Found a poster I love but theatre can't ship to UK due to custom charges

[Weareoutofwine]

So trivial... but... I have found a poster that I love. It's by my favourite artist - her work has been used for this seasons performance. She almost never has any work officially available in print or limited edition. It is from the ballet in Zurich and they are selling the posters via their online store. I tried to order it but the theatre cancelled the order - due to very expensive custom charges - they will not ship to the UK.

I am gutted. It's stunning and I will never in a million years be able to afford an original piece by this artist. Also I can't afford to go to Zurich 🤣 to buy it from the actually shop.

Can anyone think of a clever way to get my hands on the poster! I WANT it so much - but like the artists original work - it's totally out of my grasp.

Could you offer to pay the custom charges?

What about a freight forwarder?

Or book a holiday there and pick it up

Are the charges lower for the EU? Do you have any friends over there who could possibly order it for you & hold onto it until you see each other?

Ohhh not used this sort of service before - will investigate. Thanks

Ohhh not used this sort of service before - will investigate. Thanks

Couldn’t you just organise a courier to pick it up yourself. Dpd / parcel2go type thing, fill out a customs declaration online. Alternatively if you have any friends in Europe to send it to and they could forward it on.

I like Switzerland. But as with the poster - at the moment a trip to Zurich (uber pricey cite) is out of my reach for the foreseeable. Humph.

I'm hoping that Switzerland have a deal with the EU which means custom charges low/non existent. I do have a friend o Spain so that'd a good idea.

I'll price up a courier too - not used one before so thank you.

Excuse typos - tying in the rain

I sympathise, there's a US-based artist I love but she doesn't ship to the UK, no exceptions. Sometimes you just have to accept that things are sadly unobtainable.

That's odd. Usually non UK companies just post it out after letting you know you'll have to pay customs when it arrives.

Just use a US-UK shipping company!

Or use a freight forwarder.

Yes I was so disappointed- placed the order. Felt so content. Then email from the theatre to say - sorry we absolutely do not ship to the UK due to customs charges and we've cancelled your order. I did offer to sort customs but they still refused the order. I understand - they are not a huge multi national organisation.

I think we need to see this art… 👀

Looking at their email again - they don't actually mention the UK. They state they won't ship outside of Switzerland at all.

So I need to come into some money and book a city break.

Feel free to take a look at the Ballets online store. Lots of posters for previous and current works.

Sounds like it’s partly due to Swiss Post’s post-Brexit requirement for sellers needing to collect the VAT for items under £135 AND that the seller needs to be registered for UK VAT (which sounds bonkers!). If it’s worth more than £135, problem solved as then the courier/Swiss Post collect the tax/customs fees from the buyer (OP) instead.

www.post.ch/en/sending-parcels/international-consignments/brexit-goods-consignments-to-great-britain

How much does the poster cost? Either way surely it’s your problem on arrival. The limit is £135 (ie no customs if it’s under £135. What does it cost?

@Weareoutofwine

Just use a forwarding service. Google suggests these for Switzerland to UK:

Parcel Forwarding Services (For Individual Items)

• MySwiss24/Leemond SARL: Gives you a Swiss address in Geneva to use for shopping, then forwards items via DHL, FedEx, UPS to the UK, with tracking and consolidation.
• Shippn: Offers a similar service, letting you shop Swiss brands and get them delivered to the UK with competitive rates.
• Eurosender: A platform to find flexible options for sending parcels from Switzerland to the UK, including convenient parcel shop drop-off/collection.

Yes, but none by a female artist that could be described as "stunning" IMO... 🤔 Unless I'm looking in the wrong place!

Unfortunately all mute questions - as the theatre won't shop outside Switzerland full stop.

But a freight forwarder as suggested might be the way (never used one so no idea what's involved- but off to look now!)

You don't need to do a full on city break - just take the earliest flight in, buy your poster, have some lunch and a walk then fly home. (I know people who do day trips like this all the time - they go back for proper weekend breaks if they really like somewhere!)

I'm not looking for a debate on something that is subjective - what one finds stunning/moving etc. Beaty is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz. Full stop.