Ordering from China - customs etc.

[amoreoamicizia]

I'm going to try ordering from one of the big Chinese sites which I haven't done for about ten years. It used to be the case that small parcels were somehow mainly getting through without a charge, but US parcels always would have a charge from customs. I'm guessing most things get stopped and charged for now,.as things seem stricter these days?

If that's the case, if I place quite a large order is it better to do it as one big order so I have one Royal Mail charge plus customs, or does it not make any difference?

Which site is it? I've only paid customs once and was all calculated when I paid for my order.

Probably AliExpress.

It's probably slave labour and lots of plastic...

The site I used was Temu, I don't get charged custom fee all time but I did on one particular order. They used Evri but I got free shipping.

Why? Just why would you buy from somewhere like that?

Thanks for the helpful replies and to everyone else, get off your high horses and have a reality check: I'm just cutting out the British retailer and buying firect. All these things are sold by John Lewis, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Tesco, Zara, H&M, Hollister, TK Maxx and on and on and on. You all buy things made in China. You are being utterly ridiculous.

😂

Hmm although I agree a lot of stuff is made in unethical conditions we don't know the half off... usually the temu/Ali express is the knock of version of what we'd buy in John lewis/ Sainsbury's etc and not exactly the same product. The fake/copy/cheaper made version.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Are clothes excise goods?

Of course it isn't

Don't Temu just steal stock photos from companies, and you get the cheap knock-off version?

Maybe you can let us know when your order arrives OP to see if we are being utterly ridiculous?

I regularly buy from Temu (but crafting materials, not clothes) and have never had to pay shipping or customs charges.

All the stuff I've had from Temu has been fine, I often see the exact same in Home Bargains, B&M, the range, Amazon etc. Its great for kids hair accessories, kitchen gadgets, fancy dress - the list goes on. I've never paid customs tax on clothes from Temu. The order I paid it on had all sorts in so I'm not sure of it was the size of the order or some if the contents

I'm not ordering from Temu but thanks for the helpful reply.

God, Mumsnet is full of bitches sometimes, it really is.

Can anyone who isn't here to answer my question leave the thread please and post their opinions in goods made in China elsewhere. This is Style and Beauty, btw, it is about clothes.

I think if its under £135 you don't pay extra, that is probably total order though, stories of people having to pay loads of fees are usually if they have bought for example a £200 coat. I would look into this under £135 amount.

You will also need to check with VAT whether they pay it or you do.

There is an Ali Express community forum on HMRC gov.uk website that may be useful

Ali Express also does it. But do let us know how the quality is.

I recently ordered a novelty t shirt on Amazon, hadn't actually noticed it was coming from China!

The t shirt cost €20 and customs duty was €10 which I had to pay prior to delivery. Don't mind really, the t shirt is cool. I'm in Ireland btw.

It's a shame you can't block individual users as you can in Reddit, isn't it. Do be careful not to drown in your own sarcasm. By the way, I do hope you aren't typing on a device using minerals mined by slaves, and that you won't be eating chocolate over Christmas at all because all of it is made using slave labour. I do also hope you don't drive a car, because that would make YOU a MASSIVE SANCTIMONIOUS HYPOCRITE.

I don't have a car, by the way. Nor do I have children. I'm also vegetarian and have been all my life, which I am willing to bet probably makes ME far less of a polluter than YOU.

Do update me. Do, do, do.

@amoreoamicizia

Things changed with Ali express after Brexit. I'm not sure why, I was ordering all through and was monitoring changes.

Before Brexit the 20% vat wasn't applied. I'm assuming our customs were meant to collect but never did for small amounts. I think it was up to £14 if I recall. If it went over £14 it was held up in customs and tax collected.

Now tax is applied at checkout for every purchase. Ali express must be paying it directly to Hmrc.

No customs checks now. It's a quicker delivery too. I get things in under 12 days often in 8.