
 

Palifan

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The global shipping program is a wind up Mike and I've just had to go through it twice in a month and ended up having to pay two thirds of the total price of the item on the shipping and customs charge. This is just something that you have to factor in when buying from the US but every now and then something comes up that you just don't have any other option if you want it.

It does sound like you would need to request a total amount with combined shipping and wait for the seller to send it through to you but it's hard to know what the shipping fee would be (shouldn't be much more at all then buying one item if it's light). Just so you know I bought an item at $30 with shipping at $22 and was charged around $11 customs up front. This should help you know what you'd be paying on one item if you won and then you can multiply these figures based on the items final cost and how many you might win. At least that would give you some idea if it's worth going for although the end shipping fee would have to be a bit of a guess.

Hope that helps a bit but like you say you might be just as well waiting it out.

Ian
 

Michael Sith

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Thanks Ian

Yes I backed off on the items, unfortunate but need to play the long game and wait whilst items come up in the UK, the items I need are not rare at all, but in the condition I'm looking for( card nd bubble or sliced bubble) they will come along, all part of the patient collecting waiting game.

Really appreciate all of the advice Gents, and I have a valuable lesson learned :D
 

gammoguard

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Looked into alternative options like MyUS.com but never actually bit the bullet and used them - it's something worth considering but like most things these days there's good & bad reviews on them.
Seems simply and straight forward enough and a couple of people I know who have used it said shipping occasionally works out cheaper (managed to get free shipping within the US and then only paid one shipping fee for all items being sent together to the U.K.).
Has anybody on here used companies like this? Are they trustworthy?
 
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