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Sending HiFi to Germany

M

madscientist

pfm Member
Does anyone have experience of sending Hifi goods to Germany Post-Brexit? I have looked into the customs charges for the potential buyer but the message seems very confused! Some websites suggest there is no charge for good between private individuals whereas other sites suggest up to 20% Customs tax charges. Does anyone know for sure what my buyer may be charged for HiFi Goods valued at £2000?
 
Surely the buyer, being a German-speaker, can spend a few moments to check?
That said, it will be German VAT, plus handling charge, plus a small import levy. German VAT is 19% and you cannot legislate for what any carrier will charge by way of handling charge, but if you work on something like 25-30% in total, on top, you will not be far wrong. If it works as here, the handling charge is a flat fee, in which case 25% will be nearer the mark.

This all assumes that German customs find it. There must be some chance, as with imports into the UK, that any item is missed and they pay nothing.
 
Definitely this is a mess post-Brexit.
I would think the clearest, fastest, safest and most expensive option is that the buyer arranges collection with one of the global courier companies.
Sticking it in in the post and hoping for the best is probably not worth the risk...
 
If I really wanted something from Europe I'd still go ahead if it is financially feasible, no issues. That is provided the seller is willing to ship. I found on one occasion that was not the case.

It's all new though.Once things have settled it will be clearer for both sellers and buyers. There are some real bargains on either side.
 
If the buyer fails to pay the import charges within around 5 days, the goods will be shipped back and you may b charged for the return shipping, plus there is the risk of damage coming back.
 
Thanks for the input guys, i have asked the buyer to look into his Customs charges and move on from there. Selling all over the world used to be relatively simple!!
 
Brexit says no .

I tried to buy a CD player from Holland via a auction site . + 20 % VAT and a masive handling charge . So much for continued seamless free trade with our friends in Europe . It's the biggest act of economic self harm since the unions ran amok in the seventy's and the whole thing is being masked by covid 19.

Sorry this dosn't help the OP but Grurrrr.
 
Rosie said:
Brexit says no .

I tried to buy a CD player from Holland via a auction site . + 20 % VAT and a masive handling charge . So much for continued seamless free trade with our friends in Europe . It's the biggest act of economic self harm since the unions ran amok in the seventy's and the whole thing is being masked by covid 19.

Sorry this dosn't help the OP but Grurrrr.
Click to expand...

20% UK VAT on top of the EU VAT? Or just an extortionate handling charge?

But yes, funny about all the extra paperwork, so much for cutting out all the red tape. Once personal travel opens up there'll be a booming black market, maybe that's what the politicians meant.

I'm just going to stop discretionary purchases and enjoy myself in other ways.
 
Rosie said:
I tried to buy a CD player from Holland via a auction site . + 20 % VAT and a masive handling charge
Click to expand...

That is mostly because the seller will have not been VAT-registered. I am waiting for an LP from Germany bought via EPay from a trade seller and the transaction went through saying that VAT had been paid as part of the transaction - we shall see in due course.........

I am still unsure how anybody at all ever thought that leaving a free trade area would allow free trade, rather than lose it. The idea seems completely illogical, counter-intuitive to me.
 
I would imagine that the seller was not register for VAT but then again neither am I !
All I wanted to do was buy a second hand Yamaha CDX-10 , they seem to be all the rage in Europe .
Does anyone remember when the Sun newspaper promoted cheap ferry tickets for 'booze cruises ' to Calais Hyper Markets , funny old world
 
Rosie said:
Does anyone remember when the Sun newspaper promoted cheap ferry tickets for 'booze cruises ' to Calais Hyper Markets , funny old world
Click to expand...

Lower key ones may yet happen as you do have a duty-free allowance if travelling with the booze, although I am unsure what it is exactly.
 
I’m a Brit living in Germany and the Classified was my very first go-2 section of the forum. Since the Brexit-Bollocks kicked in; sadly now not anymore and some days not at all.
However, if you lot over there need any help from me over here – I’ll do my best….
Question: Why are most of the juicy sterling hifi goodies only sold from the UK? I thought PFM is an international site(?)
Sovereignty, by the way, is a French word….
 
Last week I attempted to buy an RME unit from a well known German distributor with a UK oriented webpage.

Whether this is typical or not I don't know, but basically prices were listed as ex-VAT and free shipping above a certain threshold - so all I expected was 20% on top of the £499 list price (which was above the threshold).

However - on reading the fine print re. shipping to the UK elsewhere on their site and phoning them direct it transpired there would also be a further 2.5% import charge on top of that - and an additional £11 'handling fee'

These additional costs together with the VAT amount would be collected on delivery in the UK by the courier.

Needless to say, I cancelled the order.
 
Since Brexit I can no longer make orders on Amazon UK as I live in the Netherlands. I can, however, order from Amazon US which quite often makes purchases cheaper or at least equivalent than Europe even with delivery and import charges.
 
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