You are reading a single comment by @mdpye and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@mdpye
It's a crapshoot. The VAT import threshold is £18, so potentially £3.60 tax, but the handling fee is fixed, so the minimum you pay when you cross the threshold is £12.60, which sucks for small items. It sometimes it's not applied. And others it is...
It also depends on how the value of the package is declared, and some aliexpress sellers are willing to get quite flexible. I never ask for fraudulent declarations, but I did once receive a milled metal keyboard case which cost about £60 and weighed several kilos, declared on the box as a single plastic keycap valued at 20p... Many sellers put in their listing that they're happy to do this, or that they do it as a matter of course to be more competitive.