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Has anyone in the UK made a purchase from the EU for more than £135?

  1. simonsays Jan 14, 2021

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    Has anyone in the UK made a new purchase from the EU after 1 Jan and have you paid VAT on delivery?
     
    Edited Jan 14, 2021
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  2. JohnWoo Jan 14, 2021

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    Good question, I'm a little hesitant to go that way because of the tax stuff being unclear.
    Why £135, is this a special amount for tax reasons?
     
  3. TimeODanaos Jan 14, 2021

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  4. simonsays Jan 14, 2021

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    Amounts below £135 is supposed to be taken at source by the seller or online market place. Above by customs upon import. I was wondering if anyone had actually been billed yet?
     
  5. Capt Cave Man Jan 14, 2021

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    I've bought a 1193/672 bracelet via C24 for 140 Euros plus 25 for postage, will keep you informed if I'm hit with anything else...
     
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  6. Alpha Kilt Owner, Beagle Parent, Omega Collector Jan 14, 2021

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    As an aside as far as I am able to make out many carriers are not shipping to the UK at the moment so we may be waiting a bit longer than expected :(
     
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  7. Capt Cave Man Jan 14, 2021

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    Thanks for the head up @Alpha :thumbsup:

    tbh I'm in no rush, it will come when it comes... it will sit with accessories and trinkets I'm hoarding at the moment :whistling:

    Edit: Oh, my two Beagles say hello :D
     
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  8. Wivac Terribly special Jan 14, 2021

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    Erm, I did by accident the other day, non watch items, clothes that I completely forgot come from Germany.

    Only twigged when the retailer sent the usual sales invoice. It did have ' import taxes paid' on it, however I seem to recall that being on previous sales invoices. I'm expecting an email demanding a load more money to release the package any day now, from what I've read probably 25-30%. I shall let you know how I get on.
    Sunlit uplands my a#*e.

    Also, Mrs Wiv has completely stopped selling to the EU now as the hours she had to put in trying to complete the export forms was longer than it took to hand make the items.
    She will be topping up her income with sovereignty
     
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  9. 1969UK Jan 15, 2021

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    I’m just about the pull the trigger on a 1969 speedy from Italy but halted as a colleague alleged that taxes are now due when its lands at DHL in the UK, this then makes the purchase 20% the wrong way.

    anyone got any clues?

    thanks
     
  10. Capt Cave Man Jan 15, 2021

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    The consensus is we believe that's correct plus if the value is over £135 then there's customs on top.
     
  11. Dogmann Jan 15, 2021

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    @Capt Cave Man

    From all that I and many others have seen so far it does appear the customs import part of the equation is really negligible as in being around 20p for a watch. It's the VAT @20% that is going to do the damage and the 20% is on the sold price of the item including the shipping charges cost as well. Plus of course the shipper will be adding their fees for carrying out custom clearance on your behalf.
    IMO this basically means it is now as expensive to buy a watch from anywhere outside the UK where as previously buying from Europe avoided these extra costs.

    Marc
     
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  12. Gruesome Jan 16, 2021

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    But aren't you getting the VAT of the origin country back, so it should be a wash? Also, didn't you guys pay VAT before, when you were still in Europe?
    Here in the US, when buying from a European store, you can and should (if you remember to ask for it) have the European VAT taken off, and then the US will add its import duty and tax. And each state its sales or use tax. It should be the same for the UK now, shouldn't it?
     
  13. WatchCor Jan 16, 2021

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    Afaik it isn't quite that simple. Some retailers offer "duty/VAT free" sales just as you're referring to.

    However many more don't. At least in my experience particularly many vintage or second hand shops don't do that. Additionally no private individuals can do this.

    If I understand correctly depending on the EU country it is somewhat of a big process for a vendor to be eligible to sell goods "Duty/VAT free".
     
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  14. rootbeer7 Jan 16, 2021

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    I’ve just purchased a watch from Chronoexpert who have a UK arm and bank. Price I paid into UK bank was the total inc delivery in GBP. Watch was shipped from Spain fully declared value.
    But, the chrono function isn’t working correctly and it needs to be returned for repair. So, label sent Wednesday from DHL for collection Thursday. But, they can’t collect as it needs a commercial invoice now (apparently all goods leaving UK) as well as waybill and label. I don’t know whether just to copy the invoice that they sent me. I’m now waiting on a reply since Thursday from Chronoexpert.
    I’ll keep you posted.
     
  15. JohnWoo Jan 16, 2021

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    Hi to Beagles,
    Just had a thought, would it be possible to set up a UK seller/buyer section on this forum and work together?
    May not be ideal but may take some costs out of the transaction, and give some assurance of source credibility/honesty.
     
  16. imagwai Jan 16, 2021

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    Whilst I can understand why that may not be possible, I can vouch for the fact that as a UK buyer, it can be tricky to find UK-based watches amongst a sea of "CONUS only" stuff. There's Chrono24 that offers a location search, but most watches are priced high over there.
     
    spinnaker11 likes this.
  17. Capt Cave Man Jan 16, 2021

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    Thank for that Marc, I thought customs was going to be more than around 20p!
     
  18. Capt Cave Man Jan 16, 2021

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    I wouldn't think there would be a need for a new UK section as virtually all sales on OF, private or resellers state a location and preferred currency in the listing.

    If it's a WTB you would state your preference there also.
     
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  19. Wivac Terribly special Jan 19, 2021

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    I've had an update on my order. Some 11+ days after placing the order, it's still being held in Germany.
    Talking to a local friendly courier this morning suggests possible explanation why...his company is not collecting/ moving any EU parcels coming from either side of the channel.
    ::censored::
    As was explained by the PM yesterday, I'm sure it's my fault I just haven't filled in the correct forms or something.
     
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  20. rootbeer7 Jan 19, 2021

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    I understand a little more since my last post. According to DHL, not only do you need a shipping label attached to the parcel, a waybill to pass to courier, you also need a separate commercial invoice.