International Shopping

[doctormeredithgrey]

Does Brexit affect shopping internationally - specifically USA.

A few days ago I purchased some things and paid a subtotal of 84.00 USD ( 61.15 GBP) and 31.80 USD (£25.15) for shipping which brought my total to 115.80 USD (£85.09) - HSBC shows £85.09 on my statement too.

I decided to purchase some more stuff from the same website today and noticed them displaying GBP currency now. Example, the other day I paid £23.39 (£35.00) for item 1 and 37.85 for item 2 (£57.00) - the prices in brackets show what they now cost on the website.

I was also really keen to purchase item 3 which is 128.00 USD and would have converted to £93.17 but it is now £139.00.

Is Brexit behind this? Or am I missing something here?

[WhatdoImean]

It is possible, though unlikely.

If the company selling the items distributes from an EU warehouse, then yes, there may be new shipping fees involved (example:- I purchase a fair number of board games that nominally come from the US - in practice though, they are shipped from Germany (DEU), and thus were sent previously without any import duties etc.

If they are now sending them either directly from the US or from an EU-based distribution centre, there will an import duty to pay. However, that should not affect the actual price of the goods, only (@only@? :-) ) the shipping charge.

Hope that helps

[ListeningQuietly]

If they are being supplied from the USA it should have no impact at all

If they are being priced in US$ but shipped from inside the EU
then yes, they will be more expensive

[TierFourTears]

That sounds more like the company is applying a preferential (to them) exchange rate on the website rather than anything else. Can you try and switch the currency back to USD somewhere on the website?

[TierFourTears]

Hmm, or, are they adding VAT along with an unattractive exchange rate ? You may find a rather expensive bill needs paying before delivery from UK customs (plus handling fee) for the stuff you have already bought.

[tommika]

There was a change to the rules on importing from January which is not related to Brexit


The Brexit change is that we are no longer part of the EU free market, therefore anything bought from europe is now an import

Before January imports were subject to import VAT, and import duty if applicable
If you have charges to pay then a handling fee is added on top by the carrier as they charge you the fees, pay HMRC and store your package in the meantime

Since January the rules have changed.

If the bill is up to £135 then the overseas seller should register with HMRC, charge you the UK import VAT as part of the sale, mark the package with their registration and pay the VAT to HMRC on a quarterly basis
This means they get a lot of paperwork and you don’t pay on arrival

If the bill is over £135 then they do no charge UK VAT at the point of sale. Import VAT, duty and handling fees get charged on arrival

[doctormeredithgrey]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

@TierFourTears I've tried to switch back to the US currency but won't let me checkout without a US address (can't change the country in the shipping part anymore).

I've done a little experiment and added 2 items to my basket, bringing it to a total of £92.00 plus a £10.00 shipping charge. It says:

The total amount you pay includes all applicable customs duties & taxes. We guarantee no additional charges on delivery.

I've then added a 3rd item bringing the total to £127 and now have free shipping and it still gives me the same guarantee as above.

Still confused!

[tommika]

@doctormeredithgrey

Thank you everyone for your replies!

*@TierFourTears* I've tried to switch back to the US currency but won't let me checkout without a US address (can't change the country in the shipping part anymore).

I've done a little experiment and added 2 items to my basket, bringing it to a total of £92.00 plus a £10.00 shipping charge. It says:

The total amount you pay includes all applicable customs duties & taxes. We guarantee no additional charges on delivery.

I've then added a 3rd item bringing the total to £127 and now have free shipping and it still gives me the same guarantee as above.

Still confused!

With this:

The total amount you pay includes all applicable customs duties & taxes. We guarantee no additional charges on delivery.

I would take the implication that they have registered with HMRC for a