Sending Xmas gifts to Spain post-brexit what a palaver

[Figmentofmyimagination]

Has anyone tried to do this yet?

I just wanted to send a little Christmas present of some toys to a child aged 7 but the process looks so crazy and off putting now - customs forms, taxes etc and the thought of my friends having to mess around paying taxes on my present when it arrives ….. not exactly Christmassy.

Aibu to ask whether anyone has experienced this delight of brexit and persevered and what happened? My understanding is that this is the first Christmas with full-on Brexit nonsense in present sending.

Its horrendous. I sent a book and a scarf to my goddaughter in France and because the post office had missed a tick box on the form they demanded max customs duty of E75 from my French friend! She had to refuse the package and I assume it might be heading back to me - or is lost in the middle. Total sh*tshow of Brexit.

Don’t bother. Likely they will have to pay huge handling fees and taxes

Buy something on Amazon.es and get it delivered directly from there

Not sent to Spain but I can’t imagine the process us any different from sending to any other non-EU country such as Australia, Canada, etc. Many people send gifts there and have been doing for years. My recipients have never had to pay any taxes on arrival. The customs form is very straightforward.

The last time I posted something to Spain post Brexit, it too 7 weeks to arrive and that wasn’t at Christmas

I haven’t tried again since. It also costs a lot. It could be easier to deliver things by hand!🃏🃏only half joking

Don’t do it, my mum won’t stop sending me things and every time the duty is higher than the value of the item. If I refuse the item the post office have told me it will be destroyed as return to sender is only if it’s undeliverable.
There are plenty of online retailers you could order from so that the delivery stays within the EU. However, unfortunately sending a personal gift directly from you to them is now very hard.

So it looks as if I will have to send it via Jeff Bezos. Brexit, the gift that keeps on giving.

I just bunged some euros in a card to my nephew in Spain. His stupid thoughtless ex-pat parents voted for Brexit despite living in Spain for a number of years, in essence depriving my DDs in the UK of what their own DS can have. Sorry, that doesn't help OP.

Buy from somewhere like Corte Ingles if you want to avoid Amazon but don’t want to sift through smaller unknown retailers. Or say what you want to get and perhaps we can recommend others.

I was going to buy a sylvanian family and a box of furniture. Not very original I know.

Sent a present inankther EU country and the recipient had to pay more than the fucking present was even worth😂😂😂
Now I order on their local amazon or shops

Definitely not worth sending stuff from the UK now. So companies in the EU get my business when I'm sending gifts to family in Finland.

Not sent to Spain but I can’t imagine the process us any different from sending to any other non-EU country such as Australia, Canada, etc.

The limit for sending goods into the EU without incurring charges is fairly low. I don't know about Canada, but Australia is something like the gift has to have a value of greater than $1000 AUS before incurring charges so it's actually much easier to send things. I think EU is only about 35 quid. If you have multiple family members to send to it's not a lot.

Yes I looked it up after seeing what that poster had written about Australia and the Australian limit is indeed very much higher. I need something for the sibling too so I would definitely spend more than £35. I think Jeff Bezos is going to have to get my custom. How completely insane - and also the very opposite of ‘festive’.

I do appreciate that this is probably a bit of an elitist concern when you take into account the many benefits of Brexit. (Sarcasm alert).

Sylvanian Families is a lovely present. Toys R Us have a Spanish site: www.toysrus.es/Sylvanian-Family/c/00500200490001

Krakinou that’s really helpful! Thank you!

Well imagine away because it's totally different! My heart sinks if anyone tells me they've sent me a present to Italy....the forms....the extra cost....nughtmare. Please don't send anything without checking with your friend first. Far better to use an EU website.

The limit is £0 in my experience.

My parents have paid the post office to fill in the custom forms correctly. Then postage secondhand children’s books which they bought for 0.20o in bootfair. Put secondhand, gift, £5 value

Postman arrives at ours a week later. With €40 tax bill, and x2 €10 ‘handling’ fees from customs either end. €60 it cost us for about 6 secondhand basic toddler books.

we manage to post to uk fine just paying cost and pre filling in customs forms online, but every parcel to us is a disaster

Exactly the same experience. Secondhand book for 20p, retail price of £2 on the back cover, forms filled out for a gift, duty of €7.50.

Sites that I have used for toys:
drim.es
Fnac
Carrefour
Hope you find something on one of those.

I had issues sending a gift to France last year. There was a great list of things I couldn’t send and whatever I had ( I can’t recall now) was on it.

I run an online shop, I used to post worldwide, not now!

But @BigChesterDraws that's wrong. My son has lived in Spain and Italy, if I send anything he has to pay on arrival and pay cash, no cards accepted.

We marked ours as £10 and they demanded another £8 on the recipients side!

Apparently this happens with state run service, but not really with private couriers. I don't know. Might test it in january😂

I live in the eu and post brexit we have had to pay several times on small value items and things get stuck in customs for weeks. It is a complete hassle compared to what it used to be