AddressPal & Lockers - An Post's Parcel Service SEE MOD WARNING FIRST POST

Sign up for addresspal yourself, using parents Irish address, your name or theirs. You don't have to fill any customs forms or risk the return of the parcel, as you just post your gift to the addresspal US address in New Jersey, with your account reference in the address. They will then forward it to your parents address. You will have to declare the value of the gift. Over €45 it will attract 23% VAT. Over €150 and it may attract customs charges as well as VAT.

Your total other costs are;

1. postage chages to the addresspal address. You may buy something online locally for direct delivery, possibly free delivery to this US address, but even if under €45, this will be treated as a purchase from abroad, not a gift, Any saving on getting free US online delivery might be negated if the item is below the gift threshold.

2. Addresspal process all the customs and Vat calculations based on the value declared and the gift/purchase status. There is a €3.50 charge for this.

3.Finally, there is the international delivery charge for the US to Ireland leg of the journey. This is €16 for up to 2Kg packet, so not too expensive.

You will have certainty that your packet is being delivered, and you will have tracking for the international and Irish end.

Example; you send a small packet with a gift valued €40, About 1.5Kg. Usps charge $64.20 (€63) for first class packet to Ireland. When the parcel arrives in Ireland, and provided you have filled out the customs declaration meticulously, your packet will attract 23% vat on the postage only, plus the €3.50 customs charges, total of about €18. You should be able to monitor this on the AnPost tracking , even pay it. If all is well, and you get the option to pay this, then your total costs will be €81, with the stress of potential return with no refund of your packet costs.

With addresspal, you will pay the cost of packet post from your us address to the Addresspal address, in New Jersey. No vat on the gift, €16 for delivery to Ireland, €3.50 admin, and no vat on these charges as they are paid via your addresspal account and include VAT. So €19.50 plus local US packet post charge, say about $12-16, instead of €81, and guaranteed delivery.

You might sent a gift worth €100, but you might buy online and get free delivery to Addresspal in NJ, so though you pay €23 Irish VAT when the packet hits ireland, you didn’t pay local postage, so no vat on this, just the addresspal €16 plus €3.50 customs clearance charge.

I'm certain this is how it works. Larger parcels cost more, but its not linear, 2Kg is €16, 10kg is €30. Customs charge always €3.50, and VAT is 23% of the purchased goods invoice value which may include delivery. I don't expect they try and add your local self posted delivery charges to NJ for VAT purposes on a gift, maybe they do, but if bought online they would use the invoice price of the store including delivery. Others here might have some real world examples.

https://addresspal.anpost.ie/pricing-sizing

Of course. Do they open the packets? It might help if @amdublin includes a copy of the shop receipt for anything that he purchased to send over, in a clear sticker bag on the outside, or inside with the gift? If he wants to manage the addresspal account, it might be prudent to have it his parents name, as a gift to yourself is just a purchase, senders name the same as recipient, so no gift VAT threshold. I'm not sure though that if you set up Addresspal in your parents name, you can use your own payment card details and email to manage and run the account. You probably can.

My addresspal is still active, though I haven't used it since Brexit, as you now attract double VAT (UK and Irl), the €3.50 fee, and the delivery charge doubled to €6.50, though it does cover up to 20kg. With VAT, that's a €33 charge on a €100 item. My last two attempts to use it foundered anyway, when two UK suppliers of a hard to find part had blacklisted Anposts UK addresspal address, for reasons of regional distribution rights, They were aware it was a forwarding address, and couldn't sell into Ireland as they were no longer entitled to trade here in competition with (non responsive) Irish agents. I had to drive to Belfast for that particular part.

Addresspal precludes substituting UK 20% for IRL 23% as the goods are technically not sent outside the UK, so you pay both. Suppliers can post direct to you UK Vat free, but it may never arrive, so many UK businesses have given up on supplying to here. Addresspal should institute a system of claiming back UK VAT on behalf of subscribers.Amazon operates with irl Vat, they were doing it pre brexit anyway.

Some sort of a glitch at the moment as I am getting the same.

It was working yesterday as i have some coming from the U.S. at the moment and was checking the tracking on it.

Anyone have something arrive damaged?

I got onto the seller in U.S. and they said they are only responsible for it arriving at the addresspal place in New Jersey safely.

If it got damaged on route to Ireland it's nothing to do with them.

Waiting for them to reply.

Packaged in a flimsy light cardboard and fragile stamped on it. Definitely poorly packaged.

Can see both parties washing their hands of responsibility here.

Yep they do open them.

I've found that AddressPal have been a bit slower in the last few months to process orders. I'd be mailing them if you've heard nothing by Wednesday.

Have addresspal got rid of the virtual address and the APW numbers? I can't find them on my AP account after I signed up.

I want to buy an item from amazon.de and get it sent to a anpost parcel locker. I would normally do it with parcelmotel but they are closing down.

What address do I put into amazon shipping details to get it in a parcel locker and where's my APW number?

Any help appreciated.

No i didnt add a card.

Before i do can i just ask are the uk/usa the only 2virtual addresses? I assume i would put my normal address except it would have a Apw code.

I dont see how it would make sense if i am not buyingfrom uk or usa. The item would be going into one of these 2 countries and then back to me. Im buying from germany. But if a different courier other than the national post service of that country is used by sender, then anpost wont take over.

Yeah iwas afraid of that. Its a shame parelmotel is folding. I will try look for another one that has a virtual address. Its such an aazing thing not to have to be at the house and also picking at random hrs from a locker. Thanks fr the help.

Guys did some one post here awhile ago saying there was a address or post office you could use in the north if you wanted to buy things from the UK and use that address in the north and pick up from there yourself.

The tracking number states addresspal received my order 10 days ago, but still not contact from them.

Is it typical they take this long?

Any idea of the average wait time from the UK addresspal depot receiving orders, and the order being forwarded to the Irish address?