Hi

Can anyone tell me how much customs dutie and VAT I would have to pay if I ordered a doll from fairyland (minifee)?

Thanks
Karina

Customs fees are only charged if your package is stopped on its way in the country. IF it gets stopped officially its 5% of item & postage cost import duty then another 17.5% VAT on top but customs charges seem to be worked out on their fingers and toes then dependant on what mood the person is in. I have been told you may get a more accurate charge if you request the sender quotes costs in £s rather than $s but not sure if this is benificial or not.

Quite often these BJD companies mark the value down and they pass through customs with no problems, however it is wise to budget for a customs charge and then it's a pleasant surprise if you don't get charged. I received a doll (not a bjd) from the States the other week and fully expected her to get stopped by customs as her full value was clearly marked, but she didn't... so it's a gamble whether they do or not.

How much is the doll you want? I know the only customs charge I have got was £8 plus £8 Royal Mail charge for a doll which cost $110 to give you some idea. So if the doll is approx £200 I would guess the cost might be somewhere around £60

Hopefully someone else might be able to give you a more accurate answer!!

I know I'm not going to get away with it when my Unidoll Jace gets here, as in Ireland they divert all large overseas parcels to a courier whose job it is to make sure they collect the fee or you don't get your baby.

I hope it is only 5%, I was expecting worse than that. Although our VAT is 21% so that part will be higher.

Anyway, I'm going to make sure I have plenty put aside and then hopefully I'll have some leftover to go spending on clothes for him.

thanks everyone

This gives me an idea how much money I need to put aside.
I have a budget of just over £200 so I have to be carefull how to spend it.

In that case you may be better off buying one on the secondary market as many sellers are happy to mark down customs value and tick gift. When I bought my Moona, the seller even giftwrapped her in case the parcel was opened!

Larger International parcels are delivered via Parcel Force. Parcelforce charge £13.50 Clearance fee.

If your doll is small enough to be delivered by hand (under the new dimension limits) then the Royal Mail £8 fee will apply.

Aside from the Customs charge (customs charges are often the LEAST charge you will get!) VAT of 17.5% is charged on the TOTAL cost of ALL charges. Don't forget that charges apply to the cost of the postage the Seller paid to send your doll - so if the parcel cost $30 to send, then that is ALSO subject to Customs and VAT as well.

If your Seller has marked the box as anything except 'Gift' you will be charged at the higher rate of Duty - for dolls this will be 5% - if marked as a Gift it will be 3%

Ergo - my last parcel for an Ellowyne Wilde (delivered by Parcelforce) came with a £38.88 bill -

$149 for doll
$35 shipping
Total parcel value was $184 (so around £97 GB Pounds)

Customs on £97 @5% totalled - £4.85
Parcelforce Clearance fee £13.50
VAT on ALL charges (inc that fee so a total of £115.35) £20.18
TOTAL COST OF DUTIES, VAT AND FEES £38.88

I get hit with Customs EVERY time - lord knows why, I don't send for dolls from overseas that often. I know of people who send for dolls several times a month from the US and NEVER get Customs, no matter how the parcels are marked. It really seems to be the luck of the draw.

One thing I would say though - be aware that if a Seller DOES agree to mark down your parcel then you can only claim THAT amount if the doll goes missing - so be aware of that risk.

Another word about marking down the value - don't be silly about it. Sending for 12 Pullips and getting the Seller to mark the value at $50 fools nobody. If Customs have reason to believe that the value of an item has been marked down to avoid duty, they have the right to charge you at a value that THEY think the item is worth. You can THEN try and prove a different worth, but if they don't believe you, they can stick to their guns and Fine you for trying to commit fraud.

Gosh, I was lucky with my Ellowyne, I bought her from the Wilde Imagination site direct and they marked her actual value and she didn't get caught by customs at all when I expected her to.

Kayjay, I bought my Ellowyne direct from Wilde as well - you were just lucky not to have your parcel picked out by Customs. I can only think that Customs in my part of the Country have so little work to do that my overseas parcels get picked ALL the time.

Someone once told me that if you complain to HM Customs & Excise about any sort of overcharge, that they STOP hitting on your parcels. Now I found this to be TRUE! - but in my case, it only lasted about 6 months and they went back to hitting on EVERY one....

Angela