Anyone ever had to pay import duty/VAT on stuff ordered online? (1 Viewer)

[nlgbbbblth]

with particular emphasis to region 1 DVDs.

how does it work?

Does the Irish customs department write to you saying they have a package that they want money for before delivering it?
Presume you can pay it over phone?
And how long will they hold the goods for?

 

[damien]

i think you pay the delivery company.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

i think you pay the delivery company.

but if the stuff is normally delivered by An Post?

 

[pete]

DHL do it all for you, then charge you an "administrative fee" for the privilege.

This i learned the hard way.

 

[Wayne]

but if the stuff is normally delivered by An Post?

Very rarely. Only if they take the time to check the package. It's usually only the courier services that do it. Sometimes they let you think that you got away with it, only to send you a bill throught the post a few weeks later.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

someone sent my flatmate an mp3 player in the post as a gift a few months back. an post delivered it, not the regular postman but the one who delivers slightly bigger parcels, and i answered the door and he said he couldnt let me have it unless i paid the duty of €30 or €40 to him. i didnt have it on me so he left one of those notes they usually leave when nobody is in to accept a package saying you have to go to such a place to collect it but he wrote on it that the duty had to be paid.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

if its that small they'll hardly bother checking it? most cds and records ive had delivered the sellers have always marked down the value too, (americans have to state it i think), sometimes by a ridiculus amount.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

if its that small they'll hardly bother checking it? most cds and records ive had delivered the sellers have always marked down the value too, (americans have to state it i think), sometimes by a ridiculus amount.

been ok so far (small items) but there's some TV on DVD stuff that I need to buy and don't fancy waiting til I go back there to buy (which looks like at least another year away)

 

[Justin Toner]

As far as I know, if the weight is less than 4lb. and the declared value lower than $40, it should come in through the normal An Post channel. Otherwise a private company, the (something, not United) Parcel Service are apparently obliged to levy customs fees, excise duty and an unspecified 'administrative fee' which seems to involve locking your parcel in a cage in rural Germany until they decide it's ready for you.

Most decent retailers will happily mark down the value on the package, so long as you don't want it insured.

J.

 

[RSJ]

I find the rule of thum is, if the value is less than e100, it gets through. If it comes by courier, it gets caught.

 

[jackofficer]

Otherwise a private company, the (something, not United) Parcel Service are apparently obliged to levy customs fees, excise duty and an unspecified 'administrative fee' which seems to involve locking your parcel in a cage in rural Germany until they decide it's ready for you.

Most decent retailers will happily mark down the value on the package, so long as you don't want it insured.

J.

Hehehe, that happened to me with a fancy pants record I ordered from Beta Lactam Ring in Oregon. I could track it online and it ended up spending a week in some place in Germany, via Belgium before it made it's way to me.
It's a catch 22 when it comes to paying duty on stuff like that. Normally you simply lie about the value to prevent paying duty and to prevent greedy postal workers thinking it might be worth their while getting their mits on it, but if you need it insured, then you obviously have to give the real value.
My experience was that the delivery guy (it was a courier) demanded 25 squids from me before he would hand over the record. Bit of a pain in the arse considering the amount I had already spent on it.....

 

[benni]

I bought a drum machine off ebay a few weeks back and when it arrived An Post made me pay 45 euros for it. Fuckers.

 

[Alan Remorse]

i order region 1 dvds all the time (mostly off amazon.com) and i've never been charged any customs

however, my copy of August UNderground's Mordum was held for a few weeks because it was apparently banned here!!! i got it eventually though

 

[rose of jericho]

I order online from the States all the time and not once have I been charged VAT don't know whether I have been lucky or not and my orders are normally a couple of hundred dollars. Most places I've ordered from have put less than the amount spent on the form attaching to the outside of the package. So maybe that's the reason why who knows

 

[pete]

i order region 1 dvds all the time (mostly off amazon.com) and i've never been charged any customs

however, my copy of August UNderground's Mordum was held for a few weeks because it was apparently banned here!!! i got it eventually though

amazon.com ship from europe though, don't they? Wonder does that make any difference.

 

[rose of jericho]

if you order from amazon.co.uk (they do region 1) you don't get charged VAT at all and they're really quick at sending stuff out.

 

[Johnnyc]

I think it's just the luck of the draw. I've bought all sortsa stuff ranging from computer components to a new jacket. Never paid a penny!