Approximately how much would it cost to ship a low value package from US to
UK? It would be about the same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the
weight, certainly under two kilos.

Don't want the priority service that I imagine costs around £50 upwards and
takes a few days, the slow service that takes upwards of a couple of weeks
and goes by normal post (not UPS or Fedex) would be fine.

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.com and follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the charge, take note.

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:06:25 -0000, "Jake"
wrote:

Approximately how much would it cost to ship a low value package from US to
UK? It would be about the same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the
weight, certainly under two kilos.

Don't want the priority service that I imagine costs around £50 upwards and
takes a few days, the slow service that takes upwards of a couple of weeks
and goes by normal post (not UPS or Fedex) would be fine.

Your cheapest option is USPS 1st Class International - up to a couple
of kilos (might be 3, actually) and can often catch the fast plane,
depending on how full it is; but at this time of year, probably not.

Next step up is USPS International Priority Signed-for, iirc. Twice
the price, or more.

Unfortunately, USPS stopped the slowboat service; that was really
cheap for large items, but took up to three months.

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 9:13:25 PM UTC, Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
Unfortunately, USPS stopped the slowboat service; that was really
cheap for large items, but took up to three months.

Gosh, surface is gone... bit bizarre when most of the output of Asia comes in via surface shipping and Warren Buffet is buying railroads, union pacific & so on re bulk carrier freight economics. The shipping index can even be a leading economic indicator.

USPS following Royal Mail, expensive, 100$+ oil of course does not help much.

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.com and follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)

As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

USD15 + USD7 = about £15.75, free of tax duty and customs charge

or roughly

£15.75 + 63p + 3.27 + 8.00 = 27.65 for the lot

Nick

In article ,
Nick Odell wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.com and follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)

As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

On 17/11/2012 21:56, charles wrote:
In article ,
Nick Odell wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.com and follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)
.
As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

Correct.

But you can get caught if the sender declares a different value - e.g.if
sender says it is worth £20 but they are giving you discount on the
order as a first time customer of £5. Or whatever. You get stung for £20
value not the £15 charged.

--
Rod

On 17/11/2012 21:56, charles wrote:
In article ,
Nick Odell wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.com and follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)

As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

Any tax or duty is payable on the landed cost inclusive of carriage by
whatever method is used.


--
Regards Peter Crosland

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:13:16 +0000
Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:06:25 -0000, "Jake"
wrote:

Approximately how much would it cost to ship a low value package
from US to UK? It would be about the same size as a ream of paper,
but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under two kilos.

Don't want the priority service that I imagine costs around £50
upwards and takes a few days, the slow service that takes upwards of
a couple of weeks and goes by normal post (not UPS or Fedex) would
be fine.

Your cheapest option is USPS 1st Class International - up to a couple
of kilos (might be 3, actually) and can often catch the fast plane,
depending on how full it is; but at this time of year, probably not.

Next step up is USPS International Priority Signed-for, iirc. Twice
the price, or more.

Unfortunately, USPS stopped the slowboat service; that was really
cheap for large items, but took up to three months.

It is interesting that your local Post Office will still give you Air
Mail stickers for your envelope, when there is no alternative.
--
Davey.

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:56:58 +0000 (GMT), charles
wrote:

In article ,
Nick Odell wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.com and follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)

As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

I've just looked it up he
http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_c...nited-Kingdom/

It looks like duty is payable on the goods + shipping but the
threshold is on the price of the goods alone. So in my example, I
should get the item without extra charges. Goodee!!

Nick

On 18/11/2012 00:38, Nick Odell wrote:


As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

I've just looked it up he
http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_c...nited-Kingdom/


Thanks for the link Nick. It will be invaluable.

--
Regards Peter Crosland

___Original Message_________________________________________
From: Nick Odell
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2012 Time: 21:40:01


£15.75 + 63p + 3.27 + 8.00 = 27.65 for the lot


Not quite. Add another 20% VAT on the whole of that lot This takes you
to £33.18 all up. Is it worth it?

--
Ian

On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 11:01:07 +0000, Ian Wade G3NRW
wrote:

___Original Message_________________________________________
From: Nick Odell
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2012 Time: 21:40:01


£15.75 + 63p + 3.27 + 8.00 = 27.65 for the lot


Not quite. Add another 20% VAT on the whole of that lot This takes you
to £33.18 all up. Is it worth it?

The 3.27 was the VAT on the goods + carriage + duty.

If the 8.00 fee is vatable then I guess it should read

£15.75 + 63p + 8.00 + 4.87 = 29.25

Nick

On Nov 17, 9:53*pm, charles wrote:
In article ,
* *Nick Odell wrote:









On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:
On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.comand follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.
Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)
As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

May be the morally correct answer, but is the wrong answer in this
case.

MBQ

On Nov 17, 10:03*pm, polygonum wrote:
On 17/11/2012 21:56, charles wrote:







In article ,
* * Nick Odell wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.comand follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)
.
As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

Correct.

Incorrect.

MBQ

On Nov 17, 11:17*pm, Davey wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:13:16 +0000









Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:06:25 -0000, "Jake"
wrote:

Approximately how much would it cost to ship a low value package
from US to UK? It would be about the same size as a ream of paper,
but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under two kilos.

Don't want the priority service that I imagine costs around £50
upwards and takes a few days, the slow service that takes upwards of
a couple of weeks and goes by normal post (not UPS or Fedex) would
be fine.

Your cheapest option is USPS 1st Class International - up to a couple
of kilos (might be 3, actually) and can often catch the fast plane,
depending on how full it is; but at this time of year, probably not.

Next step up is USPS International Priority Signed-for, iirc. Twice
the price, or more.

Unfortunately, USPS stopped the slowboat service; that was really
cheap for large items, but took up to three months.

It is interesting that your local Post Office will still give you Air
Mail stickers for your envelope, when there is no alternative.

Whose local post office? UK or US? The reason the UK POs do it is that
surface mail is available from the UK.

MBQ

On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:14:17 -0800 (PST)
"Man at B&Q" wrote:

On Nov 17, 11:17Â*pm, Davey wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 21:13:16 +0000









Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:06:25 -0000, "Jake"
wrote:

Approximately how much would it cost to ship a low value package
from US to UK? It would be about the same size as a ream of
paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under two kilos.

Don't want the priority service that I imagine costs around £50
upwards and takes a few days, the slow service that takes
upwards of a couple of weeks and goes by normal post (not UPS or
Fedex) would be fine.

Your cheapest option is USPS 1st Class International - up to a
couple of kilos (might be 3, actually) and can often catch the
fast plane, depending on how full it is; but at this time of
year, probably not.

Next step up is USPS International Priority Signed-for, iirc.
Twice the price, or more.

Unfortunately, USPS stopped the slowboat service; that was really
cheap for large items, but took up to three months.

It is interesting that your local Post Office will still give you
Air Mail stickers for your envelope, when there is no alternative.

Whose local post office? UK or US? The reason the UK POs do it is that
surface mail is available from the UK.

MBQ



Ah! I thought that it was eliminated in both directions. Thanks for the
correction. It wasn't offered to me the last time I posted something to
the US, so I had no reason to question it.
--
Davey.

On 19/11/2012 12:10, Man at B&Q wrote:
On Nov 17, 10:03 pm, polygonum wrote:
On 17/11/2012 21:56, charles wrote:







In article ,
Nick Odell wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.comand follow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)
.
As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

Correct.

Incorrect.

MBQ

It is only the goods for determining whether the VAT will be levied.

--
Rod

On Nov 19, 3:44*pm, polygonum wrote:
On 19/11/2012 12:10, Man at B&Q wrote:







On Nov 17, 10:03 pm, polygonum wrote:
On 17/11/2012 21:56, charles wrote:

In article ,
* * *Nick Odell wrote:
On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:08:50 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 8:06:34 PM UTC, Jake wrote:
same size as a ream of paper, but 1/3rd the weight, certainly under
two kilos.

If a seller, it depends on what they are willing to charge.

However if you want the USPS surface & airmail etc rates go to:
www.usps.comandfollow the pricing system for your size/weight.

The old days when customs turned a blind eye half the time to
imported freight are long gone, pretty much. The result is you have to
factor in a delay where Royal Mail send you a letter/card requesting
payment of customs etc & handling fee. This is not true for very low
value items, below a certain threshold. The handling fee can dwarf the
charge, take note.

Last time I looked, Customs had lowered the threshold from £18 to £15
before they start charging. If the item is chargeable then our Post
Office would charge a flat £8 fee for customs clearance etc plus duty
(if applicable) + VAT (if applicable)
.
As an illustration, I need to order a one-off guitar part for a
customer this weekend. The price is USD18 plus USD7 for postage. I
can't remember if the value for customs is goods + carriage or goods
only so the item is going to cost me either

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge..

Correct.

Incorrect.

MBQ

It is only the goods for determining whether the VAT will be levied.

Yes, but in the context of the calculations that the OP was trying to
make, the value he is interested in includes shipping.

MBQ

On 2012-11-19, polygonum wrote:

On 19/11/2012 12:10, Man at B&Q wrote:
On Nov 17, 10:03 pm, polygonum wrote:
On 17/11/2012 21:56, charles wrote:

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

Correct.

Incorrect.

MBQ

It is only the goods for determining whether the VAT will be levied.

Quote:

The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and their
country of origin. Duty is charged on:

the price paid for the goods, plus;
any local sales taxes, plus;
postage, packing and insurance.

However, the cost of postage is excluded from the calculation for
customs duty on gifts except where the sender has used the Express
Mail Service (EMS) as opposed to a standard mail service.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...ment#P113_7716

On 19/11/2012 16:24, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2012-11-19, polygonum wrote:

On 19/11/2012 12:10, Man at B&Q wrote:
On Nov 17, 10:03 pm, polygonum wrote:
On 17/11/2012 21:56, charles wrote:

It should only be the goods - you aren't importing the postage charge.

Correct.

Incorrect.

MBQ

It is only the goods for determining whether the VAT will be levied.

Quote:

The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and their
country of origin. Duty is charged on:

the price paid for the goods, plus;
any local sales taxes, plus;
postage, packing and insurance.

However, the cost of postage is excluded from the calculation for
customs duty on gifts except where the sender has used the Express
Mail Service (EMS) as opposed to a standard mail service.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...ment#P113_7716

The HMRC really do not help with all the oddities about charges -
different rules for duty versus VAT, and so on. No wonder there is a lot
of confusion.

I can state that although we buy quite a lot of things from abroad, we
have NEVER been charged when the value of the goods only has been less
than £15 - even when (goods + P&P) has been over.

We HAVE been charged VAT when the value of goods only has been only a
few pence over £15. (Actually, it worked out no more expensive in that
case to abandon the goods to be returned to the shipper and re-order
having made a tiny change which kept the price below £15.)

--
Rod

On 2012-11-19, polygonum wrote:

The HMRC really do not help with all the oddities about charges -
different rules for duty versus VAT, and so on. No wonder there is a lot
of confusion.

I can state that although we buy quite a lot of things from abroad, we
have NEVER been charged when the value of the goods only has been less
than £15 - even when (goods + P&P) has been over.

We HAVE been charged VAT when the value of goods only has been only a
few pence over £15. (Actually, it worked out no more expensive in that
case to abandon the goods to be returned to the shipper and re-order
having made a tiny change which kept the price below £15.)

The limits are also absurdly low for 2012. They ought to be
automatically scaled with inflation.

On Nov 19, 9:00*pm, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2012-11-19, polygonum wrote:
The HMRC really do not help with all the oddities about charges -
different rules for duty versus VAT, and so on. No wonder there is a lot
of confusion.

I can state that although we buy quite a lot of things from abroad, we
have NEVER been charged when the value of the goods only has been less
than £15 - even when (goods + P&P) has been over.

We HAVE been charged VAT when the value of goods only has been only a
few pence over £15. (Actually, it worked out no more expensive in that
case to abandon the goods to be returned to the shipper and re-order
having made a tiny change which kept the price below £15.)

The limits are also absurdly low for 2012. *They ought to be
automatically scaled with inflation.

They're high enough to make it worthwhile companies shipping orders
for DVDs from the US now that the Channel Island scam has been closed
down.

You don't go to the high street and not pay VAT if you spend less than
£15. Why allow imports to be VAT free at all?

MBQ

On 2012-11-20, Man at B&Q wrote:

On Nov 19, 9:00Â*pm, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2012-11-19, polygonum wrote:
The HMRC really do not help with all the oddities about charges -
different rules for duty versus VAT, and so on. No wonder there is a lot
of confusion.

I can state that although we buy quite a lot of things from abroad, we
have NEVER been charged when the value of the goods only has been less
than £15 - even when (goods + P&P) has been over.

We HAVE been charged VAT when the value of goods only has been only a
few pence over £15. (Actually, it worked out no more expensive in that
case to abandon the goods to be returned to the shipper and re-order
having made a tiny change which kept the price below £15.)

The limits are also absurdly low for 2012. Â*They ought to be
automatically scaled with inflation.

They're high enough to make it worthwhile companies shipping orders
for DVDs from the US now that the Channel Island scam has been closed
down.

You don't go to the high street and not pay VAT if you spend less than
£15. Why allow imports to be VAT free at all?

Gifts? (The limit is higher, but not good enough.)

Apart from that, I only import stuff that I can't get here.

On 20/11/2012 13:31, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2012-11-20, Man at B&Q wrote:

On Nov 19, 9:00 pm, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2012-11-19, polygonum wrote:
The HMRC really do not help with all the oddities about charges -
different rules for duty versus VAT, and so on. No wonder there is a lot
of confusion.

I can state that although we buy quite a lot of things from abroad, we
have NEVER been charged when the value of the goods only has been less
than £15 - even when (goods + P&P) has been over.

We HAVE been charged VAT when the value of goods only has been only a
few pence over £15. (Actually, it worked out no more expensive in that
case to abandon the goods to be returned to the shipper and re-order
having made a tiny change which kept the price below £15.)

The limits are also absurdly low for 2012. They ought to be
automatically scaled with inflation.

They're high enough to make it worthwhile companies shipping orders
for DVDs from the US now that the Channel Island scam has been closed
down.

You don't go to the high street and not pay VAT if you spend less than
£15. Why allow imports to be VAT free at all?

Gifts? (The limit is higher, but not good enough.)

Apart from that, I only import stuff that I can't get here.

We import quite a bit which is actually significantly cheaper - despite
postage, etc. - than it is in the UK, as well as stuff that is not
available.

Luckily it tends to be several small things so can often be split across
multiple orders.

--
Rod

On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:46:44 +0000, Davey
wrote:

It is interesting that your local Post Office will still give you
Air Mail stickers for your envelope, when there is no alternative.

Whose local post office? UK or US? The reason the UK POs do it is that
surface mail is available from the UK.

MBQ



Ah! I thought that it was eliminated in both directions. Thanks for the
correction. It wasn't offered to me the last time I posted something to
the US, so I had no reason to question it.

Similarly, the Irish PO issue airmail stickers for letter post to the
UK, even though there's no choice in the way a letter is carried.
Surface mail for larger stuff is available and you pay extra for air
carriage on that, anyway.