Import duty on goods coming from China

Sandtree

DoaM said:

Sandtree said:

Which site did you buy from?

I presume you're not able to see the screenshot in the OP?

You presume right, laptop randomly doesnt show some images. Going to Amazon or such I see about 2/3rds of images in search results and about 80% of images on individual product pages when using Chrome... both go up a bit when using Edge

mattyprice4004

Rock Auto in the USA also advertise in GBP, but any imports will also be subject to duty and VAT. 
It's down to you to check where the goods are coming from - you'll be liable for the duty on import into the UK. 

Unfortunately the website design and 'feel' screams that it's another generic Chinese seller. 

custardy

sanfairyanne said:

I recently purchased 3 pairs of shoes after seeing an advert online. The shoes were advertised in sterling (pic attached), however, when I paid I saw the payment went through PayPal in U.S dollars. I assumed I'd mistakenly purchased from the U.S, but I later found out that the shoes were coming from China. I immediately tried to cancel the order but never had a reply. The sum is a little over $130, so not a fortune, but it could lead to me being forced to pay import duties. I think this is unfair because I can prove the shoes were advertised in Sterling. The shoes have yet to arrive, so I'm hoping to get a little advice beforehand.  Do I have a leg to stand on!

Many thanks in advance.

They dont exactly hide it.
If you are savvy enough the product page alone screams chinese site. however look at the broken English on the about us page.
You are aware these are fakes and not real Salomon trainers? Great brand but these are going to be copies

born_again

soolin said:

How did you pay as I seem to recall one of the threads had a happy outcome when the credit card refunded them when buyer proved they had been sold fakes. 

Might stand a chance if there was such a branded shoe producer Sohaped or hot trail. Which sadly there is not as it is their own brand.
Appears they sell all sorts of stuff.

Scary...
Please contact our Customer service at Sparks.jnstocky.317301@gmail.com to get the return address
Now that is a great email address for a company

soolin

born_again said:

soolin said:

How did you pay as I seem to recall one of the threads had a happy outcome when the credit card refunded them when buyer proved they had been sold fakes. 

Might stand a chance if there was such a branded shoe producer Sohaped or hot trail. Which sadly there is not as it is their own brand.
Appears they sell all sorts of stuff.

Scary...
Please contact our Customer service at Sparks.jnstocky.317301@gmail.com to get the return address
Now that is a great email address for a company

Not being the type to recognise a good brand of trainers even if they had a neon sign flashing .....I made the incorrect assumption that these were special, hence the urgency to buy them without checking the website  

unholyangel

sanfairyanne said:

I recently purchased 3 pairs of shoes after seeing an advert online. The shoes were advertised in sterling (pic attached), however, when I paid I saw the payment went through PayPal in U.S dollars. I assumed I'd mistakenly purchased from the U.S, but I later found out that the shoes were coming from China. I immediately tried to cancel the order but never had a reply. The sum is a little over $130, so not a fortune, but it could lead to me being forced to pay import duties. I think this is unfair because I can prove the shoes were advertised in Sterling. The shoes have yet to arrive, so I'm hoping to get a little advice beforehand.  Do I have a leg to stand on!

Many thanks in advance.

Tip for future...the fact it states GBP should clue you into it being a company that sells in many different currencies and therefore unlikely to be a UK company. UK companies tend to only state £, not GBP - because the majority of them only accept £. 

Spank

In my experience the Chinese lie about the value of items, and customs let it go through even when it obvious. I bought loads of things from China, the last being an ultrasonic cleaner that said what it was on the box and it cleared no problem (it was on sale and the price with vat & import duties was still cheaper)

KatrinaWaves

The GBP is purely there because the site knows your location and shows you your local currency. That’s literally all it means. This comes up a lot with co.uk domains too, anyone can have one. 

The biggest clue is the fact the price is £60.86, which is an obvious conversion as I’ve never seen a pair of shoes with 86p in their RRP

Sandtree

And if your computer is terrible like mine, it initially prices in USD before switching to GBP.

Whilst you may not known it was coming from China the website does incorrectly state that that its USA owned and run. As such you should have guessed the items were coming from outside the EEA and therefore will be subject to import costs.

Spank said:

In my experience the Chinese lie about the value of items, and customs let it go through even when it obvious.

I've always been in two minds as to if they are lying on the customs declaration or actually giving its true value rather than what you paid for it

DoaM

KatrinaWaves said:

The GBP is purely there because the site knows your location and shows you your local currency. That’s literally all it means. This comes up a lot with co.uk domains too, anyone can have one. 

I wondered that too ... so I checked from my work computer which exits to the Internet via a server in the Netherlands ... the website still showed me prices in GBP rather than EUR. So it must be some other method they're using.