Ordering stuff from U.S. to europe, how-to?

[marios_mar]

last time the seller marked as "gift" and value $150 so I had to pay taxes!!

 

[Fastjack]

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Originally posted by marios_mar Fastjack why did the bill delay so long? Did you know that you would get it or did it come as a surprise?

When I received the package I had to sign that I'm going to pay whatever they want. The letter that came quite a few months later stated that I had received a package some days ago

That letter also included the bill including taxes, duty and about 10€ for handling the costums-stuff for me.

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How is one supposed to know if he is charged or not?

Whenever you receive a shipment that's insured for more than a certain amount (<50€, don't know exactly) you can expect to pay whether it's declared as gift or not.

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Anybody else had similar experiences.

Yep, another case of the same thing

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If they say 20% of $1000 i totally screwed. What do you think?

I'd say they use the amount, the package is insured for. But that's just guessing.

 

[Thrasher]

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Originally posted by marios_mar Fastjack why did the bill delay so long? Did you know that you would get it or did it come as a surprise? How is one supposed to know if he is charged or not? Anybody else had similar experiences. A few months ago I received a PDA from the USA that I bought on eBay. The seller checked "gift" but wrote $150 value. That was pretty stupid! Anyway the package was from the USPS but they delivered it at my house and not at my box where they usually put my stuff. Just like a couriere. The paper with the bill was from Germany. Thats where they calculated the costs etc. Strange huh? Does used stuff get tax on it? And also some people mention that they make you pay 20% for example of the value. How do they know they value? Do they calculate with the price new? Because I am buying K1000s from the US. If they say 20% of $1000 i totally screwed. What do you think?

They don't know the value of most stuff and they won't do a research on that. The only thing they'll look at is the declared value on the parcel. So you have to ask the seller to declare a low value , lower than the real one.
Items sent to our country with value up to about €45 are free from duty and tax -- so that's the way to go -- ask the seller to declare that the value of the package is like $30 or so and you shouldn't have any problems if he does what you ask from him.

 

[solid]

So it is possible that you receive your package, and without any knowledge an additiona tax bill comes in after 2~4 weeks, charching you 23% of you purchase? I mean, do you get notified of it somehow?

I just ordered my Shure E3c's from the states, and indeed with the current USD exchange course, it's 'paradise' for us Europeans. The customer price in the Netherlands for the E3's is 255 EURO, which is a good 327 USD (!!!). So I guess that additional tax can't possibly make 'm more expensive for me (compared to the price in Holland).

 

[Fastjack]

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Originally posted by solid I mean, do you get notified of it somehow?

As I said. You gotta sign that you will pay the bill they send you later.
Once I got a package from the US with a value lower than the critical amount and I didn't have to sign anything.

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I just ordered my Shure E3c's from the states, and indeed with the current USD exchange course, it's 'paradise' for us Europeans. The customer price in the Netherlands for the E3's is 255 EURO, which is a good 327 USD (!!!). So I guess that additional tax can't possibly make 'm more expensive for me (compared to the price in Holland).

Yep, in most cases you will still save lots of money.

 

[tortie]

If thats the case declare it at a lower price...below the tax line. If taxes start at $50, declare it at $49 dollars. Just pray that the package doesnt get lost

 

[guzzler]

companies will not put a lower value on it for you as it is breaking the law, and it's the seller that gets the rap not the buyer! And that's something worth thinking about...

Cheques from abroad aren't too expensive to cash, I think my bank charges 3% or something not too bad at all!

go the local bulk carrier (USPS, Royal Mail etc): I had some horrendously expensive chips (OPA637 and 627) from Canada, and nothing on the import tax front. I once bought some minidiscs off eBay, and was charged import on those, and the seller shipped me two batches as well by mistake

Seriously though, most stuff can be had in Europe, it just requires digging around that you might not have to do in the US. For semiconductors, check the website for the nearest company office and give them a call, that can sometimes secure you small numbers of chips at reasonable prices

g

 

[Thrasher]

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Originally posted by solid So it is possible that you receive your package, and without any knowledge an additiona tax bill comes in after 2~4 weeks, charching you 23% of you purchase? I mean, do you get notified of it somehow?

I didn't happen to me yet. If you don't pay the tax, they won't hand out the package to you. But I have only experience with the Post Office. I don't know the UPS policies.

 

[Rob N]

My R10's came via UPS.What they do is deliver the item and you pay with cash or a card on delivery or they don't leave it.

 

[Rob N]

For those in the the UK,if you get something fairly small (sent via say USPS) it will come via the Post Office and they always charge import taxes and VAT even if the item is only slightly over the £18 for goods or £36 for 'gifts' value.Larger items come via Parcel Force and I've had parcels sent where the values have been upto $130 USD and they didn't charge.Obviously if the value was more like $200+ they would charge.

 

[Spent&Bent]

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Originally posted by Rob N My R10's came via UPS.What they do is deliver the item and you pay with cash or a card on delivery or they don't leave it.

Well at least that's better then thinking you do not need to pay and getting a 22 % tax bill on such an item a few weeks later, man that would be nasty....

 

[marios_mar]

anyone knows whats the limit of the amount that enters for free for Germany? How much would it be?

I want to make an order from amazon. And I wanted to do it togehther with a friend. But if the amount is like $100 then we might pay taxes wont we?

 

[mekanoplastik]

last summer when i moved from california back to Madrid i shipped some heavy stuff (12kg) via usps boat freight, it took 7 weeks but it only costed me 60$ for a declared value of ~900$ insured and i didnt have to pay anything at the postal office in Madrid when i went to pick it up.....

all the content of the box was clearly written on the box -in a usps form- with the aproximated cost of it..(i said my old laptop was worth 700$ LOL...) along with the insurance stamp...in my experience i had to pay nothing, i guess it depends on how good the political situation of your country with the US is..

if you have friends in the US ask them to ship the item for you..(that is how i buy stuff)...

good luck
m.

 

[Fastjack]

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Originally posted by marios_mar anyone knows whats the limit of the amount that enters for free for Germany? How much would it be? I want to make an order from amazon. And I wanted to do it togehther with a friend. But if the amount is like $100 then we might pay taxes wont we?

IIRC it is far lower. Even if it was declared a gift the threshold would be around 40$ (or €).

 

[00940]

if you order from a country outside the EEC, there is no threshold.

Anything bought outside is taxed, beginning at 0.000001€, according to the European regulations.

There's a grey zone for gifts.