Sending parcels to the EU from UK

I have not had any parcels from U.K. but I see reports that whatever the value, weight etc many people are being charged various amounts - customs etc and delivery charges. Sometimes the charges exceed the value.
I have today ordered a gift from Amazon but from their German site - it will be interesting to see what happens.
I have told our families not to send anything to us.

I actually had to put a custom label on a birthday card
recently !!!

Yes I've heard similar stories Welshwife I suppose this year will be a bit of an experiment and if it all goes pear shaped, I'll have to look at alternative ways of gifting.
BlueBelle I did too when I sent my son a Birthday card. It's crazy isn't it?

I've done the same thing Welshwife too much hassle and too expensive all round. It's a shame but hey ho .

You can order gifts from Irish based firms who will send direct to EU, no taxes.

It is a shame, and surely all EU countries & the UK are going to have to sort this out, otherwise they’ll lose a lot of revenue because people will refuse to send parcels because of exorbitant delivery costs - both in the UK and the EU. (The value of the goods themselves usually being a lot less than the postage costs will prevent people sending anything, surely). Yes, I realise that for many, this could be solved using the internet and looking for delivery via local Amazon, etc, but this will not be possible or desirable, for some.

I wasn't keen, but ordered from Amazon Spain for delivery to Portugal. No extra charges and it was a very quick delivery. Gifts from the UK were delayed, sometimes for a few weeks and the excess amount charged was really variable and bore no relation to the cost of the gift!

It is 45€ including postage and the sender must tick "gift" on the label. We had a ridiculous sum added to a parcel received here recently (more than twice the value) but a quick trip to the parcel office proved that nothing should have been added as the value was below the 45€.

Mamie Thanks for clarifying. The articles online are so damn complicated! Thanks everyone else for your suggestions.

I'm afraid I don't agree with ”It's a shame but hey ho”. Brexit was going to deliver benefits but so far there only seem to be obstacles.

For years I've bought some Swedish gifts for my grandchildren. I live in the UK and so do they. These gifts cannot be sourced anywhere else. I recently checked what the total cost would be and it was more than double what I've paid in the past so this Christmas I'll have to tell the children that there won't be any special Swedish parcels. I've also told their relatives in Sweden not to send us presents.

But it is what some of us wanted and voted for – to make simple things like trading with our nearest neighbours much more costly and complicated.

Mapleleaf

It is a shame, and surely all EU countries & the UK are going to have to sort this out, otherwise they’ll lose a lot of revenue because people will refuse to send parcels because of exorbitant delivery costs - both in the UK and the EU. (The value of the goods themselves usually being a lot less than the postage costs will prevent people sending anything, surely). Yes, I realise that for many, this could be solved using the internet and looking for delivery via local Amazon, etc, but this will not be possible or desirable, for some.

Mapleleaf I have no idea how you voted in the referendum so this is not getting at you.

We had a perfectly good way of avoiding problems like loss of revenue in this situation, but we voted it away, along with lots of other things.

The EU don't have to do anything. We told them that we didn't want this. Now they treat us just like other third countries - just like we told them we wanted.

The worst thing is losing the personal nature of gifts to and from our loved ones in the UK. Yes you can order on Amazon or other sites, but it isn't the same as something you have chosen, wrapped and posted yourself. It isn't the fault of the post and parcel services; just a rushed, botched departure from the EU by people who put populist rhetoric over economic prudence and considered solutions.

The worst thing is losing the personal nature of gifts to and from our loved ones in the UK. Yes you can order on Amazon or other sites, but it isn't the same as something you have chosen, wrapped and posted yourself. It isn't the fault of the post and parcel services; just a rushed, botched departure from the EU by people who put populist rhetoric over economic prudence and considered solutions.

Apologies for double post. It sat there for 15 minutes. ?

Can't even get a bloody internet post across the channel any more.

I remember, before the UK joined the E U, I received a free gift from a UK company. I was asked for some money to pay the import tax. They were very surprised when I refused to pay. I didn’t mind if they sent it back as I didn’t know what was inside as I hadn’t asked for it.

In reverse my daughter, who lives abroad, orders things for us on the John Lewis UK website and we just don’t open them until Christmas. I do the same for them from Australian websites. It’s just getting used to doing things differently.

Forsythia

In reverse my daughter, who lives abroad, orders things for us on the John Lewis UK website and we just don’t open them until Christmas. I do the same for them from Australian websites. It’s just getting used to doing things differently.

But the issue is Forsythia, that we were part of a community where we had got rid of all annoying little issues like this, and we threw it away! I too accept that when I send gifts to family and friends in NZ and Aus, I have to jump through a few hoops, but it does upset me having to do it for Europe.

I sent a parcel to my DG in the Netherlands, cost me £6, small box of gifts for Christmas. Considering the distance and cost of transportation , thought that was reasonable.

Lincslass that does sound reasonable! My son is in the Netherlands. What company did you use?

GrandmaKT

Forsythia

In reverse my daughter, who lives abroad, orders things for us on the John Lewis UK website and we just don’t open them until Christmas. I do the same for them from Australian websites. It’s just getting used to doing things differently.

But the issue is Forsythia, that we were part of a community where we had got rid of all annoying little issues like this, and we threw it away! I too accept that when I send gifts to family and friends in NZ and Aus, I have to jump through a few hoops, but it does upset me having to do it for Europe.

To be honest it doesn’t bother me that things have changed now we are not in the EU. There’s more important things than worrying about sending a few parcels to EU countries. It’s a big world out there. We all have to send parcels abroad. It’s your choice: send them and pay the charges or find ways round it like ordering in the countries they live in. Or give money, vouchers etc.

My friend, who has had her book published , needs to post copies from Belfast to Dublin and Cork to be reviewed. The post office has told her they will need to go to the mainland first,where they were printed, then back to Dublin. It would be easier to drive down with them were she fit. Brexit.

Nobody is complaining about paying postage charges that we have always paid. We are complaining about the chaotic lack of clarity of the amount now due in VAT and customs duty. These changes happened this autumn.
Would you really regard it as unimportant Forsythia if your daughter was charged over twice the value of your gift in customs duties?
We all know Brexit brings changes as the UK becomes a third country. We have been dealing with them for five years. But if the UK had taken the time to do things properly so many of the difficulties could have been avoided.

Living in an EU country I would advise caution on posting gifts from the UK. In some areas the postal system is adding import duty to letters & cards.
My DH recently bought some items from the UK. The items cost £50. On arrival he had to pay €17 import duty.
What I do now is order gifts from UK companies for recipients in the UK.
Relatives in the Republic of Ireland no longer use Amazon.uk because of this situation. They use Amazon.de.
Please be mindful that any gifts sent to EU countries could incur a hefty import duty.