Import costs from Japan?

henrygregory

Hi there,
I have seen a used camera lens on UK Ebay but it is located in Japan. It is a little cheaper than UK prices and in really good condition. UK shipping is provided on the listing free of charge. 

I have never made an order from a country outside of the UK. Would I need to pay any import fees? I thought it is worth establishing this now before I buy it as it may be more cost effective to wait for a UK one in good condition. 

Thanks in advance. ☺️

forgotmyname

What platform are they selling on?   Does it mention VAT etc?    Usually fairly expensive to ship from Japan.

Depends on the platform and price/weight.

Spoonie_Turtle

Depends whether it's above or below £135.  If it's below, I'd suggest putting it in your basket to see if it adds VAT.  If the seller is VAT registered in the UK then the listing price you're seeing should include VAT.  You can see by scrolling down the listing and looking for VAT details, along with other business details.  If it's a private seller they won't be, and it should add VAT in the basket.

If it's above £135, there's VAT and possibly customs charges, but I don't know exactly how you find those out.  You have to look up the commodity code then look up the customs duty applicable - but I don't know exactly where one finds that information. 
(Although if it's via the Global Shipping Programme they should include all charges in the basket - but free shipping to the UK doesn't sound like it is through the GSP.)

[Deleted User]

I've bought high price items from Japan, several times.

(Yes, the GSP all inclusive costs are worth it just to know there aren't all the additionals added).

If just stating free shipping you might get the customs aswell as the handling fee by the postal carrier.
Definitely worth asking the seller some questions.

martindow

VAT, and depending on the value, origin and country of manufacture, will be payable on entry to the UK.  If the carrier does this there will also be a fee for customs clearance.

Ebay charges all import fees from some countries and you pay this in advance.  I agree with others that you need to find out what is going on - VAT and other fees would add 25% or so.

Another thought, is it possible that the seller is registered in Japan but actually located in the UK?  In that case there would be no import complications at all as it would be posted domestically.

se2020

ebay collect all the duty/vat/import charged now so once you have paid for the item on ebay there will not be anything else to pay.

The total price does not always show until checkout though so you may need to add the item to your basket and then go to the payment page to get a total before you can really compare it to uk prices 

DullGreyGuy

se2020 said:

ebay collect all the duty/vat/import charged now so once you have paid for the item on ebay there will not be anything else to pay.

The total price does not always show until checkout though so you may need to add the item to your basket and then go to the payment page to get a total before you can really compare it to uk prices 

Are you sure? For parcels under £135 they have to but for items over that (which includes P&P) then the price being charged doesn't change irrespective of which country you put as the delivery location which would strongly suggest that they aren't. 

martindow

Spoonie_Turtle said:

If it's above £135, there's VAT and possibly customs charges, but I don't know exactly how you find those out.  You have to look up the commodity code then look up the customs duty applicable - but I don't know exactly where one finds that information. 

The government site lets you search and gives the VAT, which is charged on the total value of the goods plus shipping costs, and duty rates.

https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/find_commodity