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Blanca
Joined: 19 Apr 2012
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 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:56 am Post subject: Amazon Shipping Costs |
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I'm about to order a Kindle off amazon.com, and have found (to my horror) that whilst the Kindle itself only costs 72GBP, the shipping costs are an unbelievable 38GBP. On top of the reasonable 14GBP shipping and handling charge, this includes an "import fees deposit" of 22GBP, it would appear to conform with import duty or something.
Here's my question - I can order the Kindle to be delivered to my house in England and get it sent by my mum for far less than 110GBP, but should I? Is there the remotest possibility they'll dick all over me for trying to avoid import duty? |
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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:02 am Post subject: Re: Amazon Shipping Costs |
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| Blanca wrote: |
Here's my question - I can order the Kindle to be delivered to my house in England and get it sent by my mum for far less than 110GBP, but should I? Is there the remotest possibility they'll dick all over me for trying to avoid import duty? |
I don't see how you can avoid it.
X-ray will pick up your kindle wether it is properly labelled or not.
And even "private gifts" are liable for import duty.
Only chance you have is that Korea might not charge duty for this particular product. I'd like to see a list of what they charge for and what they don't. So far I've paid duty for various items of photographic equipment. |
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sendittheemail
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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They are going to tax you either way. The Korean government is aggressively ripping through and x-raying packages from abroad because this is one of the few effective ways they have of actually collecting taxes from the populace (enforcing traffic laws, littering laws etc isn't bringing in much revenue).
The upside is that if you order through Amazon, then the customs fees are all dealt with, without you having to deal directly with the customs people (who never speak English, and are often times incompetent). Just pay the deposit and wait for the package to arrive. Trying to circumvent the taxes will only give you more headaches. |
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ajuma
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:01 am Post subject: |
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You might want to think about just buying one from Gmarket. It'll be a lot cheaper. I'm sure it comes unregistered, so you can just register it to your UK Amazon account.
http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_search/search_total.asp?selecturl=total&SearchClassFormWord=goodsSearch&keyword=kindle
BTW: I've had a Kindle in Korea (purchased when I was on vacation in the States) and I love it! It's the best thing I've ever purchased. There's a great Facebook site called Readers of Kindle Books that can help you with any questions you might have. The Facebook site for Amazon Kindle is filled with self-promotions. It's pretty hard to get any help there.
Oh, and if you need any help with it, PM me!
ETA: BTW: Be sure you get one with 3G!!! |
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Blanca
Joined: 19 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| Gmarket is a good shout, thanks for the heads-up. There's some good deals on there. Unfortunately it'll mean negotiating the baffling complexity of actually buying something on Gmarket with a foreign card but it's better than paying tax I suppose. |
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Emark
Joined: 10 May 2007
Location: duh, Korea?
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:55 am Post subject: |
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I've been buying from eBay stores based in China. Shipping is cheap or free. Check that out.
G-Market is easy and safe. IF you ever run into a problem with G-Market, have your Korean friend phone and raise heeds with them and everything will be fine.
Happy shopping. |
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Kimchifart
Joined: 15 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| sendittheemail wrote: |
They are going to tax you either way. The Korean government is aggressively ripping through and x-raying packages from abroad because this is one of the few effective ways they have of actually collecting taxes from the populace (enforcing traffic laws, littering laws etc isn't bringing in much revenue).
The upside is that if you order through Amazon, then the customs fees are all dealt with, without you having to deal directly with the customs people (who never speak English, and are often times incompetent). Just pay the deposit and wait for the package to arrive. Trying to circumvent the taxes will only give you more headaches. |
Then they should tax cigarettes and petrol. It's really not hard to come up with solutions to Korean problems. |
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Kimchifart
Joined: 15 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:07 am Post subject: |
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| Emark wrote: |
I've been buying from eBay stores based in China. Shipping is cheap or free. Check that out.
G-Market is easy and safe. IF you ever run into a problem with G-Market, have your Korean friend phone and raise heeds with them and everything will be fine.
Happy shopping. |
Don't suppose you have a link to some of those do you? Might be good for future reference... |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I've been buying from eBay stores based in China. Shipping is cheap or free. Check that out. |
| Quote: |
| Don't suppose you have a link to some of those do you? Might be good for future reference... |
I've done this a fair bit too. A lot of Americans seem to be freaked out by it thinking they're a con or something, but mine have all come through with NO problems, and their shipping is astonishingly fast. Their English is usually better than Koreans' too.
However, in my experience it's not so easy to find lists or links. They all specialize in different kinds of products, and the way eBay is set up you find them by searching for a product. The way to screen out the Western stores is set up a screen for 'nearest first' using an American ZIP code. Then go to the last page and you'll find the Chinese sellers. Their shipping charges are almost always super-low or free.
Check their feedbacks and you'll see if they have a good history of dealing straight or not. WAY easier than using GMarket, as long as you have a PayPal account. |
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Emark
Joined: 10 May 2007
Location: duh, Korea?
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:21 am Post subject: |
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| sendittheemail wrote: |
They are going to tax you either way. The Korean government is aggressively ripping through and x-raying packages from abroad because this is one of the few effective ways they have of actually collecting taxes from the populace (enforcing traffic laws, littering laws etc isn't bringing in much revenue).
The upside is that if you order through Amazon, then the customs fees are all dealt with, without you having to deal directly with the customs people (who never speak English, and are often times incompetent). Just pay the deposit and wait for the package to arrive. Trying to circumvent the taxes will only give you more headaches. |
I've purchased over $1500cdn worth of products from eBay and Gmarket in the last 6 months and had them all come from overseas suppliers. My most expensive shipment was $425. It was just that product (a duplex scanner) that had duties applied to it (about $35.). 2 other purchases of $250 and $190 came in with out extra charges.
I find it unlikely that the quoted story is completely true. My experience is what it is. I will continue to purchase using eBay and continue to be free of governemnt taxation. |
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