The total amount of tax is charged as a single € number, on delivery at the front door.
Don't pay the fees, don't get the goods.
Priests write letters, the ones with a blank rap sheet.
My g/f's father was a customs career guy, highest pay grade when he (handsomely) early retired.
When someone died, his usual comment was another AH less.
Some of the Chinese vendors just mark parcels with "samples" to get around customs charges.
It amazes me the small postage charges the Chinese have considering a parcel is travelling half way around the world.
It amazes me the small postage charges the Chinese have considering a parcel is travelling half way around the world.
You'd be amazed how much is charged to send a large and very heavy box with R-core transformers by ship from Taiwan to Europe.
(>>100lbs, including delivery to your doorstep by professional hand trolley)
(>>100lbs, including delivery to your doorstep by professional hand trolley)
Sure, but there is a customs statement. How else would you know they charged +31%? I'm pretty sure they charged the right amount, it's just you who don't know how to read the statement. Post a copy here, I'll explain it to you. If it really should be wrong, I show you how to write an appeal.
I do not order from outside EU when I can avoid it.
I run a personal business, so I buy most stuff without VAT charges when ordering from EU-based vendors.
That, combined with the weak Euro, makes imports extremely unattractive nowadays.
Products from China (through eBay, Aliexpress etc.) are another matter of course.
When I do have to import, I avoid the courier services mafia (Fedex, UPS etc.) like the plague. Best case scenario: you pay double the item's value, even if you just import a rusty screw or something. And in some cases (depending on their mood, I suppose), you may pay more than the shipment's value.
The simple postal service is less of a gamble. When you do pay import charges, these are in line with what you'd expect (~ 30% of value).
I run a personal business, so I buy most stuff without VAT charges when ordering from EU-based vendors.
That, combined with the weak Euro, makes imports extremely unattractive nowadays.
Products from China (through eBay, Aliexpress etc.) are another matter of course.
When I do have to import, I avoid the courier services mafia (Fedex, UPS etc.) like the plague. Best case scenario: you pay double the item's value, even if you just import a rusty screw or something. And in some cases (depending on their mood, I suppose), you may pay more than the shipment's value.
The simple postal service is less of a gamble. When you do pay import charges, these are in line with what you'd expect (~ 30% of value).
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