Author Topic: Black Friday Sales.  (Read 1739 times)

klondike

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #15 on: Nov 12, 2020, 09:20:24 PM »
From January 1 the generous £15 limit on free overseas purchases is being abolished so if you buy something from abroad - even a very cheap item - you will get ripped off for VAT and/or import duty on it.
Do you have a link to that change. The page governing this does not mention any change. The ones that do mention changes from 1 January all seem to be aimed at business not an individual buying something on eBay.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-143-a-guide-for-international-post-users/notice-143-a-guide-for-international-post-users
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biglouis

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #16 on: Nov 12, 2020, 11:54:17 PM »
Jm not sure if this link will work as it is a direct link to the Etsy discussion forums:-

https://community.etsy.com/t5/All-About-Shipping/All-items-sent-to-UK-from-January-to-attract-VAT-prepaid/m-p/132151091


Etsy is an art, crafting and vintage site in the USA where many sellers used to sell to UK buyers but are more and more refusing to do so because of unrealistic duty/VAT limits and consequent nasty complaints from buyers.


I found this link via EcommerceBytes - a magazine for online sellers but I cannot now find the direct link.


Basically Etsy sellers are saying they intend to block UK sellers because of this. The chances are Ebay sellers will soon follow.


If you buy a LOT from abroad the way around it is to have an account set up with a shipper who provides you with a local mailing address and then allows you to do your own customs declaration. That means that you, the customer, control the declared value. I have such accounts with various shippers in various countries.


However it is important to make the declared value look sensible for what is in the package in case customs decide to open it. Otherwise it could get confiscated and you will be in big heap trouble. You cant buy a $1000 widget from the USA and declare it at $100!
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klondike

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #17 on: Nov 13, 2020, 09:18:31 AM »
Anything on a .gov.uk page?

Ah - I found this one.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-vat-treatment-of-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-from-1-january-2021/changes-to-vat-treatment-of-overseas-goods-sold-to-customers-from-1-january-2021


This is absolutely huge if I've understood it correctly. I'm amazed that the press haven't picked it up. Half the stuff on eBay comes from China for starters. How on earth are they going to police it? If ParcelFarce collect duty and VAT they also apply a charge. The sheer volume of stuff that must be coming in is going to clog the system up entirely - this sounds like Remainers Revenge to me by attempting to scupper the import system.



Got to but some eBay tat quick while I can. See ya.
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biglouis

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #18 on: Nov 14, 2020, 09:09:02 AM »
If I understand that page correctly this is going to work similarly to the so called "marketplace facilitation" laws passed in some of the US states. This means that the tax is not collected at the border but at the point of sale, depending upon the address of the person who orders it.


The tax is collected by the "marketplace" which is how platforms like Ebay, Amazon and Etsy are defined. They are the entities legally responsible for collecting the VAT and then remitting it to the UK tax authorities.  Just how the UK tax authorities are going to force them to do this remains to be seen.


Lets assume Im a private buyer and not a business. I use my UK address to order a widget from a seller in Germany on Ebay then Ebay is responsible for adding the VAT to the purchase price, collecting and remitting it to the UK tax authorities. So when the package arrives at the UK border I will already have paid any VAT due although I may still have to pay customs duty if the declared value of the contents is over the limit (which is currently about 130 euros)

So in effect most of these small cheap items that people buy in Ebay, Amazon etc which come from abroad are going the be charged extra at point of sale and NOT the point of entry into the UK.
Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools.

granny moss

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #19 on: Nov 14, 2020, 09:25:28 AM »
Nearly all the things we need are made in China, Korea, Shri Lanka, etc.....Even M&S knickers and bras etc, made in Asia....Why oh why cannot all  be made here in Britain ?  Why ?  gmx

klondike

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #20 on: Nov 14, 2020, 10:40:46 AM »
So in effect most of these small cheap items that people buy in Ebay, Amazon etc which come from abroad are going the be charged extra at point of sale and NOT the point of entry into the UK.
Yes I'd picked up on it being up to the marketplace. I really can't see eBay putting all that in place though. As you mentioned many overseas sellers just lie about the product location already. Who is going to police the continuing masses of small packets coming from China? Who is going to pay for it?

There are plenty of 99p delivered items - UK purchases only add VAT to the product. If that rule is applied to overseas items then the VAT becomes trivial and hardly worth the effort of collecting. Even at 20p it isn't.
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biglouis

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #21 on: Nov 14, 2020, 11:34:11 AM »
Just another example of things not having been thought through properly.
Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools.

Hugh

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #22 on: Nov 14, 2020, 11:43:30 AM »
Nearly all the things we need are made in China, Korea, Shri Lanka, etc.....Even M&S knickers and bras etc, made in Asia....Why oh why cannot all  be made here in Britain ?  Why ?  

 
They are and available. But I expect imports much cheaper, and not the same quality, no minimum wage so labour costs very low. Look on line and see for your self GM.

Coastal

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #23 on: Nov 20, 2020, 08:27:35 PM »
They currently have a Black Friday event on Amazon
Black Friday Week 20th - 30th November


Black Friday = 1 Day
Week           = 7 Days
20th - 30th  = 11 Days


What genius thought that one up  ???
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zoony

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #24 on: Nov 20, 2020, 08:49:58 PM »
Shouldn't that be Bame Friday?..
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biglouis

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #25 on: Nov 20, 2020, 10:36:45 PM »
Im currently participating in a sale in the USA and can see me pulling an all nighter with the packing to get the first batch out tomorrow. Needless to say most of these are required for holiday gifts in the USA.
Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools.

GrannyMac

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #26 on: Nov 21, 2020, 06:11:23 AM »
Nearly all the things we need are made in China, Korea, Shri Lanka, etc.....Even M&S knickers and bras etc, made in Asia....Why oh why cannot all  be made here in Britain ?  Why ?  gmx


I was an agency clerk when my children were young. On a couple of occasions I worked for a company, S R Gents, that made ladies underwear for M&S. We could buy seconds quite cheaply, the quality control was so strict, there was little wrong with them, they also had factory shops selling the seconds.  But even paying minimum wage they couldn't compete.
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biglouis

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #27 on: Nov 21, 2020, 08:59:02 AM »
Costs of outsourcing to China and other companies are now nearly as low as they were. Then you have the shipping and customs costs. I can recall a TV program of a small company who made cushions and the like moving production back to the UK. This little company has now switched to making PPE for the duration.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17952023

https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/2064649-cushion-company-recruits-15-long-term-unemployed-as-trade-bounces-back
Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools.

klondike

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #28 on: Nov 21, 2020, 09:59:35 AM »
Shouldn't that be Bame Friday?..
Careful there - I'm sure I read that BAME is non woke not long ago. You might get a visit from the hate police if they see it.
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Jacqueline

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Re: Black Friday Sales.
« Reply #29 on: Nov 21, 2020, 10:09:59 AM »
Careful there - I'm sure I read that BAME is non woke not long ago. You might get a visit from the hate police if they see it.


It changes weekly, we must keep up what is the correct term now? ;D