Post Brexit import experiences

[Insomnia]

Bought a pair of jeans from Ironheart last week. Everything was like bevor the BREXIT. They paid all the taxes and duties, delivery with 24h express. Paid the same price as last year.

Rivet and Hide stated on their website they will do the same for European buyers.

So, there is a way around this. Maybe it takes some time for the manufacturers and stores to find their way to handle business with EU customers.

 

[bn1966]

Have been buying again at my usual level, not spending a fortune but picking up bits of clobber (clothing) ..Germany, France & Spain in the last few days. Nice to see commerce moving again & have been paying about the same as before Brexit..admittedly no high end leather jackets though (currently sourcing that outerwear from 5*).

 

[Tom71]

Bought a pair of jeans from Ironheart last week. Everything was like bevor the BREXIT. They paid all the taxes and duties, delivery with 24h express. Paid the same price as last year.

Rivet and Hide stated on their website they will do the same for European buyers.

So, there is a way around this. Maybe it takes some time for the manufacturers and stores to find their way to handle business with EU customers.

Same with me. Not sure how they do it though. Effectively, they are picking up MY tax bill, so I wonder what that implies.

 

[MrProper]

Same with me. Not sure how they do it though. Effectively, they are picking up MY tax bill, so I wonder what that implies.

I think that they just inquired well and it will hardly cost the company any more.
because the VAT does not actually have to be paid in the exporting country and, depending on the article, there is no customs duty.
I am assuming that the exporter simply pays the VAT and possibly customs duties when importing into the third country and that this is transparent for the customer. If the VAT rate is lower than that in the UK, this is even positive for the exporter. The exporter only needs a forwarder who can handle it.

 

[Tom71]

I think that they just inquired well and it will hardly cost the company any more.
because the VAT does not actually have to be paid in the exporting country and, depending on the article, there is no customs duty.
I am assuming that the exporter simply pays the VAT and possibly customs duties when importing into the third country and that this is transparent for the customer. If the VAT rate is lower than that in the UK, this is even positive for the exporter. The exporter only needs a forwarder who can handle it.

Thanks. That makes perfect sense. And that would also explain that since beginning of the year IH only ships with UPS whereas before I always chose DPD. Pretty sure UPS proxies as IHs tax agent as you said.

 

[MrProper]

Thanks. That makes perfect sense. And that would also explain that since beginning of the year IH only ships with UPS whereas before I always chose DPD. Pretty sure UPS proxies as IHs tax agent as you said.

However, that's just my assumption, which I have put together from the various information about brexit. However, it is the same principle when tourists have their VAT refunded at the airport and then (theoretically) pay it on arrival in their own country. Hardly anyone makes the payment and that's where the profit comes from lol.

 

[Tom71]

However, that's just my assumption, which I have put together from the various information about brexit. However, it is the same principle when tourists have their VAT refunded at the airport and then (theoretically) pay it on arrival in their own country. Hardly anyone makes the payment and that's where the profit comes from lol.

I am sure you are right about this.

I was just confused because IH (and others taking that road) need to pay import duties incl. VAT in every single country they ship to on behalf of the recipient while vendors who simply deduct the home VAT leave the issue for the buyer to sort out. I thought it would be too much of an admin effort, but obviously if your shipping agent handles the process for you this is nullified.

Still I wonder who writes the tax POA to UPS. Theoretically that should be the buyer, right (because he is the tax-debtor)...?

 

[Monitor]

The trousers that I bought over eBay.co.uk, from a London based seller, arrived a few days ago, box wasn't inspected which always is the case with anything arriving from outside of EU & I wasn't charged a thing. Delivered as usual even though no price was declared anywhere on the package. Not sure if my postal service is just slow in implementing these new regulations or what but so far, in my experience buying from the UK, nothing has changed.

 

[Insomnia]

Everything has changed:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/uk_withdrawal_en

 

[CatsCan]

My first experience post Brexit was a couple of days ago. Ebay's Global Shipping Program (Pitney Bowes) used to ship items from the US to the EU over the GSC Erlanger, KY, USA to Feltham, GB, south of London, where the customs were processed. From Feltham it was shipped to other EU states. But this time it came from Erlanger directly to Amsterdam, NL (where the customs were done) and from there to Germany. I was surprised by how quick it was. Took three days from Erlanger to my door. My parcel was not opened and re-packed.

 

[Cornelius]

My first experience post Brexit was a couple of days ago. Ebay's Global Shipping Program (Pitney Bowes) used to ship items from the US to the EU over the GSC Erlanger, KY, USA to Feltham, GB, south of London, where the customs were processed. From Feltham it was shipped to other EU states. But this time it came from Erlanger directly to Amsterdam, NL (where the customs were done) and from there to Germany. I was surprised by how quick it was. Took three days from Erlanger to my door. My parcel was not opened and re-packed.

Schiphol Airport is already a major international hub, and in a country where the vast majority of the population speaks English as a second language quite fluently. I suspect this won't be the last occasion where Amsterdam picks up some business from London.

 

[Monitor]

Just got this mail from Iron Heart.

 

[Harris HTM]

Just got this mail from Iron Heart.

yes, I just received it as well. Welcome to the new reality.

 

[indigoeagle]

I was just about to post it, too.

Very sad.

I hope, the EU and GB bureaucrats/politicians can quickly find a solution to establish between the two the Free Trade, that has been named as the big goal in numerous agreements of the past years.

 

[Tom71]

Breaking News indeed. Quite unprecedented too.

I do wonder though if the situation is quite as bad as IH paints it. I mean, there has always been the exchange of goods and services between states without free trade arrangements. Plus: Others are shipping from the UK just fine.

Sure, there’s added bureaucracy and added cost and it would have been great had IH found a way to shoulder it all with zero impact on the buyer but - it would have been somewhat counter-intuitive...

 

[Harris HTM]

Breaking News indeed. Quite unprecedented too.

I do wonder though if the situation is quite as bad as IH paints it. I mean, there has always been the exchange of goods and services between states without free trade arrangements. Plus: Others are shipping from the UK just fine.

Sure, there’s added bureaucracy and added cost and it would have been great had IH found a way to shoulder it all with zero impact on the buyer but - it would have been somewhat counter-intuitive...

I guess it has to be serious. I don't think that they'd shoot their feet like that, I guess a big part of their sales comes from EU customers (probably more EU than UK customers?).

 

[Tom71]

I guess it has to be serious. I don't think that they'd shoot their feet like that, I guess a big part of their sales comes from EU customers (probably more EU than UK customers?).

I think much of there raison d’etre falls away. They were basically the only Japanese producer who sold their stuff to European customers inside the EU. Saved their online buyers a lot of time, money and admin.

The obvious solution would be to shift their euro business to say Ireland, but that’s obviously a mid-term thing.
TBH, I am afraid a lot of small and midsize business on both sides of the fence have been dragging their feet a bit, hoping that “the bureaucrats” will sort things out in the end.

Anyway, one can only hope that IH and others will find a way out of this mess sooner rather than later.

 

[Tom71]

I think much of there raison d’etre falls away. They were basically the only Japanese producer who sold their stuff to European customers inside the EU. Saved their online buyers a lot of time, money and admin.

The obvious solution would be to shift their euro business to say Ireland, but that’s obviously a mid-term thing.
TBH, I am afraid a lot of small and midsize business on both sides of the fence have been dragging their feet a bit, hoping that “the bureaucrats” will sort things out in the end.

Anyway, one can only hope that IH and others will find a way out of this mess sooner rather than later.

Ok, re-reading that, I think I was being unfair: please read, a lot of business have been forced to drag their feet because until very late (like 2 weeks before the actual Brexit) there was zero clarity as to how the post-Brexit scenario would be.

 

[Harris HTM]

I think much of there raison d’etre falls away. They were basically the only Japanese producer who sold their stuff to European customers inside the EU. Saved their online buyers a lot of time, money and admin.

The obvious solution would be to shift their euro business to say Ireland, but that’s obviously a mid-term thing.
TBH, I am afraid a lot of small and midsize business on both sides of the fence have been dragging their feet a bit, hoping that “the bureaucrats” will sort things out in the end.

Anyway, one can only hope that IH and others will find a way out of this mess sooner rather than later.

Indeed, I totally agree.
For me personally, my worries lie more on the small business owners and the workers of bigger companies. As a customer ofcourse I don't like seeing prices going up, but since I can afford a pair of IH then it means I can also survive with a pair of a cheaper brand jeans. Leaving aside the fact that I own more stuff than I need - and not using them as I work from home since March.

 

[Cornelius]

Ok, re-reading that, I think I was being unfair: please read, a lot of business have been forced to drag their feet because until very late (like 2 weeks before the actual Brexit) there was zero clarity as to how the post-Brexit scenario would be.

Certainly the biggest problem here, yes. Hard to prepare when you have zero idea what exactly is coming at you. I've wondered for some time if English/Scottish/Welsh firms moving HQ over to N.Ireland might be the magic answer (possibly being able to play both sides of the EU/UK fence thereby), but even that seems shrouded in mist. Perhaps a more stable investment would simply be going all-in on an EU customer base and moving to the Republic of Ireland or English-language-friendly countries on the Continent like the Netherlands.