Customs Fees

[ncafferkey]

I avoid FedEx like the plague. I recently bought something from Japan on eBay, and eBay charged me Irish VAT during checkout. The only delivery option was FedEx, and upon arrival in Ireland they wanted their pound of flesh ("disbursement fee") even though there was no customs fee for them to disburse. I asked the seller to make representations to FedEx, the item arrived and they didn't come after me, but it looks like sharp practice to me.

BTW, I think the elimination of minimum value exemptions was EU-wide. And now they're considering adding an additional flat fee as well to combat Temu etc.!

 

[cheeba]

BTW, I think the elimination of minimum value exemptions was EU-wide. And now they're considering adding an additional flat fee as well to combat Temu etc.!

Yeah I think you might be right on that being EU-wide, I just wasn't sure on the specifics. And I'd forgotten about that new flat fee, urgh. I believe it's proposed to be €2 but it all adds up!

 

[miggymad]

Temu set up local distribution centres in the UK to help combat this. AliExpress were in talks to do likewise but not sure how far their plans have progressed.

 

[awmosoft]

A few months ago I bought a RetroTink 2x Mini. It is a American company.
They send the package from China to Czech and then to The Netherlands. I have to pay less Custom Fees and VAT, when it was send directly to The Netherlands.