Friday 18 February 2011

When is a deal not a good deal?

A while ago I bought some plastic painted figures from Japan from the company ( hlj.com) and I based them up and was going to put them on here for shits and giggles but a letter came in the door this week from Federal Express (the carrier who handled the goods) looking for £15.85 administration and duty costs because I had spent more than £18.00 on said goods. The items had come to £31.00 approx originally including Federal Express postage (good deal)..... but was it, the extra charges of 50% of the original have soured me to the whole deal (which even with the extra cost is still not bad) but it's still extracting the urine.

I know companies don't want to lose business but a warning on the webpages saying to consider the extra charges you will incur if you order over a certain amount would help but doubtful it would be done or considered. I should have known better as several years ago I had ordered from the US and got hit with a far larger charge but I put it down to the..... Ooh shiny complex (terrible wargamers disease).

So no more international orders for me, well I have posted the pictures of the models with some size and comparison pictures and at the bottom a little bit of internet bullshit about what some call hidden fees and charges.

Rant over, have yourselves a good weekend and I have been invited to a 28mm French revolutionary game on Sunday so it's not all bad except that Ray is going aswell.:D

Now based up and varnished.

L to R, 28mm Hasslefree and Copplestone Castings.


R to L, 28mm Four A Miniatures and Lead Adventure Miniatures


Second group of robots (will think of a better name for them) in background.


VAT & Customs Charges




You may be buying items from a company that appears to be UK or EU-based, or may not have checked the origin of the company at all! The reason this can be an important factor is because if you are buying products from outside the UK, you will have to pay extra undisclosed hidden fees. Customs Duty (from outside the EU) and Excise Duty (from inside the EU but not within UK) charges are applied to a vast array of items that are brought into the UK. Only a few items such as antique furniture and books are exempt from these charges.



The customs charge will apply to goods costing £7 and over, and Import VAT is applied to goods costing £18 and over. The actual charge applied varies on the item, something that can be checked out on the UK Government’s HM Revenue and Customs website.

What is the rate of duty?


The rate of duty for any given product should be the same no matter into which EU country they are imported, but may differ depending upon the country of origin. Set annually by the EU, rates run from 1st January to 31st December and are published in a Customs Tariff issued by each EU country. Duty is usually percentage based, and averages between 5-9% with extremes of nil and 85%.

33 comments:

  1. Sweet figures dude. Have fun on Sunday :).

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  2. I feel your pain. Just got stung myself. :( Cool models though!

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  3. That would be infuriating. However, I consider buying within the EU not international as the distance between each country isn't so great and so will buy within that zone as the cost is reasonable. I'm American, but I live in Germany and have often discovered it's cheaper to order from England then here in Germany when ordering from stores and companies on many products.
    However, ordering farther then that can run up the cost just as you tasted.

    Cheers
    Christopher

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  4. That's quite outrageous and surprising from a japanese company.

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  5. Useful warning. It's always good to read the small print and do the research before confirming, and this post is a good reminder.

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  6. nice blog and nice post ..... fallowing and $upporting BRO!!!!

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  7. Hello BRO!!

    Nice post!!!

    RESPECT $upporting BRO!!!

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  8. damn those are pricey. 1 lb is like 3 cdn bux

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  9. I have to say I don't quite understand this "tax" I guess is what it basically is. But it reminds me of a sales tax issue here in the U.S., you buy something in one state and thus pay that states sales tax then you bring it home to your own state. I live in NY and they ask you if you bought anything out of state come tax time, if you did they expect you to pay sales tax on it again. I may not understand this VAT but I do feel your pain.

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  10. A good reminder to be carefull indeed, but I know myself .... one look at a "must have" model and caution is thrown out the window! The only thing I avoid like the plague is ordering something from Germany. The postage from there is mindblowingly expensive!!!!

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  11. UPS does the same crap to Canadians with 'brokerage fees', God damn criminals.

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  12. Nice figures Fran, whatever the hell they are??? I hope your not on my side on Sunday, cos I'm a'gonna whoop your ass boy!!

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  13. you'v always some good stuff !

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  14. I agree that these money-grubbing public and private entities are just about enough to kill off all commerce altogether with their parasitism and blood-sucking off the few productive members of the society, but I still will order those 2mm from Yorkshire, England Irregular because I want them, da*n the cost and the bloodsuckers.

    When I just had to get flowers for Valentine's Day I saw comparable gouging but reasoned just what am I working like a dog for anyway, it made my girl smile and call me and that made me smile. All the rest of my work doesn't, and they suck it off anyway. Fook'em, Danno.

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  15. Sweet figures dude i like the Predator looks cool
    following and $upporting

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  16. Nice looking battle robots...
    I might get some of those...snip the arms off, replace with chain guns and ammo belts, cut open the front and put a plexiglass cab on with pilot..ooh!, I feel a converting urge coming on!!! Nurse!!
    Cheers
    Paul

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  17. Congrats on the invite and this is useful info.
    I see meritline ads in deal2buy where it says they ship it from China warehouse and with free shipping..
    are chinese Willywonka's oopalumpas?

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  18. Essssh, outrageous fees/penalties there man. Sorry.

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  19. oh those robot figures remind me of a ps2 game i played.

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  20. I've been lucky with my miniature purchases, but have been hit a couple of times with customs charges on clothes and electrical goods.

    In the main I prefer to purchase from UK e-bayers an get around this charge. It is really frustrating when it happens.

    The figures look great - I particularly like the tents - are they scratch-built?

    Tony
    http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/

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  21. Great figures. B.S. customs regulations. Another part of the Gordon Brown legacy.

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  22. Sounds more like an issue with the customs and not the seler though. I know when I ship overseas my post dosnt tell me what the receivers taxes are going to be when it hits customs. The one time it happened to me they wouldnt deliver until I paid the taxes though (Im in the US by the way). Nice SF3D minis though I have a bunch of them for Stargrunt. What I hate is having to pay VAT when I order from you guys ;)

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  23. Ouch on the price. Wow for the miniatures. Looks like in the background you have enough to build an entire city. Very cool, all of it.

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  24. I've been hit in the past myself, I don't mind the VAT so much as you usually gain on not paying the equivalent in the country of origin.

    The Post Office charge £8, which is a bit annoying to say the least when the order was for £19. To add insult to injury you have to go and pay the charge and collect the package from the local depot.

    I tend to place big orders now so that this charge is more worthwhile. Having said that my last order skated through with no charges at all.

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  25. If they're a small firm you can often get them to mark packages as gifts - which I think then gets you around the duty issue

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  26. You have a great looking blog and interesting hobbies. Following.

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  27. That's a large price increase, especially considering nothing was mentioned during the original bill of sale about said charges. Companies these days, tryin to get blood from turnips.

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  28. I gotta watch out for those custom chargers! Nice looking robots :)

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  29. That sucks ass mate, thankfully we do not have anything that bad down here in Australia, but there have been a lot of retailers of late complaining about internet purcahses, I have a solution, "Drop your prices down and compete you greedy dumb F*%$s" !

    (Phew....I feel better now)

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