Placed a few orders with some different companies (US based) but have always had to pay import charges which are pretty expensive!
Just wondering if anybody in the UK (or anywhere where charges have applied) have avoided these charges??
If so which companies did you use?
Almost certain to get them if the value is stated on the import, unless it's under £18(?) which is basically 1 DVD, 2 at most & it works out more expensive because of the shipping :(
If you read the International Shopping Guide, which is a sticky thread at the top of this forum, you should find several recommended US stores that declare low customs values. I've personally used Laser's Edge, who do it right.
I can't add much more, other than to also suggest that the quantity of items you order and type of shipping is important (e.g. companies who can ship a small number of discs in a Global Priority envelope without cases).
To a certain extent, I don't like to draw too much attention to this topic as I don't feel it's fair to expect vendors to deliberately undervalue shipments - though they can feel free to do so if they wish
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is regarding courier shippping. I would generally advise to avoid using courier shipping if you wish to avoid charges - couriers generally pay any customs charges in advance to expedite shipping, and then recoup them from the recipient along with their own generous fees for the service. I have found UPS in particular are likely to revalue the package for tax purposes using some arcane calculation, regardless of the vendor's declaration, and then impose their own rip-off charges on top of the duty and VAT that is (according to them) to be paid.
Hmm, we could of course order from a company that ships within the UK if they were to consider making their prices a little more competitive...
Seriously, Jacco, there are one or two items in your catalogue that I'd consider ordering, and indeed I was really happy with the service from Your Choice in the past, when I was ordering VHS tapes. One thing that put me off was the fact that each movie ordered was shipped individually - as I like to order a good batch of movies at a time, this meant a lot of similar packages turning up in the mail over a day or two, which can look a little suspicious. Do you still ship each movie ordered separately?
I know, I've seen our pricesearch results, all though it's not as bad anymore on some lines. But the laws in the UK come with a pricetag included .
ps the shipping costs in the ADT pricesearch are usually higher than they really are, Drew is still trying to fix it.
Not any more if they are being sent from the same address, but not all titles are available from all our shipping points, in the VHS days they were sent from many different locations, now we use less. A lot of our customers prefer shipments which fit in the mailbox, so that would limit it to three DVD's or so in a padded envelope.
But the gory details of UK porn shipping are onfortunately not to be intimately discussed on a public forum.
You can always email me what you're interested in and I can see how they would be shipped.
Indeed, as I hinted in my earlier post I think a little discretion is probably best. Mind you, I'm sure the powers-that-be are well aware of these discussions!
I'll maybe drop you a line privately to see what's up, Jacco, but your public contributions are always most welcome.
I am quite sure the PTB read here and on the BGAFD. It must infuriate them that after spending millions (I am not kidding!) on raids, prosecutions and other shit almost all of their victims are still in the business. Getting arrested for peddling porn in the Uk, the proof you're a serious pornographer!
On the subject of Yourchoice I would like to mention the amazing service I received from them a few weeks ago.
One afternoon I was a watching a satellite sex channel, as you do, and caught the last couple of scenes from "Cameo Amateur Collection #1". Deciding I had to have this, I did a quick search around and found it was available on DVD but only Yourchoice seemed to list it.
Deciding what the hell, I ordered it from Yourchoice, along with another title that only they appeared to offer. Then settled down to wait for the usual two weeks. Next morning the two DVDs arrived recording delivery. Less than 24 hours, if this is normal I think I might be prepared to pay for that kind of service!
The Cameo Collection is one of our own productions, there are 5 parts by the way
The official delivery time in the UK for our recommended items is 3-5 days, by recorded delivery, but sometimes we're faster, as you have noticed. I think you ordered just in time for the afternoon shipment of that day. The recommended items (which are in our paper catalogue) are stocked in the UK, for faster delivery. On our website all DVD's should have the delivery time right under the title.
I got charged about £20 import charge on an order from EvilAngelDirect (shipped by UPS). The order was 2 DVDs. UPS phoned my home number (someone else had to take the message for me) even though i think i only gave out my mobile.
Oh no, not UPS again! I have found UPS to be total bastards - no doubt more than half the £20 was for their own fees, totally unjustifiable. It's unfortunate Evil Angel have chosen to use them for shipping, because I would have loved to use EvilAngelDirect but I certainly won't be involving UPS in any delivery for me again.
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Oct 28 2005 : 9:01AM
Then again you have to remember that we're only talking about ripping off British government tax laws here. They'd skin their own grandmothers for a profit and tax us poor peasants through the nose as if it were still medieval times. And I'd dare say that most of those politicians and their boardroom mates rip off the tax system as well. In that case my conscience is clear when it comes to ripping off the import duty on things that I've already bought fair and square.
Changing the subject, what're Bargain Adult DVD like to buy from? Are they as good as they used to be before their absence from the AdultDVDTalk site? If so, what are they like when it comes to "bending the rules" on postage abroad?
Well, I agree with you Mojo (why shouldn't I be able to buy from the cheapest supplier without the governement seeking to intervene?), but it's not just about the tax - as I mentioned the couriers usually award themselves a healthy fee for the privelege of paying taxes for you, and often you have to pay this in order to receive your goods. This is the part I really object to; how much does it cost to process the payments and issue an invoice through automated systems? UPS would tell you it costs a minimum fee of over £11 to do so.
I can't see why you are having so many probs with the imports of 18+ vids or dvds!!!
Pat
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Oct 28 2005 : 6:41PM
I have to agree with you 100% there. I've had it done to me several times as well, where the arse holes have automatically declared my package on entry into the country and then made me pay a fee for the privilage of getting it through the customs quicker! Who knows, if they hadn't automatically declared my package, the customs might have overlooked it altogether!
I my case the exact value AND "DVDS" was written on the front of the package. There was also a plastic envelope attached to the front with my invoice inside it. This this commen with shipments from the U.S.?
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Mojo Deactivated User
1223 Posts 9/03
Posted - Oct 29 2005 : 5:19AM
Are you kiddin' me?! That's like saying to the British customs, "Stop me and tax me please!". Not a good practice at all.
Posted - Sep 29 2005 : 5:07PM
