European Postage/Tax Question

[sooner]

Hi folks,

I am an American who is happily spending some months in Bordeaux, France, and am thinking about selling a couple of "extra" cameras. Just wondering what average postage rates are for Europe and if anyone knows the rules as far as tax, customs, TVA, etc. I don't want to sell a camera only to find out that either I or the buyer must pay some huge fee or something. What about someone sending me a camera from the US? Hope someone can help me here. Thanks much. --John

 

[lubitel]

Declaring something as gift does not necessarily save you from anything. in germany the limit for gift packages is only 35 euros. after that - TAX! so buying from non EU countries is really a bummer! The shipping from Germany is usually quite expensive, definitely more expensive than from US, but you are in France - may be its a different story there.

 

[jaapv]

But in our country- 75 % of "normal " packages seem to slip through without tax being levied. Within the EU, no taxes of course.

 

[john neal]

Can't say what the specific rules for France are, but here in Norway there are two things to watch out for on "incoming goods":

- Tax: Some products have a customs fee (a certain %) - usually not a problem in Norway, this is pretty much focused on clothes and food products.
- VAT: This is the killer. In Norway I have to pay 25% VAT on everything coming from another country, as long as the value exceeds approx. $30. For packages declared as "gift" the value limit is approx. $150.

Now, I believe you Americans understand why we Europeans ask you to declare everything as "gift" with a value of $100... 😀

BTW; The VAT is different all over the continent, I believe Norway is right up there with the worst.

Similar here in the UK - we have to pay 17.5% VAT on anything over about $35, items declared as gifts would probably be OK up to $150, but you can be unlucky. A lot depends on how you ship - USPS nearly always ends up in the hands of a courier company who ALWAYS open the package and assess the value for VAT. Plain airmail frequently slips though with no problem, unless the declared value is a lot higher than $35.

Intra-europe mail is much better, as between the members of the EU there is no liability for tax, so if you sell some in europe, post them there too!

 

[Xmas]

You should be able to buy VAT free as a foreigh resident and pay tax when you get home but you need to have evidence of original purchase and date of import. Not all sellers may be able to do this but a brick camera shop should do, e.g. Robert White - a sponsor- sells some (brands, or used to) really cheap compared with US. You then need to demo the paperwork in US when you return, good luck...

Lots of people rip off the customs, they wont be happy if they catch you...

Noel

 

[vicmortelmans]

But in our country- 75 % of "normal " packages seem to slip through without tax being levied. Within the EU, no taxes of course.

I'm in Belgium. My experience is up till now that I never had to pay taxes for items that came from the US. I only had to do it once, for a camera coming from Hongkong. I'm not sure whether it's the country of origin or the carrier (ABX) that is the main cause why this shipment was caught.

And indeed: shipment within the European Union is free of tax.

Groeten,
Vic

 

[hth]

In Sweden (inside EU), shipping from outside EU typically adds 30%. In extreme case when they just start to tax, the overhead can get up to 50% due to fixed fees. The receiver pays this. It is similar in other countries, sales tax vary from some 16-25% (I think), so the rough overhead might be slightly lower in some other countries.

Shipping inside EU avoids all fees.

Shipping costs vary inside EU, I would guess you can expect some $15-30 for parcels.

Not all european countries are inside EU, so they would still have to pay fees.

/Håkan

 

[EmilGil]

The French post service, La Poste, might be helpful for shipping quotes. Shipping is generally more expensive within Europe than in the US, not to mention shipping west across the big pond.

Generally, you only have to pay customs fees when receiving something from outside the EU, not when sending/receiving intra-community. When you move back you might be able to reclaim the VAT but not the customs fees.

Edit: Too late...

 

[sooner]

Thanks for all your helpful comments, and I will check with La Poste. Sounds like I should be okay so long as I sell my cameras to buyers within the EU. Getting a camera from the US sounds more problematic......John.