Buying goods from EU

[Alex88]

Alright chaps,

I need a part for the Beemer. There's literally only 1 item that I can find on eBay or elsewhere, but it's from a BMW specialist in Denmark.

Is there anyway I can find out how much I'm going to get bent over by the Gov for import fees/customs charges or whatever else before I buy it?

The part is £200, and shipping is £30. I reckon the extra stuff will be about £100 but want to be as sure as I can.

Cheers

[ZedLeg]

You're probably not far off with £100. You might get lucky and get it closer to £70.

[mik]

Paging @scotta - parts from NL (that got lost in the mire of Brexit confusion.

[Zonda_]

I've bought 3 items on ebay recently from Germany and France and not been charged a penny.

[scotta]

Paging @scotta - parts from NL (that got lost in the mire of Brexit confusion.

Yes that was a fvcking nightmare.

However i have recently bought a replacement chromatic mirror for the F31 from Germany and it arrived within a few days which would suggest they have now sorted their shit out.

ETA - I wasnt charged any import duty on the mirror glass. It was IIRC £70 vs £350 from BMW.

[McSwede]

Bit of a non-issue I'd say, without wishing to sound flippant. I've bought stuff from Europe with no bother at all.

[Jobbo]

I bought a set of four wheels from Germany just under £400, no duty paid. But I only have three of them because one is stuck in the DPD international gateway, having done a tour of their distribution centres. Which basically means I've been taxed 25% by courier incompetence

[dinny_g]

Is it product dependant ???

I was quoted 20% on a piece of Artwork being sent from Ireland.

[Alex88]

Cheers all.

My quick bit of research shows it is dependent on the item type and the value, but if it's under £135 there's no additional costs.

I think I'll just go and buy it and see what happens. It's not like there's loads of this particular part about, and I'm not paying BMW £1600 for it new

[Sundayjumper]

I've bought 3 items on ebay recently from Germany and France and not been charged a penny.

I’ve bought stuff from Rose Passion in France twice and not had any bother at all.

I now have an item en-route from the USA. I’ll let you know what happens next week !

[Alex88]

I'll look forward to it

[Broccers]

Interesting results

[dinny_g]

Also, related to this - do you really pay the delivery driver??

Can’t see anyone being happy with that arrangement.,.

[Jobbo]

Also, related to this - do you really pay the delivery driver??

Can’t see anyone being happy with that arrangement.,.

No you definitely don't.

[integrale_evo]

Depends on the courier. Most will hold the item and send you a letter telling you how much you have to pay before they send it on.

[Jobbo]

I don't know any that ask you to pay the delivery driver - too much scope for abuse.

[dinny_g]

Gotcha - to be fair, the guy who told me was this was a Potter from about as far over on the west coast of Ireland as you can get - next stop Newfoundland - so I'm guessing he's not an expert in International Commerce. Knows how to make (and charge for... ) pottery mind... We decided to bring that stuff back our selves.

We're buying a large photo print from another place and was told to order direct from the shop, rather than from the on-line store as they know how to package it up to lower the chances of getting hit with the costs... so it seems like abuse will occur at various stages along the chain.

Not too dissimilar to the £600 lens I got sent from Hong Kong which had a value of £20 on the box.

[ZedLeg]

I have more experience with small parcel export than import but countries are really clamping down on the paperwork. I'd be surprised if you get anything from a business with marked down paperwork.

[Sundayjumper]

I now have an item en-route from the USA. I’ll let you know what happens next week !

I ordered a car cover at 10am last Tuesday. It arrived here today, just before 10am. Nobody has asked me to pay any duty or VAT yet.

The price was in USD and the location of the supplier wasn’t obvious from the website; it turns out they’re in Canada.

[Jobbo]

The price was in USD and the location of the supplier wasn’t obvious from the website; it turns out they’re in Canada.

You're getting a bit of a Canuck fetish...