Posting to Europe- any hidden costs?

[Freddyman90]

Evening all,

If I’m sending to Europe is there any taxes etc to pay or could potentially stung with now we have left the EU?
Looking to post a parcel but don’t want to end up with a surprise bill and be out of pocket.

Cheers

 

[Betsy]

For you.. no, but the recipitent will pay VAT on your declared value

 

[Freddyman90]

That’s great, thanks

 

[ishaw]

You may also find a long wait, lots of chasing and the need to file compensation claim for a lost parcel. That may sound pessimistic but that's been my experience on half the things I've posted since Brexit. Make sure you insure the parcel for its true value and take a picture of the package before posting, just in case. On the customs declaration, declare the full value or your insurance won't cover it.

You might also need to include the export code for the item, which can be a pain to find.

It's not as simple, efficient or reliable as it once was, and seems more expensive too.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

I trade a lot in guitars and basses and had suffered the odd bit of missing merch, chasing and filing compo claims long before the B word that shall not be mentioned event.

As above, ths recipient is liable to be stung for their local VAT but there is nothing extra for you yourself to be concerned with beyond insurance. Sadly, its more expensive due to sharp rises in the cost of fuel, and sharp reductions in the availablity of shipping containers due to covid (half of them are in the wrong place on the planet and its going to take years for logistics to catch up with that).

 

[M-Power]

As an aside, I have not had any issues importing stuff from EU since B but they were only small items.

 

[Betsy]

Me neither, importing and exporting to the Eu seems to work just fine for me but i appreciate some folks have had a different experience

 

[mdvineng]

Recipient will also be charged a handling fee for the documentation and tax collecting.
Correos in Spain are currently charging 12<15€ handling fee for small parcels.

Currently not all parcels are checked, so some items will be delivered without charges, especially small ones. It will vary depending on destination country.