New Buying From China (incl AliExpress) guide discussion

troffasky

10 days to get two small packets from China, so no appreciable delays. In fact, that's 1 day less than it took my mum's birthday card to get to her from me [UK->UK].

wiseonesomeofthetime

I experienced this last night when my order went from $10 to $12 when I placed the order.

It clearly states that the extra $2 is for VAT, however, there is no mention of customs or import duties either.

On the link you provided to government website though, answer appears to be clear:

"If the seller makes changes to the value of the consignment so that its total value goes above £135 they may be liable for import VAT and Customs Duty,"

So, below £135, no import VAT or Customs Duty.

Enigmatic_Me

I buy business items from China usually spending between £50 and £90. I got stung with customs charges last year when it was delivered by UPS however future orders offered a slower shipping with no customs charges so I usually selected that option. 
I placed my first order this year just over £60 and had to pay VAT this time which I understand is the new ruling from 1st Jan buying from overseas. So, my question is will I still have to pay customs as this time on selecting the shipping method there was no option for Free Customs and no mention of customs? Thanks

wrf12345

Just received the motorcycle windscreen today, which I paid £31.60 inc VAT and free shipping for on Jan 4th, so ten days shipping which is very quick in my experience and no extra charges on delivery by Royal Mail. I did note that the customs declaration said the value was 10 (not sure which currency!) and did not mention VAT at all, though the postage label via aliexpress shipping had various barcodes on it which probably covered that. Excellent purchase anyway as it would have cost £80 plus from UK eBay.

If the postman demands extra money you can always refuse to accept it and refund via aliexpress, BTW, though I did it in the past and the postie gave me the parcel and told me not to worry about it!

MidlandsGlory

A tip to consider when buying some items, look out for the 'Free Returns' logo under the add to cart button on some sellers, if all things are equal it would be the preferable seller to another without it.
I have not had to use it, but in principle it adds a no quibble quicker return with shipping at the sellers expense, I believe things get shipped back to a sort of clearing depot in your country, as soon as they acknowledge receipt the refund can process before the item goes back to the seller (if it even does). This removes the risk of unfeasible return shipping cost back to China where we don't have the benefit of cheap state subsidised postage like they do. I have had to pay £30 to send a £120 item back to China in the past for refund before the scheme existed. If I was buying an item of this value again I would only opt for a 'Free Returns' seller.