Hello Folks, Just to say that Fogas are no longer sending items outside the EU. I went to order a selection of Radius Lantern spares and they said that due to a change in processes that they are unable to send items overseas to the UK any more. This must have changed between the end of August (my last large order) and now. Are there any other sources for Radius spares, or would someone be able to act as an intermediary? I still get items won on Tradera sent over, sometimes within a week, so something must have happened with commercial sellers? Alec.
Hi Alec, This happens to me occasionally, an intermediary is your best bet. I had a seller out of Germany tell me the other day that he doesn’t include England as “part of the EU” and would not ship there. You get double shipping charges but that is just life on this side of the pond. Without taking away from Alec’s need for an intermediary; perhaps someone could explain the shipping arrangement between EU members. VAT style charges for outside the EU maybe? Thank you, John
Hello. @John @Rangie Unfortunately, sending and receiving parcels to and from a non-EU country has become a problem. Example of buying goods in a non-EU country. Item price £ 100 VAT 25% = £ 25 Import duty 13% of £ 125 = £ 14.12 Processing of the shipment at the freight company £ 18.13 Told about 13% of £ 125 = £ 14 In total, a purchase for £ 100 will cost the recipient £ 171.25 In addition, companies that sell to a non-EU country must fill in approx 10 A4 pages with various information for the authorities. This is an example of my last purchase in England, and the same goes for the USA. Tom
Hi Tom - yes it would seem that both the EU and the UK has tightened up rules, no doubt as a resuly of losing revenue and trying to keep up with the "new" online world we live in. In your instance if the goods were being exported so you should not have been charged UK VAT - but of course you are liable for VAT in your own country, normally calcluated after the import duty is added. In terms of intermediaries, Ebay in the UK will do it all for you if selling, avoiding all that paperword etc - not sure if tradera do anything similar ?
I doubt that, if a country chooses to get out of a commercial pact, let say "europe", then it becomes an "outside europe" country. Then you also get border security, tax and import/export costs.
Thank you @Tom Pedersen I knew it was bad but seeing it on paper just makes it worse. @Rustytank I can tell you from experience that on our side import duties are calculated by the cost of the insured amount, from the UK the threshold is 500 pounds; that used to not be a problem but with pricing on eBay lately it’s getting tricky. In 20 years of shipping back and forth I’ve only been dinged once for import duties. John
@John @Rangie Hello. I sent a stove to the United States to a CPL member. These are the same rules with filling in paperwork, customs declarations, import duties and VAT. What is to blame for the strict rules is obvious since England has left the EU. I have a daughter who lives in Sweden, and I would like to ask her if there is a solution that is cheaper if she sends from there, if it is of interest to you. Just a comment. If the package does not exceed 80 dkk 9,06 £ incl. freight, there are no charges Tom
@WimVe @John Yes the UK is now a "third country" in EU terms - but I have to say I have been buying from the USA for 25 years and like John have only been charged twice. What has happened in the UK is that the rules governing buying from overseas changed in as much that the VAT collection onus is passed back to the vendor (or their intermediary) At the same time the threshold of £17.50 where duty/VAT became payable was revoked. But still I get parcels from China and the USA and some still from the EU. You are right in as much that the changes in the UK were predicated by leaving the EU but more was 'fixed' at the same time. The onus on sellers to register with the british tax authorities to collect and pay UK VAT - on top of any EU export rules is I think too much to bear for a company like FOGAS. However using an intermediary removes much of this pain. Unfortunatley brexit also re-focussed attention on the rules about exporting from the EU so all EU exports are now being scrutinised. Large companies like Ebay and Amazon will calculate duty/vat/shipping and do the accounting for you, and collect the taxes from the buyer (built into the price). Yes it will cost the customer more but not the seller. Ebay and Amazon will also handle the international shipping.
Well there is seldom one yhing that is to blaim for the problem. It was a grey area what happend to the tax and import duties of things bought in China. Like from aliexpress. To be honest: why should shopkeepers have to pay tax and import on articles and private persons not. So for all trade now we have to pay tax and import. Another thing is shipping outside an organisation like the EU. paperwork has to be filled in. Private person or not I guess. I had to fill in a custom declaration as long as I know and ship internationally. I doubt that: this intermediary person or company would also liked to get paid at the end of the month.
You're in Denmark and you sent a stove to the USA - what's that got to do with England? BTW, England was only ONE of the countries that left the EU...
@David Shouksmith Hello David The conditions are the same from Denmark, whether you send to England or the USA. Tom
And, as you well know David, when most Europeans say "England" they really mean "the UK". So far, no-one else left the EU. @David Shouksmith
...and what makes you suppose I "well know" that, Wim? If Europeans can't distinguish between England and the UK they need to get educated - don't hold me responsible for their ignorance. Arrant nonsense - what has England got to do with your problem sending stuff to the USA from Denmark...
Not so arrant, David. Nor nonsense. The way I read Tom, he mentions changed formalities and stricter application of taxes, spurred by Brexit. Nor does it read like a problem for him. And since I have been shipping to Britain and the US for quite some years now, yes, procedures are the same, now Britain has maneuvered herself out of the EEC. By the way, can you explain the difference between Holland and the Netherlands? Also, I am curious what other countries left the EEC besides England? I initially thought you recognised Scotland's -and Wales'- independence! Are you?
@Rangie You will have to use a parcel forwarding service. Those are available in several countries in EU and UK alike. You get your parcel from Fogas shop sent to that "local" adress and they will forward to your USA address. No problems. I use the same vice versa, when ordering in the USA.
@bp4willi , Rangie lives in Caithness, Scotland. I have no idea why his avatar has the US flag (this is confusing, I think it has something to do with internet provider or some such. It can change when posting from a holiday address in another country) (@Rangie )
I'm in the UK, but yes it appears this is the best choice for small items it seems. I have also been trying to get a pallet of Zetor Tractor spares sent from Slovakia. I think i'm going to give up, even going via Ireland looks to be an utter nightmare! Alec.
Indeed, It happens when I post from my work computer at teabreaks etc, it must be where the IP is routed. Alec.
