There has been a recent increase in the ammount of reborns being listed in the USA on Ebay.co.uk which are due to both the new ebay features and also American reborners realising the large amount of interest since the 'Fake Baby' documentary in the UK which was aired on channel Four.
Although the US dollar $ to GBP currency rate makes purchasing a doll from the USA seem much more appealing many US sellers are failing to inform UK bidders the consequences they may face when purchasing from America. United Kingdom customs when importing items from the US,takes into account the cost of items before sending them to their UK addresses. Americans must state the value of the item within the parcel when shipping internationally and once UK customs recieve the parcel they know the value inside, they thenuse this figure to work out your costs ofImport Tax andDuty which isapproximatelyone third of the cost of the item, you will then also be charged a handling fee, (approx 7.50 from Royal mail and 13 from Parcel Force).
For example, if you purchase a doll from the USA which costs $200 $40 postage, using an approximate currency conversion at the moment (currency rates do fluctuate) this is approx 100 20 postage. When customs recieve your parcel they will then charge approx 1/3 of the 100 which is around 33, then for example if you have your parcel delivered by Royal Mail you will have their handling charge. This means that instead of your doll costing 120, you will in actual fact be charged around 40.50 before customs will release your parcel and allow you to have it. This totals a doll to nearer the 160.50 mark. The import tax varies from parcel to parcel and item to item, but this is an average for reborn dolls, although from personal experience the costs can vary dramatically. For example I ordered a kit from the USA worth 30 and was charged 13 before I was allowed to take it home.
You will know if you have been charged customs fees because your parcel will not be delivered, instead you will have a card posted informing you of how much you owe. You will have to take this card to your nearest sorting office (this will be specified on your card) along with photographic ID in order to pay the fees before your parcel is released, or you can pay these fees over the phone with a bank card and arrange a re-delivery.
Although the costs here are approximate I cannot work out individually how much each parcel you recieve to the USA will be, this is entirely down to whoever marks down your costs when it is being held at customs. I feel it is important to inform UK buyers of this as many are unaware until they get stung with a huge fee, US buyers state in their listing that customs fees are theresponsiblity of the buyer (which they are) but fail to mention what these are, or how expensive they can be. With such a huge increase in listings from the USA both in kits and in reborn dolls I think prospective buyers should be educated on the costs of customs when importing items from anywhere in the world. Items imported from other places within the EU are not subject to customs fees. Occasionally an item will slip through customs without a charge being made, this would make you fortunate but do not expect this to happen as you could be in for a shock. When buying from the USA or other parts of the world, alway estimate the possible costs of import tax and duty fees into the total cost of the item as it will more than likely have a hefty charge on top of what you orginally pay, if your item slips through the net then that is a bonus and leaves you with more pennies left over to spend on your precious new little one!
I hope this guide has been helpful for anyone planning to purchase from the USA.
No comments:
Post a Comment