Importing Blu-Rays from Barnes and Noble

[panmanthe2nd]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about ordering a few Blu-Rays from Barnes and Noble. I remember reading at some point that on the customs forms they mark everything as books. Is that true?

I don't mind paying a bit of VAT, but hate the £8 fee from Royal Mail.

[Alex_DeLarge]

Originally Posted by panmanthe2nd

Hi all,

I'm thinking about ordering a few Blu-Rays from Barnes and Noble. I remember reading at some point that on the customs forms they mark everything as books. Is that true?

I don't mind paying a bit of VAT, but hate the £8 fee from Royal Mail.

Never heard anything about them, but if its true about them marking false info on customs forms they're setting themselves up for a hefty fine if they were to get caught out.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by panmanthe2nd

Hi all,

I'm thinking about ordering a few Blu-Rays from Barnes and Noble. I remember reading at some point that on the customs forms they mark everything as books. Is that true?

I don't mind paying a bit of VAT, but hate the £8 fee from Royal Mail.

If their marked as Books they'd be zero rated by customs. You would have to make sure of that though. I guess maybe B&N put books on all their shipments to create a loophole. If customs open the parcel you would be charged though.

Interestingly posters used for public displays are standard rated but one of our members Alex_DeLarge got stung when receiving his Star Wars poster back from sending it away to be autographed. So he may have been hit unfairly as his posters are for private use (and they were his own property!)!

[Alex_DeLarge]

Originally Posted by chip75

If their marked as Books they'd be zero rated by customs. You would have to make sure of that though. I guess maybe B&N put books on all their shipments to create a loophole. If customs open the parcel you would be charged though.

Interestingly posters used for public displays are standard rated but one of our members Alex_DeLarge got stung when receiving his Star Wars poster back from sending it away to be autographed. So he may have been hit unfairly as his posters are for private use (and they were his own property!)!

YES, £35 customs tax I had to pay for my (already) own property back from the US. It was marked as $200 value which was well under valued, so God knows what I'd have paid had its true value been declared. I guess I have be thankful in some way, but not that much.

[duggie walker]

I've been buying from the Barnes and Noble sales for a few years now and I've never once had a customs hit. Doesn't mean that won't change this year but there you go.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Alex_DeLarge

I guess I have be thankful in some way, but not that much.

Getting it back in one-piece was the most important thing!

Back to the B&N thing, it's something I'd make sure of before I ordered anything. Whether all their labels are the same and are just marked 'books' would be pretty unusual. Even Zavvi mark their packages 'optical media.'

[Aristide Massaccesi]

I've ordered from B&N a couple of times over the years (each time they have a Criterion sale) and never had any problems with customs. Be prepared for a loooooong shipping time though, it's taken up to 6 weeks for my package to arrive.

[nametag]

I checked the last thing I got from them, and it was marked as Books. Have never been stopped by them, even though one of my orders was for a boxset which was both bulky and valuable. The cheapest shipping option DOES take absolutely ages though. One time it took almost 2 months or so, I think. And that was after a really long delay getting it posted out.

[panmanthe2nd]

Originally Posted by Alex_DeLarge

YES, £35 customs tax I had to pay for my (already) own property back from the US. It was marked as $200 value which was well under valued, so God knows what I'd have paid had its true value been declared. I guess I have be thankful in some way, but not that much.

That's really bad that you had to pay for your own property. But, well done getting it signed!

[panmanthe2nd]

Thanks everyone for replying. I think I'll go ahead and order.

If customs do say I have to pay, what happens if I won't pay? Do they return the item to sender?

Could I tell customs to return to sender, and then ask B&N to refund my order?

[chip75]

Originally Posted by panmanthe2nd

Thanks everyone for replying. I think I'll go ahead and order.

If customs do say I have to pay, what happens if I won't pay? Do they return the item to sender?

Could I tell customs to return to sender, and then ask B&N to refund my order?

If you refuse a parcel you can be liable for the returns fee and addition costs that the sender may occur. It will be in their Terms and Conditions. It will depend on your Post Office as well.