International Bricklinking

scabechild

Hey guys.
Quick query: I've been Bricklinking lots of items but have always bought from UK sellers as I'm in the UK. Today I have decided to branch out and buy from the states - couple of stores with big feedback scores. Anyone had any issues with international buying and selling or tax/customs problems etc? I'm sure the stores themselves will be fine but be good to be able to troubleshoot any problems anyone else may have had. 

CCC

One problem is the order size, you can normally only buy about $15 worth before postage before you have to pay VAT plus £8 to the Royal Mail for processing it. Once you add on $7 or so for postage, you hit that limit.

Its often better value to buy EU, unless you order a lot in one go as the fee is proportionally less then.

scabechild

Brilliant. Oh well, looks like I'll be paying the Royal Mail - presumably they send you a card with a bill? I think it'll still work out cheaper for what I bought, hopefully. 

CCC

Normally the don't release the parcel until you pay. They card you like an undelivered recorded letter.

andhe

Interesting. Is this something the seller themselves has to declare? I've made orders from the states, and recently one well over $15 but never been aware of any extra charges at my end.

Aleydita

The VAT threshold is £15 not $15 so it's a bit better, but if your order value is high enough - above £135 - there will also be Import Duty to pay as well. Small amounts of Duty are waived but if you are charged, they'll also add VAT to the Duty, so they're taxing you on the tax :)

scabechild

I don't think they have to declare anything except the cost and a brief description of the items being imported. It's our tax and customs laws. 

scabechild

Being taxed on tax. Gotta love HMRC

iso3200

In my experience, luck also plays a part. On several occasions I've bought multiple polybags from the States totalling around $100 / £60. Sometimes they've arrived with my normal postman no problem, other times I've had to collect from the PO, play 20% VAT on the parcel plus an £8 Royal Mail handling charge.

I've had things sent from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia and the same happens with no ryhme or reason.

I think the smaller the item is, the less chance of it looking valuable.

CCC

^^^^ yes, its £15. So about $15 plus shipping brings it to about $22-24, which is the £15 threshold.

khmellymel

^^ Totally agree with the luck thing.  I've had family send any number of gifts from Canada - including some quite expensive UGG boots and clothes, all declared (generically) with the value stated and never been charged, even when I expected to.   Yet when I shipped some of my own belongings after finally getting residency, Customs and Duty charged me £45 to open the boxes and then charged me about £150 in duty and customs on things like... yearbooks, photos, some glassware and old swag.  Like, you know... the sentimental stuff that isnt replacable.  I did ship some Lego, but I only decided to bring like four sets so that defo wasn't it!

Aleydita

They don't check all packages and many where VAT is due will sneak through. This is more likely to happen with smaller parcels, particularly those that went through the export country's automated sorting machines and that arrives with regular letter post.

There's one other thing that's worth noting. If you're importing as a trader and the sender doesn't complete the customs forms accurately, you - as the importer - can end up paying a penalty.

@khmellymel - in many cases you can claim relief from VAT and Import Duty on personal belongings when moving to the UK. It's not something I dealt with personally when I worked at HMRC but I'm reasonably sure you need to arrange it via the shipping company (form C3 rings a bell but I'm not certain). There may be a way to claim a refund but I'm not sure.

Phonebooth

I buy mostly from the Netherlands and Germany. These two countries tend to have the least problems posting quickly to the UK. Emphasis on the word "quickly"

koshka

I started off with just UK buyers but as I'm trying to Bricklink several modularbuildings I've found it impossible to get the quatities or rarer bricks without looking further afield. I've now bought three lots from Croatia, France and Hungary and they've all worked fine. I've probably saved a bit in postage by getting smaller orders from separate places e.g. a few Dutch sellers had good availability but very high postage costs. I managed to get some rarer bricks in the French and Croatian orders and as they fitted in smallish letters the postage costs were only a couple of euros. I've also found a couple of sellers offering free postage where the slightly higher cost bricks were offset by the free delivery.

khmellymel

Thanks @Aleydita!  Yes, a C3 is the form that I filled out.  I only sent three boxes so I thought the £45 to open the boxes was a bit rich!  (To be fair, they were a tad large, but not bigger than, say, a suitcase).  Anyway, I even included a letter that stated why the belongings were being shipped... but no dice.  They charged me anyway.  Oh, well, c'est la vie. 

andhe

CCC said:

^^^^ yes, its £15. So about $15 plus shipping brings it to about $22-24, which is the £15 threshold.

Which explains why the declared value on the package never balanced with what I'd paid for the order.

CCC

There has been a lot of talk recently on BL forums about customs fraud, and many US sellers make sue they declare full value these days. Smoe of the talk has been about should it be a bannable offense if someone asks for the value to be lowered.

Aleydita

CCC said:

There has been a lot of talk recently on BL forums about customs fraud, and many US sellers make sue they declare full value these days. Smoe of the talk has been about should it be a bannable offense if someone asks for the value to be lowered.

It should be noted that in the country of destination, the buyer would be the one held responsible for incorrect customs declarations made by the seller, so asking them to make a dodgy declaration would be a bit silly.

scabechild

Funnily enough, both sellers I bought from stated on their checkout/splash pages that under no circumstances would they falsify the values for customs. Presumably this has been a bit of an issue and they may well be clamping down on it. 

sklamb

I've been buying on BrickLink for several years now and sellers were making that statement when I started. I don't think there's been a recent clampdown, although it is possible that more people are asking now given the shifts in exchange rates.

I've also been buying from overseas almost from the get-go, and--for what it's worth--had good success for the most part, provided I check the sellers' postage rates and restrictions before filling my cart. Many places have size restrictions on their lower-priced shipping rates--for example, Canadians can't fit a 2x2x3 slope (such as a female minifigure's skirt) in a letter packet. Also, some sellers require insurance for all overseas orders, no matter how small; that can raise the postage costs in a hurry. And the USA's minimum cost for sending anything other than a sticker sheet (or perhaps a plate) is $6.95, which is outrageous!

For very light orders, I've found the Netherlands the cheapest, because they offer the most detailed breakdown by weight; for larger ones, I've found Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Russia all offer reasonable rates. (Of course, I'm looking at the transatlantic rates; your mileage may vary!) For orders weighing over 500 g, it's best to stick to one's own country.

Aleydita

Ordering a small amount of Lego can be just as cost effective from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, etc as it is from a seller in the UK. The cost effectiveness might disappear as the value of your order increases, but not always.

This is where BrickOwl's Wish List feature work really well - it will show you the cheapest place to get what you want, and all it won't tell you is whether you'll need to pay import charges or not. To avoid those keep your orders small (lower than £15) or keep within the EU. Bricklink's Wish List feature might help you narrow it down to a few stores but you still then have the chore of working out the additional payment and shipping charges. The sooner BL 2.0 comes out the better!

CCC

^^ why is $6.95 outrageous?