Quick warning for those who, like me, may be unfamiliar with using Etsy to buy items from abroad.
Two weeks ago I bought two paintings from a seller in Spain. They were £59 each with free delivery. Or so I thought. After I hadn't heard anything for a while I checked my order again and realised I'd been charged 20% VAT on top. It wasn't in the basket but apparently appears at checkout, stupidly I didn't notice as I was buying things from a number of shops and it isn't easy to see what's coming from where. The seller accepted returns so I asked her if I could just buy one of the paintings as it was a bit more than I expected (she hadn't sent them). She said she was still going to send them and if I wanted to return I'd have to send them back at great cost. She was really rude and frankly bordering on inappropriate!
Today I've had an email from Royal Mail saying I'm going to be charged again from customs (we think 20% again, it doesn't say). Although the total of the order was 118, the VAT pushed it over the 135 customs limit. Essentially we are going to have to pay the best part of 50 quid more than expected. I honestly feel scammed even though I now know I should have been looking out for this. I've bought stuff from overseas before and never had this (I assume it was built into the costs though).
The whole thing has made me quite upset so just a warning to others if you are as unfamiliar as me.