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/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

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7378347 No.7378347[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

What are customs fees like in your country? And how does this affect you in terms of buying lolita clothing? Any tips/tricks on avoiding customs fees?

>mfw I've just been molested with a £45 charge on £100 worth of secondhand items from Closet Child
>too scared to ever order anything from Japan again
>mbok, y!japan, direct from brand purchases are all no longer an option
>guess my dream wardrobe is never going to become reality

>> No.7378348

>>7378347
'Murrica.

I've never had to pay customs on anything.

Usually I purchase very cheap things from many different ebay sellers, though, so it wouldn't really be a problem. Taobao hasn't hit me with any customs though, despite multiple orders of >$100

>> No.7378350

>>7378348
Same. Although I'm always worried that one day that'll change.
Has anyone from the US ever gotten hit with customs? If so, how much and why?

>> No.7378351

I'm from the UK, and I've noticed EMS are more likely to get charged customs.
I placed a chocomint order that was about £30-£40 and got charged customs for £15. £8 of that which was for handling charges.

I avoid EMS like the plague now. I'd rather wait an extra two or three weeks than get charged pointless cost.

>> No.7378355

So jealous of you guys in the US.

>>7378351
Ah I hate those damn handling fees. I can't remember whether my Closet Child order was EMS or not, but thinking about it now I've made 5 or 6 Taobao orders and only got charged customs once - and they were all Airmail or SAL.

>> No.7378356

we no custom fee
we insane shipping fee

>> No.7378361

>>7378351
EMS tends to get hit with customs (and the highest rate of handling charge) because it's a faster method of shipping and therefore requires priority processing. It's really stupid.

It's the reason I try to buy from within Europe nowadays. Unless you're getting a really fantastic deal on the item, the cost of shipping (why is postage to the UK so expensive?) and the customs can make a good deal suddenly not what you'd thought. On the subject of handling fees, I personally think they are extortionate. They're for paying the customs charges on your behalf, but when the handling charges are more than the customs charge it seems so stupid! If I had the option to pay customs in advance, I really would. But there's not that option, so why hit us with such high fees? Oh yeah, because we have no other options but to pay.

>> No.7378414

Scandinavian here. My highest amount was about $200 when I bought two dresses on the IW sale (maybe 30000 yen together). It was one of my first lolita purchases so yeah, I don't buy directly from brands now.

>> No.7378434

>>7378347
I'm from Belgium.
I feel you...I feel you...
*gives a hug to OP* Those fucking customs nazi

>> No.7378435

>>7378348
Wait,can't you just ask the shopping service to mark the package as a gift or something when you order from Taobao?

>> No.7378438

>>7378356

Australia?

>> No.7378446

I once got more than $200 worth of taxes on a $100 bodyline order back when they had DHL shipping for like 20 bucks or so. I was on a trip when the package arrived at the customs office so I had to give DHL permission to clear paperwork in my name. Turned out they not only accounted the shipping in, but also decided to use "standarized" instead of actual cost which amounted to measly ~$250. Plus the $25 handling fee, plus content inspection fee, plus...

It was the last time I had used and will ever use this company again.

>> No.7378447

That suicidal feel when UK

>> No.7378515

>>7378347
Use a ss, get it marked down and shut up

>> No.7378530

>>7378356
South America?

>> No.7378536

>tfw $60 shipping to UK
>tfw might still have to pay customs on top of that

The joys of BJDs (it's worth it though)

>> No.7378573

>>7378351
Only £8 for handling charges? When was this? It's always been something like £12.50 for me. I'm used to custom charges but when I got the smaller Oddment Pack from IW, I discovered that for packages over a certain threshold, something like £300, they charge an even higher tax. I was very frustrated about that. If memory serves, the oddment pack was something like £400 and I had to pay an additional £150.

But of all the charges, it's the handling fees that frustrate me the most. I've read a lot of things online about how objectionable the handling fees are and how you should boycott and refuse to pay it. I've also read a lot about how people just refuse to pay it and call customs up and tell them and they get to receive their package without paying the handling charge. That's a bit much for me though.

>> No.7378595

>>7378573
Its £8 for Royal Mail and £12.50 for Parcel Force.

>> No.7378608

>>7378595
Damn, I see. Thanks.

>> No.7378630
File: 106 KB, 758x302, 1392735166008.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7378630

>>7378573

If you search 'postal act parcel force', it makes for an interesting read. Basically, people's interpretation is that once HMRC custom charges are paid, Parcel Force have no right to withhold your parcel. They can send an invoice to you for their own fee, but they have to hand the parcel over if HMRC's fees have been paid.

I actually used this knowledge to my advantage a few times, and each time they handed the parcel over. I didn't receive an invoice once. I think a lot of it depends on how persistent you are, as well as how stubborn the PF worker at your deport is.

I've actually just done a quick google, and this actually popped up. Scroll to the bottom and to the PDF file (pic related).

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/information_relating_to_parcelfo#incoming-77377

It's from 2010, mind you.

>> No.7378661

>>7378630

Something else UK anons might find interesting, though i've heard it's a pain in the arse to do.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/mail_in_lieu_of_monies#incoming-356982

>in response to part 4 of your second request I can confirm that customers are entitled to
self clear on goods entering the UK by prior arrangement with HMRC. HMRC should be
contacted directly for further information on how to do this.

>> No.7378662

>>7378515
Actually I have a better idea - why don't you pull that stick out of your arse?

Marking down parcels is risky when the actual value is really high - anything over £36 will be charged and if I have a package of 5 brand dresses for example, I doubt customs will believe they're not worth more. So it's not as simple as that.

>>7378434
Thanks bby. Seems like most of Europe has the same problem.

>> No.7378679

>>7378630
That's definitely interesting. So according to the response, EMS incurs a £13.50 charge (I'm guessing now £12.50), while surface and air parcels incur an £8 charge.

I don't quite understand the pdf/your image, though. Does it basically mean that ParcelForce will release the package and invoice the customer, on the trust that the customer will pay the fee, while recording the customer's information? And on anecdotal evidence, even if the customer doesn't pay the fee, they won't be blacklisted? It seems as though ParcelForce doesn't seem to have the right to hold the package 'ransom' but at the same time, the customer still owes the charge for clearance.

>> No.7378692

>>7378662
Mark down package, send using as secure a method as you are willing to pay. Works for me with boxes full of delicious burando. Seriously now, just either pay the customs if you won't mark down or just gtfo.

>> No.7378701

>>7378679

You're exactly right, PF/RM legally have to release the parcel once HMRC have their money. If you refuse to pay the handling fee at the same time, they then have to send you an invoice for their own fee. Parcel Force/Royal mail keep very hush hush about it though, and I don't think you can avoid paying the handling fee if you pay online as it's all integrated. I always pick mine up from the deport, as it's just down the road.

I'm not sure what would happen if you refused to pay the fee. I guess they could take you to a small claims court, if they could be arsed. People have successfully taken PF to court and had the handling fee refunded, just to confuse matters further.

If you do try this on at the deport, be prepared to be told your wrong. The first time I done it, I printed off a load of evidence of the postal act and other shit that supported my claim. As I was doing that, some other bloke came up to the counter, said 'I know what she means, let me deal with her' and allowed me to pay just HMRC's fee. He's still there, so I always ask for him if the person at the desk is being stubborn (they always are). I never actually receive the invoices, so i've never had to pay their shitty fee. HMRC i'll accept, but Parcel Force need to fuck right off with their extortionate shit.

>> No.7378764

>>7378630
I am pretty sure this has now been changed. I remember reading a lot of discussion on it, and I think the consensus was that it had been changed directly in response to the loophole.

There's the alternate option of marking the parcel as "goods to be customs cleared by the importer" but parcelforce seem to ignore that. However, if they do, I'm sure you could ring up and have a delightful argument about the fact that they shouldn't have charged you their fees

Also, someone in another thread was saying that Spain's limit is $/€200? I thought the entire EU had the same limit.

>> No.7378779
File: 13 KB, 500x500, kawaii feel.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7378779

>Scandinavia
>Charged with around $40 + 20% of what your package is worth, if it's worth over around $15.
That's unless you order from the EU. I once ordered a $25 shirt, and was charged with $40 tax fees. It's such fucking bullshit. If I can't find something I want from a EU seller, I have to shell out a fortune.

>> No.7378793

Be glad you're not in Iceland. often customs are equal to the value of the item. They even tax gifts.

>> No.7378802

>>7378764
>>7378701
>>7378679
>>7378630

Yeah, I think this information has all been changed by the Postal Services Act 2011, which amended the 2000 Act. I can't find the exact provisions, but it was discussed here: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/parcelforce-clearance-ransom-charge-10938.aspx?PageIndex=16

Another thing that UK anons may want to know is that Customs Duty is charged at a lower rate on second hand clothes (5.3%) than new clothes (about 15-ish%?), so if you're ordering from Closet Child you may be able to pay less.

I'm just annoyed about the speed, I currently have something waiting in Coventry and it's been there for longer than it took to come from Japan.

>> No.7378803

>>7378692
Diff anon here.
But how does marking down work anyway? When I let my SS mark down packages the customs always inspect the parcel anyway (even if the declared amount is reasonable) and invite me to the custom office to show them my invoices, payment confirmations and where I bought the items. So if it is a second hand store or direct brand store or even egl sales, they simply go to the website and check how much the item really cost. I don't know how it would possible to successfully cheat there.

>> No.7378830
File: 82 KB, 399x600, sobbusobbu.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7378830

>>7378793
>they even tax gifts

>> No.7378829

Live in Amuuuuuuuuuuurica and never got hit with customs. I've been buying a shit load these days and have a package from Japonica that's coming in that's worth over $1000 and they don't mark down packages so I'm scared. I've had packages that were marked full value before but because I've been buying so much from Japan lately, I'm scared that the US caught on and will start charging me customs. I wouldn't mind living in Europe and paying the hefty customs fees though but I don't like my money going to the gov't even more than it already does since there aren't many perks to being American compared to other first world countries.

>> No.7378834

>>7378803
Can't you say that the dress was a gift? Whenever I have European buyers, I mark my package as gift and write some inane letter such as "Dear anon, I hope you like your present. I know how much you admired this dress so I'm sending it over to you. Much love."

>> No.7378835

>>7378829
I've had $5000 worth of clothes come over and they didn't charge me. Customs usually just doesn't give enough of a shit to do it.

>> No.7378837

>>7378835
I hope so. I bought at least 10000 dollars worth of things from Japan this month so...

>> No.7378839

>>7378835
what the hell. I had a 1000 USD package go through customs and they taxed me on it.

>> No.7378875

>>7378829
Japonica does mark packages down if you ask them to.

>> No.7378897

Package (to UK from USA) has been 'Awaiting Customs clearance' since yesterday.

wat do.

Just wait? It was supposed to be here yesterday.

>> No.7378904

>>7378897

Just wait. Delivery times don't tend to include time spent waiting in customs. USA customs have been known to take forever too, so don't start stressing yet. It'll probably be released by the end of the week unless you're really unlucky.

>> No.7379009

>>7378875
I thought they stopped doing that?

>> No.7379026

>>7378897
>>7378904

It sounds like it's UK customs who has it, who are wankers.

Expect a fee and a wait of at least a week.

>> No.7379144

>all this suffering
Just use Fedex,my fellow eurofags.

>> No.7379257

>>7378662
Well, £36 is the limit for gifts. But it's only about £15 if it's not marked as a gift or sample.

>> No.7379265

>>7379026

Oops, you're right. I read it as from UK to USA.

Prepare your anus OP.

>> No.7382162

It looks like my order from Japan would be cheaper being shipped with Fedex than with EMS.

I'm in the US and haven't had any issues with customs using EMS as of yet, but would Fedex still possibly get hit with customs or maybe have a higher or lower chance?

>> No.7382209

>>7379144
I don't live in Europe but I got hit with a customs fee in the US. It's the first time that happened to me. It was only 23 bucks though, but still WTF.

>> No.7382630

>>7378834
That's brilliant, I like you.

>> No.7383022

I never even heard of customs fees until this morning! I've ordered multiple things from Japan before but was never charged anything. Now I need to pay over 100 euros?

This is absolute bullshit.

>> No.7383040

Just got charged €38 customs on a €200 dress, not so bad, considering I have a long and storied history of ordering shit from Japan and this is the first time I've been hit. Still, gonna be a pain in the ass to get to the post office, I have no idea where it is, I never use the one they sent it to.

>> No.7383067

Can someone explain why Americans refuse to mark down packages or mark them as gifts? Do they seriously think they'll be arrested for putting a price down differently? The average customs officer doesn't know that this sparkly pastel bullshit dress is worth £300, they probably think it's for a toddler. Send it via Fedex or whatever and put down a fake price, it'll still get there and I'll just deal with losing out.

I was awaiting a wig that had been styled back when unusually coloured wigs were really difficult to get hold of in the UK. The seller had charged me £30 for the service of styling it, and the wig itself was £15. They had the cheek to put down the price as £45, even though the service isn't a tangible good. I got my wig two months after it was due to arrive because it was in customs and had to pay a bullshit £17 on top.

>> No.7383069

Customs in the UK is starting to fuck up when reading Yen prices. We ordered a £100 worth of goods from Japan which is about Y15,000. Got a bill indicating our items were worth £15,000 and to pay the import fee and customs bill accordingly. Ouch, HMRC are really awful about it, and ask you to pay it upfront and get it adjusted later, or offered to send it back to the seller and have them resend it with the value written in £ instead.

>> No.7383076

>>7383067

It can be due to claiming insurance if the package is lost. Insurance will only refund the value declared, so if you want to full cost returned in the event of loss/damage, it needs to be declared as such. If an item is worth £100, but you only mark as £10, insurance will only pay out £10. An honest buyer would accept this and take the hit. What tends to happen though is that the buyer simply goes to Paypal and gets the full amount refunded, fucking the seller over. This is one reason why some sellers insist on gift payments if you want to mark down.

>> No.7383651

>>7383076
>>7383067

This.

If a package gets lost, stolen, or damaged by the post I can only get a refund on the value the package is listed at. And depending on what country is handling the parcel, theft and damage can be a serious concern.

This is in addition to the problem that most international buyers do not want to pay the extra $15-20 for tracking and insurance which is really the only way you can prove in a pp claim that you shipped the item in the stated condition.

Some girls offer to pay via gift to compensate. Too bad that doesn't eliminate the risk.

I used to mark down packages for people who paid via gift but I will NEVER do that again. I recently sold a dress to a girl in France who wanted me to mark the value down on Baby’s first burando $300 dream dress and didn't want to pay the extra $20 for tracking and insurance. She offered to pay as a gift and I agreed. I mailed the dress and about two weeks later she starts emailing me demanding to know where her dress is. Because I was stupid enough to not insist on tracking I have no idea - I don't know if the post is just being slow (I had never mailed to France before) or the parcel was lost. I sent her the picture of the receipt and this calms her down for a little while.

.....

>> No.7383652

>>7383651

Continued....

After a week of back and forth and no dress she starts flipping the fuck out, accuses me of never mailing the dress (I don't know what the fuck she thought the receipt was for, her english was pretty bad), and threatens to contact her credit card company and file a chargeback since that is what she used to fund the paypal transaction. I do some research on the web and find out she legitimately CAN file a chargeback even though she paid via gift and paypal and the credit card company will give zero fucks. Also apparently credit card companies side with the seller most of the time and I had no tracking number to prove the post had fucked up (apparently proof of postage is not enough, you need proof of delivery). And even if I DID have tracking number and could prove I mailed the item and the post lost it I had marked down the package to $50 so that was all I could get back from the post office if she went through with the chargeback and screwed me out of $300.
Thank God the dress arrives the next day (taking a total of over three weeks to get there) and the psycho girl apologizes and drops the issue. But if that dress had not arrived when it did she was legit crazy enough to have filed a chargeback and probably won.

So yeah. Fuck marking things down, not including tracking, and thinking you are safe via gift payment. Bitch ruined it for everyone.

NEVER. AGAIN.

>> No.7383654

>>7383652
Name and shame dat bitch.

>> No.7383708

>>7383069
Welp, I'm panicking now. Customs fees on a £15, 000 package must have been insane! What did you do in the end?

>> No.7383713

I live in Finland. If anything exceeds €20 in value or is more than 2 items it goes into customs. Haul is a non existent term for me.

>> No.7383741

>>7383713
The limit is 22 euros and I've had no problem getting a parcel with multiple items in them at once.

Sometimes, to bypass the 22 euro limit, I buy my stuff through two secret services: I ask a friend in England to buy me stuff, which they then send me. Since it is within the EU, you don't get taxed on it and there's no custom limit.

>> No.7383746

>>7383741
I only have internet friends outside of the EU, unfortunately...
I once got taxed for a pair of circle lenses because they counted it as two items and they didn't even exceed the cash limit.

>> No.7383748

>>7383654

I don't feel comfortable calling her out only because the fact it was Baby's first burando and the fact she gave me an ebay profile for feedback makes me think this was her first big loli purchase. Yeah, she freaked out and acted like a psycho brat, but she never got a chance to file the chargeback (thank God) when she did get the dress she apologized immediately for being such a bitch before.

I think of all those egl posts going "OMG IT'S BEEN A WEEK AND MY BODYLINE ISN'T HERE!1!'. If I was younger and it was my first purchase and I barely spoke the other girls language I might have has a hissy fit too after 3 weeks. I mean, her english was REALLY bad, she might have turned into such a brat because she couldn't understand what I was saying.

Whatever. I hope she learned her lesson for next time because I sure as hell did.

French post is slow as fuck and never mark down a package and ship without tracking unless you know the person or the girl has perfect feedback because gift payments don't protect shit if the buyer flips out.

>> No.7383751

>>7383652

People need to be more aware of this. Being paid by gift does not guarantee your safety if you're dealing with a bitch buyer who won't accept their own risks. Always assume every person you sell to might pull a fast one, and act accordingly.

The best way to protect yourself as a seller is to enforce tracked with proof of delivery/signed for at the very minimum. Paypal states somewhere what the exact shipping protocol you need to follow for seller protection is, so go look it up right now if you're a seller. The extra cost might lose you sales, but on the other hand you'd be losing a lot of the cheap shady bitches. At the end of the day, you have to protect yourself, so fuck anyone who wants you to throw that protection away.

>> No.7383756

>>7383748
Whithin Euro, French post is actually pretty fast. It took only two day to get my package from the UK last time.
But yeah, comming from outside Europe it is often taxed and it may take more time, even thought I had my NY package come in less than a week.

>> No.7383755

>>7383746
Oh wow, what a bumfuck move.

I'm currently holding my breath, I ordered a parcel with 10 items (stationary mostly) that were all discounted and I hope to high heavens they mark the discounted sum, not the original one because then I'll get hit by backtaxes for sure.

>> No.7384040

I'm so fucking done with Parcelforce right now.

>get sent letter to pay customs
>go online
>online payment broken
>try and pay by phone
>no mention of paying charges, just arranges redelivery
>can't pay in person at the depot because I have no car and it's miles away

help me UK lolis I don't want my precious burando to fly back to Japan ;_;

>> No.7384061

>>7384040
Being a UK loli is suffering.

>> No.7384074
File: 17 KB, 545x528, 1390785437503.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7384074

>>7384061
Ugh, I know. There's never anything decent for sale within the UK, sales from the EU in euros are always ridiculously expensive, and buying from US/Australia/Japan where all the good stuff is means giant shipping and customs charges.

>> No.7384114

>>7384074

>mfw forgot to tell fromjapan to mark down package
>now package is 'stuck at depo'
>never had this before until fucking UPS package from a different company with crafts (they only marked down to 45 euros bumfucks) got hit with 50 euros in fines


Fuck fuck fuckity fuck I think I'm marked for customs from now on.

>> No.7384116

>>7384114

Oops, didn't mean to quote anyone, sorry about that.

>> No.7385052

>>7384040

Try and see if you can get through to a human, whatever way you can. Ask if there's a number for paying custom charges over the phone. They'll either redirect you, or give you the correct number (if there is one).

If there's no number, try ringing your depot. They might be able to help.

If they can't help, try to get get hold of customer service again, and report the website error. They should forward it onto the relevant people.