# Post-Brexit deliveries from UK



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

How are people getting on with deliveries from the UK? I just had to pay €7 IVA on the doorstep for a package from Wool Warehouse, a company I've used for years ( having checked the order, they did not deduct VAT from the price, so I've effectively paid twice). And some watercolour brushes have been stuck in Madrid since mid-July awaiting customs clearance, even though the vendor swears he attached all the right paperwork. It's certainly made me think twice about ordering from British suppliers.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

If you buy from Ebay, they automatically add the import duty throught their checkout system, as if you were buying from the US previously.
I have found that stuff which was cheaper to buy from UK and pay the international postage is now cheaper to buy from the US, because the original price is lower, the postage only a bit extra and the import costs the same.
So stuff I used to buy from the UK I now buy from the US.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Overandout said:


> If you buy from Ebay, they automatically add the import duty throught their checkout system, as if you were buying from the US previously.
> I have found that stuff which was cheaper to buy from UK and pay the international postage is now cheaper to buy from the US, because the original price is lower, the postage only a bit extra and the import costs the same.
> So stuff I used to buy from the UK I now buy from the US.


Crazy! I normally use Amazon.es but will definitely look on eBay in future. I'm still wary of getting stuff from the US because various friends have had problems with packages getting stuck in Madrid for months...


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I've had a couple of orders delivered from Marks & Spencer. Although I order from the M&S es website, the goods are despatched from the UK. There are no additional charges to pay and there haven't been any delays in receiving them. However you now have to spend more (€99) to get free delivery, otherwise it's €15 which is quite expensive if you only want one item.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> How are people getting on with deliveries from the UK? I just had to pay €7 IVA on the doorstep for a package from Wool Warehouse, a company I've used for years ( having checked the order, they did not deduct VAT from the price, so I've effectively paid twice). And some watercolour brushes have been stuck in Madrid since mid-July awaiting customs clearance, even though the vendor swears he attached all the right paperwork. It's certainly made me think twice about ordering from British suppliers.


I too recieved an order from wool warehouse. I paid £59 for the wool and tax Inc IVA of €13,02 plus the delivery charge of €5

I emailed wool warehouse and got this reply

*Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, the short answer is that we don’t know for certain how things will work over the coming months. We are still trying to fully understand how things will work in practice, but our understanding at the moment is as follows:*



*1st July 2021
The EU will remove the existing 22 euro exemption, and EU VAT will theoretically be applicable to all orders from the UK, regardless of value. There will be a system (IOSS) which will allow online retailers to charge EU VAT at the time the order is placed. Unfortunately, the UK & EU governments aren’t very good at working together to implement this sort of thing, and currently as a small UK company we are not allowed to register directly for this scheme. We hope to be able to register at some point in the coming months.*

*Essentially, this means all orders may be subject to EU VAT when they enter the EU. Again, we don’t have any control over this – it is up to the government of the destination EU country.*


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> Crazy! I normally use Amazon.es but will definitely look on eBay in future. I'm still wary of getting stuff from the US because various friends have had problems with packages getting stuck in Madrid for months...


I've had no issues using Amazon Spain , sorry why would you. I rarely buy anything from UK apart from wool. I've now found alternative suppliers in Ireland, Holland and France by searching the wool I need for a particular project


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Megsmum said:


> I too recieved an order from wool warehouse. I paid £59 for the wool and tax Inc IVA of €13,02 plus the delivery charge of €5
> 
> I emailed wool warehouse and got this reply
> 
> ...


Thanks. I’ve written to them asking them to refund the VAT on the purchase price as I don’t see why I should have to pay it twice. I expect they will send me this same reply ...

This Government site makes it clear that UK businesses should not charge VAT when exporting goods to the EU.





Exports, sending goods abroad and charging VAT


Find out if VAT is due when you sell, send or transfer goods from Great Britain to outside the UK or from Northern Ireland to outside the UK and EU.




www.gov.uk







> *VAT on exports*
> VAT is a tax on goods used in the UK and you do not charge VAT if goods are exported from:
> 
> 
> ...


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Megsmum said:


> I've had no issues using Amazon Spain , sorry why would you. I rarely buy anything from UK apart from wool. I've now found alternative suppliers in Ireland, Holland and France by searching the wool I need for a particular project


No problems with Amazon.es except their knitting yarns are mainly acrylic rubbish. If you can recommend a good wool supplier in the EU I’d be grateful now that winter is approaching!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> No problems with Amazon.es except their knitting yarns are mainly acrylic rubbish. If you can recommend a good wool supplier in the EU I’d be grateful now that winter is approaching!


The problem is that many of their sellers (even though on amazon.ES) are in UK.

In good faith I ordered goods from amazon.es but had them stopped by customs as the seller was in UK. Called Amazon who said that just like ebay, all customs duty is pre-paid - jaja, try telling customs that when it is stopped.

60€ purchase, then 6 tax plus 60€ handing fees etc. - we rejected the purchase


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> Thanks. I’ve written to them asking them to refund the VAT on the purchase price as I don’t see why I should have to pay it twice. I expect they will send me this same reply ...
> 
> This Government site makes it clear that UK businesses should not charge VAT when exporting goods to the EU.
> 
> ...



I will email as well 

I'll give you links when I have them re wool


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## tardigrade (May 23, 2021)

I would think that Ireland would be able to supply your wool.

A simple "wool ireland" search brings up a lot of suppliers; it is up to you to see if they ship to the continent thru their website(s)

Happy knitting.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

tardigrade said:


> I would think that Ireland would be able to supply your wool.
> 
> A simple "wool ireland" search brings up a lot of suppliers; it is up to you to see if they ship to the continent thru their website(s)
> 
> Happy knitting.


Thanks! This one appears to be an exact Irish version of Wool Warehouse, I will try them next time.


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

UK seems to have really shot themselves in the foot with Brexit. My friend is there at the moment and said the supermarkets shelves resemble something like Russia in the 80's! 

I used to buy my kids trainers from the UK and use "Office.co.uk" in the sale. They used to deliver here for £5 which was great as premium trainers here for kids are extortionate. We also used buy quite a few bits from Amazon UK as it was cheaper than Amazon es but now there's no point. Just started looking at ebay again as i'm buying a Nintendo for my kids and yes they do add VAT and have a lot more second hand options. 

Turkey is supposed to be great for wool and cheap but as it's outside of the EU I don't think that would be much help unless of course you're planning a holiday! 🙂


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

I haven't ordered anything from UK since Jan 1st and doubt i will ever again.

What really pi55ses me off about eBay.es is that even if you specify Spain and listings in order of cheapest first you still get innumerable listings frim UK which may appear cheaper but don't necessarily include import duties and other charges, and don't get me going on therip off 'Global Shipment Programme'!


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

MataMata said:


> I haven't ordered anything from UK since Jan 1st and doubt i will ever again.
> 
> What really pi55ses me off about eBay.es is that even if you specify Spain and listings in order of cheapest first you still get innumerable listings frim UK which may appear cheaper but don't necessarily include import duties and other charges, and don't get me going on therip off 'Global Shipment Programme'!


I've stopped searching on ebay.es and either search the German or Dutch ebay. As like you I have found stuff listed in the UK. And I'm looking for car parts at the moment. 

What I did find with Amazon.es is I'm getting stuff from the UK with free shipping and no customs charges. The spark plugs I ordered made no mention of country of origin but were shipped from the amazon warehouse in Fife.


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

Barriej said:


> I've stopped searching on ebay.es and either search the German or Dutch ebay. As like you I have found stuff listed in the UK. And I'm looking for car parts at the moment.
> 
> What I did find with Amazon.es is I'm getting stuff from the UK with free shipping and no customs charges. The spark plugs I ordered made no mention of country of origin but were shipped from the amazon warehouse in Fife.


Try AUTODOC for car parts. It’s an app I’ve used in the past. You can get it from the AppStore or I think you can access it via autodoc.es. Seemed reasonably priced to me. Hope that helps


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Autodoc is quite good, everything is sent from Germany though, so it takes about a week even if its shown as in stock.

I buy more car parts than wool too!


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Try Oscaro.es and here for oil.

Don't dismiss a simple Google search either.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

Chancerz said:


> Try AUTODOC for car parts. It’s an app I’ve used in the past. You can get it from the AppStore or I think you can access it via autodoc.es. Seemed reasonably priced to me. Hope that helps


They are expensive for classic car parts though.
Ive found that Amazon.nl is better than Amazon.es for choice.
For oil I use Carrefour the 20 W 40 mineral for the Moke was 3 for 2 and even at the full price was cheaper than the car parts place attached to carrefour (can't remember their name).
I asked on the Mini Moke forum for car parts and was given some Spanish suppliers, Ive ordered from them and while more expensive than the UK shipping is quicker (2 days for quite a large box).

For my art stuff Ive contacted Jacksons in the Uk and asked if they planned to open an EU branch or at least let Amazon fulfilment hold stock in the UK (I think this is the way Amazon are getting round the import duties and tax). They said they might think about it. The only downside is that the warehouse has to hold stock and its then stuck there until sold or returned to the supplier.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

You're thinking of Feu Vert but 20w50 is the correct oil for an A series engine.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

MataMata said:


> You're thinking of Feu Vert but 20w50 is the correct oil for an A series engine.


The Mini Moke Club recommended 40 in hotter climates for vehicles doing less than 5000km a year with annual oil changes. The 20 part is not relevant here as cold starts are not really a thing. I don't even need to use the choke.
They suggest 40 in the later engines as the 50 produces more sludge at higher operating temperatures and the late 1980's engines had better tolerances piston to bore.
I will see but all the previous services have had 20W40 and the engine only has 79,000km on it. At the next change I will check.

Used to use 50 in the Cortina but only because the engine had done 170,000 miles

Anyway we gone off topic again.

Ive just ordered some books for the wife and a couple of tools for me and something for the 3d printer from Amazon.es and they are coming from the Uk (being a prime member no postage charges). I checked the seller and they are Uk based. Shipping was quoted as 3 to 5 days from the Amazon warehouse in Bedford (I contacted the seller to find out if they had stock here). 

Some stuff is definitely harder to get here and even before the B word, it seems like the Uk was lucky in that everyone wanted to sell stuff there. Even simple things are hard to get on Amazon.es but there are thousands listed on the Uk site, even Chinese sellers don't seem to list as much here.
I might do a comparison tomorrow and see. Watch this space..


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

So - in July I ordered three watercolour brushes to the value of €36 from a small supplier in the UK. the vendor assured me he'd attached the correct customs information. Earlier this week I received a form from Correos in Madrid which I had to complete and upload to their website along with the original invoice and my NIE. The next day they emailed me a Presupuesto asking me to pay over €40 by bank transfer! Of this, €20 + IVA was a handling charge, then they added IVA and import duty on the goods. I really don't want to pay a bill that is more than the value of the purchase. If I don't pay it, what happens? Will they keep chasing me or just return it to the sender?

I've advised the vendor that he needs to sort out an eBay store. I do feel sorry for him and all other small businesses who used to export goods to the EU, it must be a bureaucratic nightmare.


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

Return to sender asking for a refund as they assured you customs etc.. had been paid.

Tell customs you don’t except the charges as you were assured they were paid by the sender.

They’re probably getting a lot of these issues at the moment.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Frankly buying from UK sources is now too much of a crap shoot, I haven't done it since Jan 1st.

Are the brushes you want really that special that you can't find them in Spain or elsewhere in the EU?

BTW a customs declaration is nothing more than a statement of what's in a package, it in no way means or even implies that the sender is paying any import duties or other charges which may become due in the destination country.

If you refuse to pay and accept the shipment it will eventually find their way back to the sender.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

MataMata said:


> Frankly buying from UK sources is now too much of a crap shoot, I haven't done it since Jan 1st.
> 
> Are the brushes you want really that special that you can't find them in Spain or elsewhere in the EU?
> 
> ...


Thanks. I buy in Spain whenever I can but these brushes ARE special, they are produced by a guy whose online art course I’ve been following and specially adapted. I wanted to support him as he’s done such a great job helping me improve my painting! Ah well, you live and learn.


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## Barry Jones (Aug 29, 2021)

Sadly, I still live here in the UK and things are no better in the opposite direction. (Although we don't have empty shelves yet, despite what the media may tell you!!)

I have an old MK1 Ford Granada and parts here in the UK are expensive (even 2nd hand & if you can get them) I always used sellers in Germany, as the cars are more plentiful out there (I even drove to Germany a few years back and brought an entire MK1 back on a trailer for spares when I was restoring mine)

Shipping used to be reasonable too, but now even the smallest and cheapest of parts on ebay.de or kleinanzeigen command a 20 euro postage cost plus customs charges. Same when I used to sell parts on Ebay. I often sold bits to German owners but they have all dred up now, except for a few, very hard to find parts that I have

This s**tstorm is one of the reasons that has kickstarted my desire to move to Spain permanently in a few years as my wife was born in Northern Ireland and qualifies for Irish citizenship by birth.... phew


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Megsmum said:


> I will email as well
> 
> I'll give you links when I have them re wool


I'd be interested too!


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