well im pretty peeved this week after getting 2 customs charge notices...wouldnt be so bad if it was expensive items but it wasnt....£13.73 for $63....and £11.19 for $36...its not until you look closely that the customs charge is actually next to nothing its all post office/handling charges...makes me spit and it seems to be happening more on more going by other people ive spoken to...the second package was badly packaged took an age to arrive and contained a record in such a poor state i contacted the seller only to find he accepts no returns so ive paid through the nose for a piece of crap!....coupled with some of the ridiculous shipping costs ive seen lately $37.50 to the UK its putting me off using ebay at all....anyone had similar trouble?

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well im pretty peeved this week after getting 2 customs charge notices...wouldnt be so bad if it was expensive items but it wasnt....£13.73 for $63....and £11.19 for $36...its not until you look closely that the customs charge is actually next to nothing its all post office/handling charges...makes me spit and it seems to be happening more on more going by other people ive spoken to...the second package was badly packaged took an age to arrive and contained a record in such a poor state i contacted the seller only to find he accepts no returns so ive paid through the nose for a piece of crap!....coupled with some of the ridiculous shipping costs ive seen lately $37.50 to the UK its putting me off using ebay at all....anyone had similar trouble?

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Don't know why...but they seem to be picking out everything now! Never had one item in about 6 years, but this year must have had half a dozen already!

And just like yours the vat due was no more than a couple of quid!

So bloody extortionate!!! almost £9 handling charge!...Why ?..it ends up at the same bloody depo whether there is vat charged or not!!!

Probably some cnut who works at customs & excise stumbled across this forum or cocked an ear at all this Northern soul in the media ! :o)

Customs charges will probably be on the rise if USA sellers all go by the book. This is from an Ebay seller i've bought from, it's been on their terms and conditions for a few months.

Postal administrations in several international countries have contacted the United States Postal Service about the declaration of value placed on customs forms. They have noted that in many cases, the declared value is understated when compared to the actual invoice or known value of the item, especially for sales conducted over the internet. While this applies to sellers both on and off eBay, the USPS has asked us to remind our sellers to declare the proper value on all customs forms. The correct value of each item is required on customs forms as it helps determine the proper duties and taxes, and whether they should be applied. Some countries will soon begin taking steps to address this issue, such as levying fines on the addressee when the declared value is determined to be lower than the invoice. To make sure you're complying with international regulations, please make sure the stated value on your customs declaration is supported by your invoices or other documentation.

Swings and roundabouts I'm afraid. We've all had it relatively easy for too long but it's important to remember that insurance and handling charges can be a two-way street. The amount of trade done over the internet is now vast and the customs and excise system is gradually coming to terms with the amount of revenue it is losing in many of these transactions. No-one enjoys paying taxes but if these are the regulations it's up to us as mature participants in a democracy to make decisions as to whether shopping this way is the right thing to do for us personally. If you dislike paying import duty, VAT etc. it's probably best to stick to buying records in cash from UK sources.

I wonder if anyone has been in the position of trying to make an insurance claim on a missing/mishandled international package where a very expensive item has had its value deliberately understated on the invoice?

On one occasion I paid for a 45 with a four figure value in dollars to be sent expedited, insured and registered (all the bells and whistles really). The record was missing in the bowels of both the US and UK postal services/UK customs system for weeks and despite the level of trackability asked for, was to all intents and purposes untraceable. When I eventually received the package there was evidence of it having been held at two different Parcelforce depots in the UK, several local Post Offices and having been sent back across the Atlantic once as 'undelivered'. I had paid the seller approaching fifty dollars for the full level of postal insurance and stated explicitly that I wanted the full value to be written on the customs declaration. The declaration in fact read "used record, value $10". Had the thing never turned up (as I feared for weeks) this is the amount I would have been able to claim back, nothing more and nothing less.

Swings and roundabouts I'm afraid. We've all had it relatively easy for too long but it's important to remember that insurance and handling charges can be a two-way street. The amount of trade done over the internet is now vast and the customs and excise system is gradually coming to terms with the amount of revenue it is losing in many of these transactions. No-one enjoys paying taxes but if these are the regulations it's up to us as mature participants in a democracy to make decisions as to whether shopping this way is the right thing to do for us personally. If you dislike paying import duty, VAT etc. it's probably best to stick to buying records in cash from UK sources.

I wonder if anyone has been in the position of trying to make an insurance claim on a missing/mishandled international package where a very expensive item has had its value deliberately understated on the invoice?

On one occasion I paid for a 45 with a four figure value in dollars to be sent expedited, insured and registered (all the bells and whistles really). The record was missing in the bowels of both the US and UK postal services/UK customs system for weeks and despite the level of trackability asked for, was to all intents and purposes untraceable. When I eventually received the package there was evidence of it having been held at two different Parcelforce depots in the UK, several local Post Offices and having been sent back across the Atlantic once as 'undelivered'. I had paid the seller approaching fifty dollars for the full level of postal insurance and stated explicitly that I wanted the full value to be written on the customs declaration. The declaration in fact read "used record, value $10". Had the thing never turned up (as I feared for weeks) this is the amount I would have been able to claim back, nothing more and nothing less.

That's not really what we are peeved about though Gareth...it's the fact that they feel it is fair & right to charge us £9 for the privalige of claiming this money!

On items that do not cost much it is nothing short of extortion & a trade killer! If it does stop people buying then customs & excise will end up losing more than they were likely to gain!

Just typical of this greedy corporate world i'm afraid!

Edited October 30, 200915 yr by Bogue

That's not really what we are peeved about though Gareth...it's the fact that they feel it is fair & right to charge us £9 for the privalige of claiming this money!

On items that do not cost much it is nothing short of extortion & a trade killer! If it does stop people buying then customs & excise will end up losing more than they were likely to gain!

Just typical of this greedy corporate world i'm afraid!

Totally agree I don't mind paying the tax but effing object to paying 9 quid for the privilege of them collecting it. Whats more i don't get any choice in the matter if i want the goods

That's not really what we are peeved about though Gareth...it's the fact that they feel it is fair & right to charge us £9 for the privalige of claiming this money!

On items that do not cost much it is nothing short of extortion & a trade killer! If it does stop people buying then customs & excise will end up losing more than they were likely to gain!

Just typical of this greedy corporate world i'm afraid!

The administration fee seems excessive but it helps to see it in the context of a bigger picture. As I stated above customs authorities worldwide are having to claw back revenue from so-called 'non-business' international transactions. The sheer volume of domestic e-business (i.e. auction trade between non-VAT registered users) is having a hugely detrimental effect on tax revenues. Already there are dire warnings for high street retailers in the face of ebay for the Christmas period: the gap in their seasonal trade planning will largely be filled by what are in essence non-taxable goods. I can't access more recent figures but even as long ago as 2006 it was calculated that if ebay were a country its' notional 'GDP' would make it the thirteenth largest world economy. I suspect that even accounting for the recent global financial crisis this figure would have grown in the interim.

The internet has begun to challenge established models in global trade, a good thing in some respects (niche products thriving within markets which are now global, for instance) but in areas where international trade circumvents taxation through duty huge holes have been blown in government coffers throughout the developed world: enough to cause real alarm. In the light of such circumstances the behaviour of HMC&E would seem logical if arbitrary: you're all certainly right for wondering why some packages slip through while others are clobbered for duty, handling fees and VAT. My guess is that it is going to get worse.

Never really understood how they distinguish between a Collectable or a piece of 60's Worthless Vinyl.

Basically 60's Vinyl & Paper with 60's Recorded Media. Regarding Customs: Who decides worth?, & why.

Is it all down to declaration or Invoice.

One persons collectable could be another persons trash.

Edited October 30, 200915 yr by 45cellar

The £9 is a handling fee, Royal mail to deliver Customs charge notification, store the item And to handle the payment. This has been agreed by postcomm along with all other Royal Mail charges. If you feel strongly about it, then you could lobby your MP, however with both the Conservatives and Labour hell bent on privatising Royal Mail, if this does happen, the fee will only go up

The administration fee seems excessive but it helps to see it in the context of a bigger picture. As I stated above customs authorities worldwide are having to claw back revenue from so-called 'non-business' international transactions. The sheer volume of domestic e-business (i.e. auction trade between non-VAT registered users) is having a hugely detrimental effect on tax revenues. Already there are dire warnings for high street retailers in the face of ebay for the Christmas period: the gap in their seasonal trade planning will largely be filled by what are in essence non-taxable goods. I can't access more recent figures but even as long ago as 2006 it was calculated that if ebay were a country its' notional 'GDP' would make it the thirteenth largest world economy. I suspect that even accounting for the recent global financial crisis this figure would have grown in the interim.

The internet has begun to challenge established models in global trade, a good thing in some respects (niche products thriving within markets which are now global, for instance) but in areas where international trade circumvents taxation through duty huge holes have been blown in government coffers throughout the developed world: enough to cause real alarm. In the light of such circumstances the behaviour of HMC&E would seem logical if arbitrary: you're all certainly right for wondering why some packages slip through while others are clobbered for duty, handling fees and VAT. My guess is that it is going to get worse.

Well explained & can see some of where you are coming from Gareth...but there are a few flaws imo.

In the case of our records; it is a market that never existed untill fairly recently so how can they be losing something that they never had in the first place???

It smacks more of a case of get what you can from an easy target that can & will pay!...works well for the Police & Council authorities eh

As you did point out to some extent at the start of your reply

I guess you could argue that these records should be exempt anyhow...they are second hand, have they not already been subject to the relevant taxes applied and due at their manufacture & sale?

To be honest...I still question that whole view of tax & duty holes caused by .com trading. I have bought a few other things from abroad & I have yet to see anywhere that I could have done that & evaded the relevant tax & duties!

Sorry...but the cynic in me sees it all as one big package that 'big corporate business man' is putting together in order to get that Genie that is 'easy global trading for everyone' back in the bottle!! How could he get obscenely rich in those conditions!!!

Never really understood how they distinguish between a Collectable or a piece of 60's Worthless Vinyl.

Basically 60's Vinyl & Paper with 60's Recorded Media. Regarding Customs: Who decides worth?, & why.

Is it all down to declaration or Invoice.

One persons collectable could be another persons trash.

& like I just said, the taxes due at manufacture & sale were paid by the first buyer!

The £9 is a handling fee, Royal mail to deliver Customs charge notification, store the item And to handle the payment. This has been agreed by postcomm along with all other Royal Mail charges. If you feel strongly about it, then you could lobby your MP, however with both the Conservatives and Labour hell bent on privatising Royal Mail, if this does happen, the fee will only go up

Half of which has already been paid once in the delivery charge?

And i'm sorry...but if someone wants to relieve you of some money it should be up to them to stand the cost of doing it imo!

It's akin to going into a shop paying 50p for a mars bar & the shop assistant then says "& that will be 10p for paying me 50p".

Ok...that will be 5p for the 10p you charged me on the 50p..."ok..that will be 2p for the 5p that you charged me for the 10p that I charged you for the 50p" Where does it end ??

And it's hardly fair is it...I can send King Kong in a package case & it would cost the same to store him as a 9"x9"x1" cardboard box. Surely it should at least be pro rata?

Royal mail £250Million profit in 9 months...no wonder Billy Big Business wants to get its hands on this bunch of useless skivers who are only prepared to deliver 2 rounds a day & not 3...& are not prepared to do a few hours for no pay on top

Makes me laugh...well more like cry really...the answer to sort out all our problems is to vote in the political party that brought us all these misguided greedy ethics in the first place...& who's whole strategy & existance is based on them!

(just in case anyone reads it wrong...the Royal Mail bit is sarcasam! I'm behind you posties taking action )

Well explained & can see some of where you are coming from Gareth...but there are a few flaws imo.

In the case of our records; it is a market that never existed untill fairly recently so how can they be losing something that they never had in the first place???

It smacks more of a case of get what you can from an easy target that can & will pay!...works well for the Police & Council authorities eh

As you did point out to some extent at the start of your reply

I guess you could argue that these records should be exempt anyhow...they are second hand, have they not already been subject to the relevant taxes applied and due at their manufacture & sale?

To be honest...I still question that whole view of tax & duty holes caused by .com trading. I have bought a few other things from abroad & I have yet to see anywhere that I could have done that & evaded the relevant tax & duties!

Sorry...but the cynic in me sees it all as one big package that 'big corporate business man' is putting together in order to get that Genie that is 'easy global trading for everyone' back in the bottle!! How could he get obscenely rich in those conditions!!!

& like I just said, the taxes due at manufacture & sale were paid by the first buyer!

Half of which has already been paid once in the delivery charge?

And i'm sorry...but if someone wants to relieve you of some money it should be up to them to stand the cost of doing it imo!

It's akin to going into a shop paying 50p for a mars bar & the shop assistant then says "& that will be 10p for paying me 50p".

Ok...that will be 5p for the 10p you charged me on the 50p..."ok..that will be 2p for the 5p that you charged me for the 10p that I charged you for the 50p" Where does it end ??

And it's hardly fair is it...I can send King Kong in a package case & it would cost the same to store him as a 9"x9"x1" cardboard box. Surely it should at least be pro rata?

Royal mail £250Million profit in 9 months...no wonder Billy Big Business wants to get its hands on this bunch of useless skivers who are only prepared to deliver 2 rounds a day & not 3...& are not prepared to do a few hours for no pay on top

Makes me laugh...well more like cry really...the answer to sort out all our problems is to vote in the political party that brought us all these misguided greedy ethics in the first place...& who's whole strategy & existance is based on them!

(just in case anyone reads it wrong...the Royal Mail bit is sarcasam! I'm behind you posties taking action )

Royal Mail Group reported 2008/2009 operating profits of £249 million, Not Royal Mail Letters. I am not justifing the fee, just explaining the reasoning, RM have a dedicated unit at Mount Pleasant in London to deal with Custom charges, Dedicated staff that have to be employed and secure facilities that have to be provided, It is the responsibility of Customs & Ex to collect import duties, not Royal Mail. They could just leave it at Heathrow or Gatwick. The fee is for the additional work that RM provide, wether it is fair is open to questioning, though a flat rate has been agreed by postcom,

Trust me, billy big business is not queuing up to buy Royal mail. There is no profit in providing a Universal Service, the final mile is too labour intensive and can not be done by Robots.

The British Public are not stupid, The tories were defeated in the 90's, Mandelson this year by his own ELECTED back benchers. Royal Mail is a Public Service, we have one of the cheapest 1st class prices in europe, Though we may moan and postal delays, we have a higher quality of service that most of europe. Privisation will only bring a drop in the level of service and an increased cost.

A striking London Postman ( We Have been at it now for 18 weeks)