Buying from international sellers

[boogiewoogie]

Hello,
has anyone had any experience of buying items from an international seller? If so, did you have to pay tax on delivery? How much do you have to pay and what does it depend on? I'm interested in buying items of clothing but am not sure whether it will be worthwhile once tax has been added to the cost.

Any comments welcome. Thanks.

A friend just bought her daughter's prom dress from China. It arrived in a jiffy bag, but was fine once it had been hung up and pressed. No tax as far as I know, and the total cost was far cheaper than buying locally.

I have bought a few small items from ebay US delivered to here in the UK. I usually buy low value or 2nd hand items. If they are 2nd hand and the seller writes '2nd hand ebay item' on the label with the price you paid , there should not be any tax. But you have to be honest about it as Customs and Revenue can open parcels to check.
The import duty is payable on anything new VALUE over about £30. Not what you paid for it. You don't usually know what the duty is till you get the card/letter from the courier or post office telling you there is a parcel waiting for you with £x amount of duty to pay, plus £8 ish for their handling fee.
A lot of international sellers will state on their listing 'we will not mark as gift' so don't suggest that they do it as its naughty tax evasion.
I think sometimes things get through without being inspected for tax, and other things don't, so its always best to assume that you WILL have to pay tax so there are no nasty surprises.