Shipping to the UK

[DEUK01]

Hi all,

I'm considering buying some soaps from the USA/Canada that are not available here in the UK.

I.E - Moon Soaps, Arsenal Soaps etc

However, I'm not clued up on import fees.

If I buy two or three soaps, shipped to the UK, what will the customs likely to charge?
Help and comments appreciated.

 

[freeasimo]

That would really depend on UK customs I think and the total value. I think you should be okay since it should be under $100 with shipping (hopefully). Double check with vendor too.

 

[DEUK01]

Anyone from the UK who has any experience from ordering from Canada?

 

[johnb65]

I am not sure about Canada but from the States, you can expect to pay the VAT + £8 handling charge unless you are very lucky of course.

 

[Yukonmark]

Yes. I get Canadian delicacies sent over to the UK.
But I get relatives to send them as gifts. If you get stuff sent commercialy you get bent over by customs.

 

[DSR]

Hi all,

I'm considering buying some soaps from the USA/Canada that are not available here in the UK.

I.E - Moon Soaps, Arsenal Soaps etc

However, I'm not clued up on import fees.

If I buy two or three soaps, shipped to the UK, what will the customs likely to charge?
Help and comments appreciated.

The vendor has to fill in a customs form when shipping.
Any package with a declared/ recorded value above £15 (or £39 if sent as a gift, not merchandise) will be charged VAT (20%), plus the £8 handling fee by Royal Mail, regardless of whether it comes from the US or Canada.

Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad

VAT, duty and customs declarations for goods received by post or courier - paying, collecting your goods, getting a refund and documents.

www.gov.uk

As someone mentioned above, you might get lucky and not have to pay, but that’s the exception...

 

[johnb65]

I have been lucky occasionally only around 10% of the time though.

 

[DEUK01]

The vendor has to fill in a customs form when shipping.
Any package with a declared/ recorded value above £15 (or £39 if sent as a gift, not merchandise) will be charged VAT (20%), plus the £8 handling fee by Royal Mail, regardless of whether it comes from the US or Canada.

Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad

VAT, duty and customs declarations for goods received by post or courier - paying, collecting your goods, getting a refund and documents.

www.gov.uk

As someone mentioned above, you might get lucky and not have to pay, but that’s the exception...

So VAT is added on items over £15. Plus a handling charge. That's ontop on Tax in the country of sale (I.E - US/Canada) and shipping. So a £15 tube of soap ends up costing £30+

 

[freeasimo]

Wow. So lucky to be importing into USA. Thank you all for the lesson.

 

[Billy T.]

Ask the vendor whether they are willing to mark the goods as a gift.

 

[Yukonmark]

Ask the vendor whether they are willing to mark the goods as a gift.

I buy stuff from Morocco and turkey and they do that automatically.

 

[Billy T.]

I buy stuff from Morocco and turkey and they do that automatically.

Good men, not all vendors do that sadly.

 

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

We often ship to the UK. The package is usually set aside by Customs and the customer receives a notice they have a package to pick up. When they do they have to pay usually about 1/3rd of the value of the package. This is on top of the shipping they already paid. UK Customs began doing this two years ago, they had not done it before. UK Customs is also the only one who does this. We ship worldwide and only in the UK does this take place. It is arbitrary and opportunistic of them. It also makes citizens more likely to buy from a UK company or one in the EU since there are no Customs fees for them. That has been our experience for over ten years now.

 

[DEUK01]

We often ship to the UK. The package is usually set aside by Customs and the customer receives a notice they have a package to pick up. When they do they have to pay usually about 1/3rd of the value of the package. This is on top of the shipping they already paid. UK Customs began doing this two years ago, they had not done it before. UK Customs is also the only one who does this. We ship worldwide and only in the UK does this take place. It is arbitrary and opportunistic of them. It also makes citizens more likely to buy from a UK company or one in the EU since there are no Customs fees for them. That has been our experience for over ten years now.

Thanks Captain. Rule Britannia I guess. The UK is not an EU member anymore. I believe trade deals with USA are paused due to Covid.

 

[stewart]

There's a knife in use by the British military which I wanted, but its not available for civil buyers in the UK owing to an agreement between the manufacturer and the MOD. Nothing stopping them, however, from selling these knives, specifically noting their NSN/UK MOD usage, to retailers in Canada, who can then sell to US or CA buyers. And thus, I bought a British made knife, from a Canadian vendor, who shipped it to my remailing service in California, who then posted it back to me in the UK - what a waste of fuel.

There are remailing businesses in the US which can receive post, tax free, from Canada... which you can send to, say, your friend, your spouse, your housemate, as a gift, and declared as such, provided the value is under threshold (I believe 39GBP for UK gifts is the magic number).

Of course, you could post items to yourself from the US remailer and under declare, but that would be evading duty. A gift to someone, on the other hand - not an issue.

 

[Dave-the-rave]

I've bought from Italian Barber in Canada a lot and never had a customs charge. I just bought from Timeless in the States and got the charge. 20% VAT plus customs handling fee plus courier handling fee. Total £52. I don't object to the VAT but I object to the customs handling fee, who are charging me to tell me how much VAT I need to pay, and I object to the courier handling fee as they have already been paid to deliver.

Customs are definitely focusing on goods incoming from the USA at the moment.

 

[DEUK01]

There's a knife in use by the British military which I wanted, but its not available for civil buyers in the UK owing to an agreement between the manufacturer and the MOD. Nothing stopping them, however, from selling these knives, specifically noting their NSN/UK MOD usage, to retailers in Canada, who can then sell to US or CA buyers. And thus, I bought a British made knife, from a Canadian vendor, who shipped it to my remailing service in California, who then posted it back to me in the UK - what a waste of fuel.

There are remailing businesses in the US which can receive post, tax free, from Canada... which you can send to, say, your friend, your spouse, your housemate, as a gift, and declared as such, provided the value is under threshold (I believe 39GBP for UK gifts is the magic number).

Of course, you could post items to yourself from the US remailer and under declare, but that would be evading duty. A gift to someone, on the other hand - not an issue.

Interesting story. Still wondering how you got it into the UK. It's a weapon afterall.

 

[DEUK01]

I've bought from Italian Barber in Canada a lot and never had a customs charge. I just bought from Timeless in the States and got the charge. 20% VAT plus customs handling fee plus courier handling fee. Total £52. I don't object to the VAT but I object to the customs handling fee, who are charging me to tell me how much VAT I need to pay, and I object to the courier handling fee as they have already been paid to deliver.

Customs are definitely focusing on goods incoming from the USA at the moment.

It's strange. Stick to Canadian goods. Lol

 

[Dave-the-rave]

It's strange. Stick to Canadian goods. Lol

What's strange is they are letting goods through without VAT being paid. I can only assume there are reasons for that which I'm not privy to. They cannot simply be incompetent or good natured.