The dreaded C word CUSTOMS!!!!

In Thailand I pay for 20% on both the price of doll and price of SHIPPING!
And on top of that I have to pay 7% VAT....

 

This thread started in March 2014, so I do not know if customs have changed appreciably since then. This is certainly something that I considered when ordering my first two dolls. I ordered from DDE and Oobie Doll, I am waiting for my bare doll from Oobie, should come this week, the other came with Face-Up, eyes and a default wig. I have very happy so far. Actually ordering something from overseas, and not through Amazon, is fairly daunting. During the months since I first discovered bjds, I have listened carefully and see now that ordering from these various companies is quite safe, you won't lose your money, these are not fly-by-night.

First I would like to say that all of you from all over the globe write wonderfully in the English language, congrats to you!!! I have questions, what are the customs in the different countries, and everyone did not disclose their country, have they changed in the last two years? Are customs the same in all EU countries? Will customs change in The British countries if GB leaves the EU? Are there still no custom duties on certain things in the USA like dolls and toys? A lot of the shipping companies are identified by initials, not names. Are these shipping companies only in certain countries?

 

Well, I can reply regarding Czech customs - we are part of EU and when I compare buying from abroad two years back and now I would say they are more strict now. We have to provide whole info for processing of each delivery that is outside from EU - PayPal details, order details, etc. We pay customs duty for the price of goods + shipping fees + 20 % VAT. Last time I paid for my doll customs duty fees + VAT in the amount of 28 % of the total price including shipping - so one has to count with it prior to ordering and save enough money in advance.

 

I think the only difference now is the custom threshold is even LOWER to incur VAT and the dreaded Parcelforce ransom of £13
I hate that ransom, I mean how hard is it to rubber stamp a form? No way is it £13 worth of work, it's just charged that high because they know they CAN and that irritates me and makes me want to slap people grrr.

Anyway, I think we now pay VAT on anything over about £15, it's obscenely low and really prohibitive. I don't mind paying VAT and customs on items I can get within the UK, but it gets my back up having to pay a premium to import something that simple isn't sold here. It doesn't seem fair at all.

Every year I have to pay a fee to release my christmas present from my sister. Last year I had to pay to release my own birthday present which made me particularly mad. That said, when Hujoo sent me stuff customs completely ignored the box and those things ship in a long box just like a BJD would. So I might get lucky, but I doubt it. I usually get stung by customs.

So looking online, goods worth over £15 are charged VAT (which is 20%). GIFTS over £34 are also charged (which is just flat out mean to people with overseas family who have to either mark everything down or not send presents)
You then will pay 2.5% customs on anything over £135
Plus you'll pay an "admin" fee which is usually about £13 but varies depending on the carrier.

It adds up pretty quick so always make sure you factor it into any purchase. Unless the company has a deal set up where you can prepay the VAT (Amazon for instance do this, but smaller companies tend not to have the deals set up) you will pay that ransom fee and that fee can really tip it into "too much" in my experience. It turns a £5 vat into nearly £20 in fees and that's just crazy.

For instance, one of the dolls i'm eying up is on the cheap side, after shipping you're looking at $179. That's about £123.25 which puts it just under the customs threshold but well above the vat one. So... I would pay £24.65 + handling fee, for a total landing cost of £161. Nearly £40 in fees isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it's an awful lot to pay if you weren't expecting it.
Always be wary of customs, they'll always try to bleed as much out of you as possible.

 

I just received parcel from Korea and this time I paid ransom in the amount of 33 % of the total number, it gets "better" every time