Ordering jeans from the US how much customs?

Cyrus

im getting my girlfriend a pair of 7 jeans from the states as they are about the only jeans u can get long enough for her!!

Anyway they are a good bit cheaper on the net as opposed to buying in house of frasier or BT.

Anyway they are $187 + shipping of 28 which is fine, how much customs am i likely to get stung with tho, i need to see if its worht the hassle!!

DAEDULUS

the real question here is, what has she bought YOU from the states?!! HUH?

*Lees*

Hey Cyrus!.. You will deffo get charged a good bit for customs!!.. the f**kers!!!.. I bought a set of rear lights for my car last week... It came to €220 altogether including postage and packing!.. I was charged €54 by the postman at the door!!... I nearly had a heart attack!!!:eek:
I think if you ask the seller to write "gift" on the package they won't charge you customs?? ... I'm not sure how true this is though so don't quote me on it k!!!!

hardtrainer

lisamon wrote:

.. It came to €220 altogether including postage and packing!.. I was charged €54 by the postman at the door!!...
I think if you ask the seller to write "gift" on the package they won't charge you customs?? ..

You got off light. If you are ordering clothes, be very careful what parcel service the company uses. If it's FedEx, forget it. You'll get an invoice from FedEx for the customs duty, which will be up to 45% of the total cost of the shipment, including the shipping costs. So a pair of jeans for $180 + $20-30 shipping + ~40% of that total. Its really not worth it in the end.

If the company is small and willing to send via airmail, then you can possibly ask them to mark the customs declaration as a gift or sample of merchandise...either should get it in without hassle and charges, but it's not foolproof, they do some random checks on these things from time to time.

yak_kadafi

if at all possible try get the person sendin it to u to declare it as a gift...........................

cormie

hardtrainer, are you sure about the 40+ % rate? I don't think I've ever been charged that much, and I have got a LOT of things in from abroad. As far as I know, the max VAT they can charge is 21% but they can also charge for customs fees (the cost of checking the package). I think sometimes they charge it on to the cost of the delivery too which is a joke. A lot of companies wont declare and item as a gift as if they are caught, they will be fined and wont take the risk just at the chance of a irregular overseas customer being charged a bit more. A lot of ebayers, other small companies will if you email and ask though:)

hardtrainer

cormie wrote:

hardtrainer, are you sure about the 40+ % rate? I don't think I've ever been charged that much, and I have got a LOT of things in from abroad. As far as I know, the max VAT they can charge is 21% but they can also charge for customs fees

Cormie,
Sadly yes. You are first charged a customs and excise duty, which varies in value depending on the type of goods being imported. Then you are charged VAT, which can be 0% (only for livestock), 13.5% or 21% and is based on the value of the goods, including the shipping costs and the customs and excise dute (which is calculated on the cost of goods+shipping). So, if you are stung for duty and VAT, the costs really don't justify the savings from buying online. Of course, if the product isn't available in Ireland, what choice do you have except maybe fly to the US and buy it yourself :-) which is a much more appealing option.

Guv

Your total spend is 215.
You'll be hit with vat and duty. Say 15% duty i.e. now at 247.25 and now do the vat at 21% i.e. 299.17.

The total you could pay is $84.17.

Do you know anyone wellish living in the states? Have it sent to them and then sent over via usps.com minus all tags and invoices. The gift trick can work but if the package is randomly pulled and there is an invoice inside you'll have to pay 'the man' the full amount.

How tall is your girlfriend? Would some victoriassecrets not have jeans that would be long enough at a touch less money?

Cyrus

she's 5 11 with very long legs, and she likes her jeans long, they just dont cater over here!

ill just buy em in dundrum for 260 beans :eek:

Guv

260 notes is a lot for jeans mate. Check out Victorias Secrets as I reckon they must do something very similar for a lot less. Maybe ebay worth a look?
Best of luck, now bring her to the sony centre and point out that 50in lcd you've always wanted!:D