The Q & A Thread (for questions that do not need a thread)

Buzz201 said:
If you buy from Amazon.com (you can use your Amazon.co.uk account there too, and they'll charge you in GBP so no transaction fee from your bank), you can put the import fees down in advance. So if you get charged them, Amazon will use that money and you won't have to pay the handling fee @IncendiaryLemon mentioned. And if you don't charged, Amazon will refund you the money you put down.

Perhaps a better option might be to buy from a UK reseller, such as United Publications (aka UP, UP1, UP1 USA) and I think Otaku.co.uk do it. Here they import the item and then send it to you from within the UK, so they deal with all the tax and handling fee and such nonsense, and you just pay a single fee and receive the item. I will however, this is legally questioned, so you might not be as protected as if you were buying a UK item from HMV or wherever.
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If you're talking UK reselling, eBay and Amazon UK Marketplace. I know I got my Bakemonogatari AoA BD from eBay and I got a hell of a good price on it vs UP1 and the like.
 
It's £39 for gifts and £15 for other goods.

If you go over the threshold then the value of the goods, and postage is added together, and 20% of that (it can vary for some items) is demanded in VAT (Value Added Tax), and most couriers will charge a handling fee for dealing with the HMRC paperwork for you.

Royal mail is £8
ParcelForce is £12.50 (this could of risen, its been about 2-3 years since I had ParcelForce deliver something)
Fedex is £10

Meaning its 20% of your goods total value + shipping then + handling feel
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
If you're talking UK reselling, eBay and Amazon UK Marketplace. I know I got my Bakemonogatari AoA BD from eBay and I got a hell of a good price on it vs UP1 and the like.
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I'm always paranoid about buying from eBay, unless it's a known seller. I don't trust it and there's a high proliferation of fakes.
 
Buzz201 said:
I'm always paranoid about buying from eBay, unless it's a known seller. I don't trust it and there's a high proliferation of fakes.
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Paypal is there to protect you. If you can prove its fake paypal will get your money back. It isn't hard to really tell if something is fake. I generally buy used anime off ebay that are clearly pictured.
 
Buzz201 said:
I'm always paranoid about buying from eBay, unless it's a known seller. I don't trust it and there's a high proliferation of fakes.
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I tend to think you're fine if you're careful. Whilst obviously known sellers are good, 100% positive feedback on someone you've never heard of is still a good sign, and always look for actual pictures, not just stock photos. Fakes are normally incredibly telltale anyway, with big 'APPROVED BY MALAYSIA' stickers and generally the term END in the title. Plus, Blu Rays are very hard to fake, at least in comparison to DVD.
 
If you see the words. Region 0, Japanese + Malaysian + English Subtitles, or "shipped from Malaysia" then avoid.

If the item is cheap, but only is a stock photo. Request pictures from the seller and if they refuse don't buy. Staying safe on auction sites means to not take risks if no pictures of its condition
 
Dave1988 said:
Anyone know what the deal is with importing? Do you have to pay import tax on everything? Never really imported anything before or is it on a certain amount you spend?
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If you're in a EU country and order something from another EU country you won't pay any import taxes. But ordering from the US or Japan is another story.
 
Lambadelta said:
Paypal is there to protect you. If you can prove its fake paypal will get your money back. It isn't hard to really tell if something is fake. I generally buy used anime off ebay that are clearly pictured.
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Same, especially when I needed to search for SAO Part 3 LE. The seller Animeshumi had proper pictures and a good deal at the time.
 
So if u buy from Amazon I've noticed you get charged import duty on the final screen ? So how do they know to refund it or not? Sorry about of a noob at this. As wanted order a few blu rays like spice and wolf trinity blood
 
Dave1988 said:
So if u buy from Amazon I've noticed you get charged import duty on the final screen ? So how do they know to refund it or not? Sorry about of a noob at this. As wanted order a few blu rays like spice and wolf trinity blood
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Basically the way it works is through AmazonGlobal shipping, which is available if you buy directly from Amazon or Fulfilled by Amazon on either Amazon US or Amazon Japan.

The import duty is calculated at the checkout section, and the GBP option is available just before paying your order completely.

The refund will only happen by chance and it will take a while for it to happen. For instance I bought Persona 4 early October and got the refund for it in early November.
 
NormanicGrav said:
The refund will only happen by chance and it will take a while for it to happen. For instance I bought Persona 4 early October and got the refund for it in early November.
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That phrasing is unfair. It's not random or by chance (except to the extent that getting stopped by customs is). If you don't get stopped by customs, Amazon will refund you. If you do, Amazon will use the money for that.

I believe it takes something like 30 days to work through the system. I'm sure that listed as a specific figure.
 
Robbl said:
If you're in a EU country and order something from another EU country you won't pay any import taxes. But ordering from the US or Japan is another story.
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Which is why I cut down my importing massively after AxelMusic, who used to ship releases from all over the world from within the EU, went under... That and the reduction from £18 to £15, which seemed to shift a lot of budget releases into the danger zone.

I'm sure I asked before but I'm not sure I ever got an answer, is it possible to opt out of Amazon's pre-pay import taxes these days? Frankly given the cost I'd rather chance it getting caught, at least a certain percentage chance of something getting through untaxed is better than no chance when you pay up front.
 
ayase said:
Which is why I cut down my importing massively after AxelMusic, who used to ship releases from all over the world from within the EU, went under... That and the recuction from £18 to £15, which seemed to shift a lot of budget releases into the danger zone.

I'm sure I asked before but I'm not sure I ever got an answer, is it possible to opt out of Amazon's pre-pay import taxes these days? Frankly given the cost I'd rather chance it getting caught, at least a certain percentage chance of something getting through untaxed is better than no chance when you pay up front.
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If you don't get taxed, you get the money back. The chance is (theoretically) the same either way.
 
Wait, so Amazon don't actually notify customs you've paid the import duty and you still might not get caught? So in what way do Amazon pre-pay it? How do customs know not to try and charge you a second time?
 
ayase said:
Wait, so Amazon don't actually notify customs you've paid the import duty and you still might not get caught? So in what way do Amazon pre-pay it? How do customs know not to try and charge you a second time?
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Amazon global parcels are normally handled by specific shippers, right? (rather than just Royal Mail).

They probably have specific agreements with HMRC to pay the customs cost on the packages as they come in to take pressure off the sort offices. For example; the global stuff from DHL in my experience never goes through Langley HWDC. (There's still a very small chance they mess up and you don't get charged though). So Amazon gives the cash to DHL, and they confirm it's been used after the package passes through customs.

Hence you're almost always going to pay if it comes through the global method, as it's a much more focused process. Whereas standard post is more pot luck.

I can only suggest finding an Amazon seller for the same item who posts world wide if you want to avoid Amazons "Global" shipping option.
 
ayase said:
Wait, so Amazon don't actually notify customs you've paid the import duty and you still might not get caught? So in what way do Amazon pre-pay it? How do customs know not to try and charge you a second time?
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No. They don't, there's still the possibly you'll get away with it.

As I understand it, you give to the money to Amazon. Amazon gives it to the courier, and then if it gets caught by Customs, Customs invoices the courier and the courier uses the money to pay that. If the courier never gets invoiced, they give the money back to Amazon, Amazon gives it back to you. (Hence the delay.)

NoSurprises said:
Amazon global parcels are normally handled by specific shippers, right? (rather than just Royal Mail).

They probably have specific agreements with HMRC to pay the customs cost on the packages as they come in to take pressure off the sort offices. For example; the global stuff from DHL in my experience never goes through Langley HWDC. (There's still a very small chance they mess up and you don't get charged though).

Hence you're almost always going to pay if it comes through the global method, as it's a much more focused process. Whereas standard post is more pot luck.

I can only suggest finding an Amazon seller for the same item who posts world wide if you want to avoid Amazons "Global" shipping option.
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Back when I imported a lot, this wasn't the case. But maybe it is now...
 
Buzz201 said:
Back when I imported a lot, this wasn't the case. But maybe it is now...
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I could well be wrong! Not that I import an excessive amount, but I've never had the full deposit back. Occasionally I get a pound or two back when the customs charge has been calculated differently to that which Amazon proposed.
 
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