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Has anyone ordered from bikediscount in 2021 and were you charged import tax when the goods arrived in the UK?
Thanks
Are they actually shipping to the UK at the moment?
I see they have a minimum order amount of £170 or something. As for import duty on that I don’t know or even if the delivery service is going to the uk now.
My order was 380 Inc delivery charge, the question was an after thought. Will drop them a line see what they. Brexit is bollocks on every front.
Depends where the thing you bought was made, and if you were charged VAT.
But probably, yeah.
I still haven’t been able to find much definitive tbh. There is a lot of speculation out there but relatively little that tells you what you will actually pay. The only option is to go for it and see. I think you can refuse the delivery if it turns out to be unpalatable...
I bought an AXS Reverb for £445 inc delivery and ex VAT.
Dispatched with DHL and then handled / delivered by ParcelForce when landed in UK. I wasn’t charged any import duty or VAT - the documents on the parcel weren’t even opened.
I see they have a minimum order amount of £170
I'm not 100% sure, but I think that under a certain amount they are meant to register for vat in the UK to sell by mail order, which they clearly are not going to do. So they will set a minimum amount above that limit, where it becomes your/the couriers responsibility.
If there is tax to be payed, there will also likely be an administrative charge by the delivery company to collect it. Quite possibly the UK end of operations are not up and running yet, so there is probably a window of opportunity to get stuff through without being charged if you want to take a gamble.
I received an order about a week ago - I added some bits on to get to their minimum order (approx £170), and then paid about £14 for shipping. It took about 4 days to arrive, but I didn’t have any extra charges. On the whole, I was happy (my main reason for ordering there was because they sell original Hayes pads for the stoker gram, which I have on an old bike, and they’re hard to find now).
Sunlit uplands.
Plan for the worst (VAT + Duty + fees), hope for the best (courier/hmrc CBA) is my plan for the next 6 or so months.
Can you update this thread OP when you get news ta.
That’s a very good price on an AXS reverb. I’ve never been one for gambling but it could be good fun 😀
I bought a new Garmin a couple of weeks ago. No issues. Received in 3-4 days and no surcharges
Is it just going to be the hit and miss approach that has existed for years when buying anything from outside the UK. I have bought stuff from US, Hong Kong etc, with no charges and I have also bought stuff from those countries and got hit with charges. Seems fairly random.
Ive got some stuff due today from them, out for delivery with parcelforce.
Ordered on the 21st about £195 worth. I didnt notice at the time their price was ex vat.
Will see if I get a bill from parcelforce later, can't remember how these things work, its been a while since I imported goods from america so I assume it will be the same rules.
And just delivered, or rather dumped on the doorstep!
Nothing extra to pay, so far.
Including the expensive postage it was £195, would have been £240 in the uk.
Its likely a bit of a gamble at the moment if you get hit with vat or not.
Fortunately I have now have enough chains, cassettes & brake pads to last me the year.
That’s a very good price on an AXS reverb. I’ve never been one for gambling but it could be good fun 😀
Exactly - roll the dice!
To be fair to bike-discount, they provided all the necessary documents on the parcel including country of origin, total price, indicated no VAT has paid etc - obviously the parcel (and many others by the sound) has just completely by passed customs.
They'll be over whelmed now.... the warehouse is probably full!
I'd wait a few months for everyone to sort their stuff out. Should be paying UK duties/vat upfront then it will be seamless.
rockauto.com have done this for years and years with sales from US to UK, getting car parts to me faster and cheaper than eurocarparts.
I thought I'd balls'd up and exceeded the customs limit (think its £135) with an order from DeportVillage in Spain last week. Anyway delivered by DHL in 2 days with nothing additional to pay.
Is there any risk the taxes and duties are charged at a later date? Or, if it is delivered without extra payment required to release the parcel you are "in the clear" so to speak?
Is there any risk the taxes and duties are charged at a later date?
I've had this when ordering spare parts from USA (when not available in Europe)... letter explaining and requesting the charges followed 6 weeks being the package being delivered.
Is there any risk the taxes and duties are charged at a later date?
Yep, I've also had this in the past ups delivered the item, I then had a bill 2 weeks later for the customs charges - it was buisness to buisness rather than a domestic purchase though.
Looking at bike discounts web site they specifically say that UK customers are liable for any duty....
Deliveries to Great Britain are net, i.e. without national sales tax. This tax is then due on import. If United Kingdom is selected as the country of delivery, the prices are displayed in the shop without sales tax.
In addition to the shipping costs calculated by Bike-Discount, additional import costs may apply. These are usually about any import duties and national sales tax.
I have to say I have a wee chuckle when folk put HMRC & 'CBA' into the mix on a topic like this. As if whatever their staff want to do with the problem plays any part in the process... In a shrinking civil service under Bojo & his cronies, where on earth does anyone think that HMRC are going to magic up the additional staff needed to police an entire new system for postal goods and levy the charges? It's largely in effect contracted out to the private sector, by requesting that the courier firms police it (and make a profit on charges along the way..!).
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jan/25/mastercard-to-raise-fees-to-eu-firms-by-500-percent-for-online-sales-to-uk-shoppers It just gets better all the time!
Rough guide - Over £150 for bike parts add £15 + 25% and you're probably about there.
This mostly explains it
I'm glad you said mostly!
I'm just looking into this as I want some tyres and no UK distos have them. Depor Village have them and state they will be shipped via GLS. Had a little google and found this..
Am I reading correct when I say I won't be charged for anything shipped via GLS under £135?
Yes, but only if the seller has sorted things their end... which is why you'll find a £135 minimum order with many EU shops for UK shipments.
Including Bike Discount....
The minimum order value is 175.- €
m I reading correct when I say I won’t be charged for anything shipped via GLS under £135?
in theory. What I don’t know, if a seller doesn’t register for uk VAT and sends goods under the threshold, what happens? I assume the courier will hit you with a charge????
I run a small store in Munich. This is how it works (from Germany).
Orders under £135:
UK 20% VAT included in selling price
Import Duty added to this if goods not made in EU/UK. Courier will invoice for this.
Courier will add Handling Fee for doing this. Courier will invoice for this.
Orders Over £135:
German VAT not included in selling price.Import Duty added to this if goods not made in EU/UK (rate depends on what the goods are). Courier will invoice for this.
UK VAT of 20% added to Cost + Duty. Courier will invoice for this.
Courier will add Handling Fee for doing this. Courier will invoice for this.
This extras are normally charged before delivery. At the moment it seems the Courier companies (UPS, DHL, etc) are quite on it as good money to be made. Post Offices don't seem to be as on it.
We won't sell goods to UK for under £135 as we would have to register with HMRC, adjust our TAX rate for these orders from 19% to 20%, collect this money and then do a yearly UK VAT Return. Just not worth it for us at present.
To Jonswhite - is this magic 135 the price with tax, or without. If I buy something with a cost of 135.01, and toggle on 'deliver to UK', does the price drop to the tax less price? I guess you could setup your online show to show a taxless cost to UK customers
@jonswhite you also have to pay HMRC a hefty sum for the privilege IIRC of registering an EU company??? If so I can't see a lot of incentive for an EU business to sell orders under £135 even in the future unless they find themselves suddenly missing a massive amount of UK orders.
@wbo - that is a damn good question and I am afraid I don't know! Can't get a definitive answer in any of the information I've found.
For us, we are showing all of our UK customers a VAT free price as our website system can't currently show VAT on some products/basket values and not on others.
We also deal in Euros so there is the issue of exchange rate fluctuations changing what costs £135....
Which has reminded me that at today's rates I need to change the Euro cut-off for UK orders from €150 to €160.
What a b-ache.
What a b-ache.
All these threads could just be reduced to this.
So is the general consensus, that hmrc WANT to charge us 15-20% extra, but that it's pretty hit and miss as to whether they actually have the manpower to do it? Because I am not really bonding with my Ohlins fork and a Lyrik Ultimate works out about 600 delivered.....
So is the general consensus, that hmrc WANT to charge us 15-20% extra, but that it’s pretty hit and miss as to whether they actually have the manpower to do it?
Ultimately yes, this is a cost of brexit. If you don't want to shop local (UK) then add 20% + fees.
& it seems from peoples experience on here and cirtainly in my local community it's very hit and miss at the moment.
However I'm sure that in 6months time euro purchasing will incur addition vat and admin fees every time.
However I’m sure that in 6months time euro purchasing will incur addition vat and admin fees every time.
I'm not so sure about this - China imports are pretty hit and miss where duty & VAT is concerned I think? (although my recent experience is <£135) EU imports will presumably end up similar unless customs is better resourced in the future (i.e. proportionately better resourced).
They won't be better resourced any time soon. They will be bouncing small items not pre-paid for VAT instead. It's coming. If you're assuming small items slipping under the net will carry on forever, I fear you will disappointed. China imports are one of the reasons for the changes coming.
China imports are pretty hit and miss where duty & VAT is concerned I think?
Really? Its been years since I haven't been hit for duty on an item that was correctly labeled...
Also, when HMRC can make money they generally just throw staff at it, which seems to be the current gov response to this issue. They are well aware that revenue can be made/claimed here and will take every advantage to do so.
Arrived and no charges 😁
Mudhugger having issues with parcel sizing, let alone duty....
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1909199845885181&id=189731704498679
The reverb AXS I ordered is arriving today. Again, like others on here, no vat or duty to pay....
Just curious who are Bikediscount using for shipping?
Ta
Just thinking about trying to order a road groupset from them, seeing if could get it a little cheaper and in stock
dhl > parcelforce
Cheers, surprised PF always get me on taxes
Might trying winging it to see what happens.
Looking at the box and customs forms DHL / Bike-Discount used - all of the pricing info is on the inside of the documentation rather than in view on the outside of the box, it would only take bike discount flipping the doc over to correctly show value for duty to be applied. So, at the moment, customs would have to physically open the plastic documemt packet to determine duty. This is prob how they are getting through.
Edit: interestingly Bike discount also had the item listed as a commercial sample (in german), which is duty free so it would get through on those grounds.....
all of the pricing info is on the inside of the documentation rather than in view on the outside of the box, it would only take bike discount flipping the doc over to correctly show value for duty to be applied.
Problem with showing the value of item on the outside is expensive or desirable stuff gets pinched.
interestingly Bike discount also had the item listed as a commercial sample (in german), which is duty free so it would get through on those grounds
A good few years ago this was the default option of getting stuff in from china or the US without duty. When they clamped down on this everything was 99p, until it went missing and the courier would only refund 99p and not the few hundred quid you paid for your item.
Problem with showing the value of item on the outside is expensive or desirable stuff gets pinched.
All of the RM and parcel force customs forms are front facing all info on out side.
Just had another look at it, it's the dispatch note showing outwards and customs declaration is completely hidden.
Quick update, picked up my parcel after paying the £140 in duty/vat&fees..... It took two weeks to get the documents to pay the fee, even then I had to ask my local parcel force driver to investigate for me.... Another week and it would have been sent back...
Anyway bike discount seem on it now with correctly labeling their customs forms - all correctly filled in, even down to origin of manufacture. So I'd expect any of their orders would now have duty on them to pay.....
I did this week get a parcel from R2 with no duty though, another from a Belgium shop with no duty and a further one from Germany again (77designz) with no duty.
recieved my BD.de parcel Customs seemed to have charged me some random import duty and without a commodity code to cross reference it against its hard to know if its right or wrong. I feel I've been overcharged by about £66.
Have sent of a form to BF to seek more information, but its so difficult to find out information and speak to someone its almost like they don't want you to.
What did you order?
lyriks
Damn, sounds like I missed out :/ ordered some G2 Ultimates today, might cancel now. Presuming if I dont cancel and refuse delivery they’ll be sent back and I’ll be refunded?
Had a wheel delivered yesterday with nothing to pay 😎.
i thought it might be to do with value at the minute. With customs prioritising the higher value parcels? I had a bike discount order worth about £200 with nothing to pay. Know someone else who had an order double that size and was hit with fees... might be based on value, might be random!
i thought it might be to do with value at the minute. With customs prioritising the higher value parcels?
Nothing on the out side of mine to indicate value I think but it has been correctly labeled as sale of goods rather than commercial samples like the AXS reverbs earlier in this thread.
The customs forms were spot on this time and a bit erm.... Irregular on the reverb AXS.
lyriks
So add 20% for vat on the value of good and postage combined and 5% of the value of the lyrics, then about £16 charge from parcel force....
My order value was 550 and I was charged 140... (110 of that was vat)
@monkeyboyjc
Total in GBP was £573.77
Import Duty: £81.38
VAT: £132.54
Handling charge: £12.00
Total charges: £225.92
I believe I should be charged using the commodity code for importing is 8714913039.
Goods are subject to Value added tax (20.00 %). Importing from outside the UK is subject to a third country duty of 4.70 % unless subject to other measures.
Import duty : £26.97
Vat : £120.15
Handling charge : £12.00
Total : £159.12
Yep. You've definitely been over charged.....
My thoughts, the the whole process of non discussion about fees needs some sort of overhaul. No information about code applied and the "Here's your bill pay it and then reclaim if you think its wrong" no discussion entered.
I await a response from Border Force.
There is a 2nd level of complexity here which is, warranty.
I bought a shock in Nov from DE, which has failed, but trying to get it warrantied by SRAM has been ridiculously hard. In the end i've been save by j-techsuspension who've taken it for me and shipped to SRAM for warranty....
Other well known suspension companies wanted £50 + postage charges to do it .... Which whilst i can see their point...seems a little strong to me.
The problem was, for me to ship it back to Germany back pre-brexit, was £20 and a quick bit of work, now there's the potential of charges both directions and all the customs paperwork.
I think this will be the end of Germany buying for the majority.
Well my package had a value of £545.04 and I was charged £136.09 in duties and fees - products were all from Taiwan....
Unless the lyrics were manufactured where duties are much higher, you've been massively over charged.
For anyone else interested - the customs form on my package had no external value shown. The customs forms had been opened. Charges applied and resealed in a new clear plastic holder. Personally I'm going to avoid ordering high value items from European companies now unless it's significantly (30%) cheaper than the uk.
The problem was, for me to ship it back to Germany back pre-brexit, was £20 and a quick bit of work, now there’s the potential of charges both directions and all the customs paperwork.
Royal mail also expressly ban all compressed gas on international post, to get the best price it needs to be sub 2kg. Items like forks would need to go via courier, and cost £40+ for Germany. So it may work out cheaper/quicker to get items fixed in the UK and treat items like like they are 2nd hand.
Chickened out and cancelled the order, still in stock so can always go for it if I man up. Don't really need them, but £260 for a set of G2 Ultimates is cheap as! 25% odd more than that, not so much!
@lawman91 cheaper at R2 bike (£234) and less risk on the taxes with my experience.....
https://r2-bike.com/SRAM-Disc-Brake-G2-Ultimate-grey-Set
Even if you get duties it should be less than £300 all in (approx)
Seems way more expensive on R2 for me, they're showing 397 euro, so about £342... Plus, I'm a tart and would want the regular black or rainbow colour!
Seems way more expensive on R2 for me, they’re showing 397 euro, so about £342… Plus, I’m a tart and would want the regular black or rainbow colour!
Did you check the VAT? by default the prices include German VAT but when you log in they adjust to VAT free.
Just ordered a new set of Schwalbe's from R2, which if I don't get hit for duty are far cheaper than anywhere in the UK, if I do, they are still cheaper, just not quite as cheap.
Just a heads up that I recently ordered some forks from Bike-Discount and ParcelForce hit me with VAT, customs and handling fees, which I had to pay upfront before they would deliver.
Still worked out cheaper than buying in UK. And I couldn’t get the forks in the UK anyway.
But just thought I’d warn anyone who is now thinking of ordering from the EU.
It's getting a bit of a mare. I got chainrings for my 2 x 10 setup before Brexit, so I'm good to go for 12 -18 months, but they are £90 each in the UK, £50 from EU
Where is deporvillage based - I assume EU
If they are £50 in the EU you won't be charged any vat or duty this end - you should have 20% UK vat charged at the checkout of the shop....
It'll still workout cheaper than the uk....
I've just paid £40 for a £200 order from Deporvillage. They're in Spain.
There is a 2nd level of complexity here which is, warranty.
Now think about how potential buyers across the whole of Europe will now view the risk of buying from UK brands. Thanks Brexit.
My datapoint: Bought a power2max PM last week. It comes from Germany. power2max subtracted the German VAT and then sent it via UPS. As mentioned above UPS appear to be (unfortunately) quite efficient - I got a sent a link to pay the UK VAT on Monday (no import duty I think as it's German-made), plus a £10.50 handling charge. Ordered on a Thursday, with UPS on Friday, on my doorstep yesterday (Wednesday).
I *think* it was still in Germany when I got the payment link, and only released to be sent to the UK when I paid, although the tracking wasn't 100% clear on that.
I'm £10.50 down vs. pre-Brexit. Maybe the UK is £90 in VAT up? (Or was there an agreement on VAT transfer pre-Brexit?)