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EBay and Import Fees

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a good holiday period.

I’m wondering if anybody on here has experience/knowledge of exporting/importing a signed item (in this case, a signed print) from the USA to the UK, please?

The item is on eBay and will be shipped via their Global Shipping Program, which also collects import fees, etc., to save the hassle of paying for them at this end. However, whilst the seller and I continue to haggle over the purchase price, the estimated total cost that eBay quotes to me fluctuates all over the place, so I’m finding it difficult to pin down exactly what the total cost to me is going to be.

Online customs information suggests that I’m liable for VAT at 20%, but eBay have estimated import fees at c.50% total fees, though this could be the result of a faulty algorithm which is quoting based upon the seller’s Buy It Now price rather than what we’ve haggled the purchase price down to (c. $1000).

Any help gratefully received and/or advice about how the seller and I might be able to arrange the purchase in such a way that they maximise what they keep and I limit my customs liability.

Many thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Oryxandcrake on December 30, 2022 at 4:58am

Beware of eBay's algorithms for calculating VAT. I bought a CD from the UK to Sweden and got charged a 25% VAT. That is completely ridiculous, the VAT for media, arts and entertainment in Sweden is 6%. I pointed out that 25% applies to vehicles, electronics and clothes and threatened to report eBay to the Swedish authorities for tax fraud. Don't know if they fixed it but I did get a refund.

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Permalink Reply by Findbooks on December 30, 2022 at 6:11am

Some types of artworks, e.g. a signed lithograph, should only be subjected to a discounted rate of 5% import duty - that is according to the HMRC website. You do have to spend a lot of time there, drilling down through the various categories and sub-categories, to obtain the relevant info.

The good news is that whatever eBay charges it is relatively straightforward to obtain a refund from HMRC so if you are getting a good discount on the asking price then my advice would be to just pay the tax - whatever it is - and file a claim with HMRC afterwards. Expecting or trying to get eBay to adjust their calculations would not be worth the hassle i.m.h.o.