Brexit Vs Bricklink

CrazyL

So, I'm not a massive collector/buyer of Lego like some of you guys, but, I was wondering if anyone on here, from England especially, has had issues with BL orders coming from the Continent since January 1st?  I myself am awaiting an order from the Netherlands since christmas but having had stuff there before I notice it takes a while anyway.

Obviously, if you're a massive BL-er, you'll have no doubt placed orders by now and may or may not have noticed a difference.  If not, what are your predictions or opinions?  It is interesting to hear both doom mongers and habitual optimists in equal measure.

Paperballpark

Apparently, Bricklink have said they'll deal woth the VAT implications of Brexit for sellers, so in theory sellers won't need to do much more than they currently do.

It might cost more to ship to the UK, but a few years ago I think the EU brought in new regulations on posting internationally which increased the cost of posting to the UK to about €13. So I'm not convinced too much will change on that front.

CCC

You'll now pay VAT on import from the EU plus the Royal Mail £8 fee until bricklink start collecting the VAT on the buyer's behalf.

CrazyL

I had a bricklink order arrive from the Netherlands over the weekend, and on the jiffy seal was tape with "home office border control" printed on it.  So they've opened up my packet to have a nosey.

I understand stuff has to be checked, but surely that's what Xray scanners are for.  Not really going to fit much in the way of drugs in a jiffy bag that weighs sweet FA.  How much does it cost to have a role of wide tape custom printed?  Taxpayer foots the bill so no one cares.

However you voted on brexit, I think we're in for a bumpy ride, but by the willing hand of our own government, not the EUs.

....And don't even get me started on the whole food standard/US meat import thing. :-o

DB361

Had a message from a buyer in the Netherlands today. The package arrived quickly enough, so delays at the port and sorting offices isn't too much of a concern anymore. But there is a bigger, longer term issue and safe to say it's greatly concerning;

I'm sorry to report I had to pay EUR 18.91 to customs to get your package.
Congrats on Brexit, but clearly this means we won't be doing business anymore.

This was on an order worth GBP £25.54. If those are the kind of charges we can expect to see going forward, then we can kiss goodbye to any sales between the UK and Europe. That's 20% of my custom wiped out in an instant. And this is on something as trivial as Lego parts. Bumpy ride doesn't even begin to describe what the UK is about to go through, IMO.

CrazyL

D8361, I doubt you are far off the mark there.  I am reading tweets from motorcycle racing journos and teams, who will have to have visas and carnets for every country in the EU and everything they take racing.  Musicians who may only be able to do 2 dates in each country, and I read a story from a wine seller/importer who, has to pay £157 a month to access an HMRC system in order to let HMRC know how much tax he's paying, crazy, and it's only going to get crazier.  Except a lot of it will be swept under the carpet.

Again, Your experience, while sucky, is just the tip of the iceberg.

CCC

CrazyL said:

I had a bricklink order arrive from the Netherlands over the weekend, and on the jiffy seal was tape with "home office border control" printed on it.  So they've opened up my packet to have a nosey.

I understand stuff has to be checked, but surely that's what Xray scanners are for.  Not really going to fit much in the way of drugs in a jiffy bag that weighs sweet FA.  How much does it cost to have a role of wide tape custom printed?  Taxpayer foots the bill so no one cares.

However you voted on brexit, I think we're in for a bumpy ride, but by the willing hand of our own government, not the EUs.

....And don't even get me started on the whole food standard/US meat import thing. :-o

Tape like that doesn't cost much when you get 1000s of rolls, plus they need to show it has been opened by them.

And even though lego is expensive, you can get a higher value of drugs in a jiffy bag than lego.

CCC

DB361 said:

Had a message from a buyer in the Netherlands today. The package arrived quickly enough, so delays at the port and sorting offices isn't too much of a concern anymore. But there is a bigger, longer term issue and safe to say it's greatly concerning;

I'm sorry to report I had to pay EUR 18.91 to customs to get your package.
Congrats on Brexit, but clearly this means we won't be doing business anymore.

This was on an order worth GBP £25.54. If those are the kind of charges we can expect to see going forward, then we can kiss goodbye to any sales between the UK and Europe. That's 20% of my custom wiped out in an instant. And this is on something as trivial as Lego parts. Bumpy ride doesn't even begin to describe what the UK is about to go through, IMO.

For VAT registered sellers it won't be too bad in future once everything settles down. They can sell at ex-VAT prices and the buyer pays VAT at their domestic rate.

stlux

Even at ex-VAT prices, ordering from a UK BL seller will not be interesting.
There will also be the admin fee from the local post office, which in some countries is rather high. E.g. in Belgium it's a flat fee of EUR 24.

CCC

stlux said:

Even at ex-VAT prices, ordering from a UK BL seller will not be interesting.
There will also be the admin fee from the local post office, which in some countries is rather high. E.g. in Belgium it's a flat fee of EUR 24.

This is what eventually should be sorted out. If online marketplaces collect the correct VAT, then no VAT is due on import and so no fee to collect VAT is due. Many marketplaces have this set up. Amazon, ebay, aliexpress,... LEGO is way behind though and keeps saying they have registered BL with the relevant tax authorities but have not set up correct VAT collection.

Aleydita

CCC said:

stlux said:

Even at ex-VAT prices, ordering from a UK BL seller will not be interesting.
There will also be the admin fee from the local post office, which in some countries is rather high. E.g. in Belgium it's a flat fee of EUR 24.

This is what eventually should be sorted out. If online marketplaces collect the correct VAT, then no VAT is due on import and so no fee to collect VAT is due. Many marketplaces have this set up. Amazon, ebay, aliexpress,... LEGO is way behind though and keeps saying they have registered BL with the relevant tax authorities but have not set up correct VAT collection.

The problem is that BL is run by amateurs. Seriously. They have avoided complying with EU law for years now, even when it has been pushed under their noses. I once posted on the BL forum that their platform did not allow BL sellers to comply with EU consumer law. The result? I was banned from posted.

It's only since TLG have taken over that BL's staff have had no choice but to recognise that they are not operating in a black hole, and that legislation they don't like can't simply be ignored.

It's still far from compliant with regard to EU consumer law by the way.

CCC

Aleydita said:

It's only since TLG have taken over that BL's staff have had no choice but to recognise that they are not operating in a black hole, and that legislation they don't like can't simply be ignored.

Yes, now they say they are aware and are going to do something about it, but still don't.

Paperballpark

CCC said:

stlux said:

Even at ex-VAT prices, ordering from a UK BL seller will not be interesting.
There will also be the admin fee from the local post office, which in some countries is rather high. E.g. in Belgium it's a flat fee of EUR 24.

This is what eventually should be sorted out. If online marketplaces collect the correct VAT, then no VAT is due on import and so no fee to collect VAT is due. Many marketplaces have this set up. Amazon, ebay, aliexpress,... LEGO is way behind though and keeps saying they have registered BL with the relevant tax authorities but have not set up correct VAT collection.

I suspect this could be linked with the minor controversy the other month about old accounts being charged fees - I wonder if they're tidying up all the accounts as a precursor to starting to comply with everything they need to.

CCC

That is related although slightly different. That one is related to the VAT they need to charge on their service provided. The issue not dealt with is charging VAT on sales.