EU Wharehouse closing?

[Dusty]

Okay, here's the deal. We will be posting an official statement on our site tomorrow. In that, we would like to try to do an 'FAQ' based on all questions that you guys have. So, if you have a question, please post it here, and we will include it in the FAQ. Please try to word your questions as SIMPLY as possible.

They would like me to hold off on answering random questions here and there until that statement & FAQ is posted on our site, so everything can be announced at once, instead of piece-meal Thank you all very much for your feedback!

 

[Dusty]

Dusty just to be clear as I think there is cross wires. Shipping from the US into the EU is going to be much more expsnsive for the collector.

If you order from the UK Warehouse you are charged at the UK rate of (i think 17%)

Therefore if a statue costs; $100 + 17% = $117 + shipping say $30 = $147.

If you ship from the US then the VAT rate will depend on which country you are shipping too.

Therefore (Ireland as an example):
$100 + $50 shipping = $150.
Now the interesting part

Customs in the EU will vary but in Ireland they will charge:
21% VAT, 8-9% Duty and 1-2% clearance/handling
Therefore approx 32-33% to be charged on $150 = $199.50

And this is on a cheap piece. Just imagine if this were a $300

$300 + $50 = $350. Therefore 33% on $350 = $465.50

Thanks for the break down - I have passed it along: Some of the charges will definitely vary by country, however, many of our products are duty-free throughout the EU. While some countries may pay 2-4% more in VAT on direct shipments when comparing the UK VAT to the direct ship country VAT, we believe the NEW shipping rate discounts (which go into effect this week) will offset those increases. We will be posting more information tomorrow, please keep posting any new questions so that we may include them in the FAQ in time!

 

[Bullseye]

Not sure what products would be duty free? Maybe books.

 

[JosephCPR]

I have an order "In transit to the EU", will it be shipped to me from the EU warehouse or the US warehouse?

 

[Trilogy]

Not sure what products would be duty free? Maybe books.

Certainly nothing made in China, produced from polystone.

 

[JosephCPR]

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper both for Sideshow and EU customers to ship from China directly?

 

[Bullseye]

I think if you order books from amazon.com your not charged VAT or duty.

 

[Webb]

Not sure what products would be duty free? Maybe books.

Probably she referring to the frames,that comes with the exclusives.

 

[Trilogy]

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper both for Sideshow and EU customers to ship from China directly?

Sideshow would have to finance a distribution warehouse to do such a thing. Something they are obviously not about to do.

 

[JosephCPR]

Maybe it is for small boxes or low prices. I think I read somewhere that for items under 150€ you don't have to pay import duties

https://fedex.com/es/about/duty-deminimis.html

 

[Karma]

here's a suggestion for the FAQ:

take the size, weight and cost of a standard 12" figure the the same for a PF and show a breakdown of the final cost (to various EU countries) to ship using old and new method

 

[Dusty]

According to what I've been told, Trilogy is correct - items made from plastic or polystone and originating from China should not be assessed a duty fee when shipped into the EU. Fine art, metal replicas, etc are (we do offer some of those items on our site, so not EVERYTHING is duty free). Definitely a good question to include in the FAQ!

 

[Dusty]

I have an order "In transit to the EU", will it be shipped to me from the EU warehouse or the US warehouse?

You will need to contact customer service for this answer, as I'm not sure. This process is in transition right now

 

[JosephCPR]

You will need to contact customer service for this answer, as I'm not sure. This process is in transition right now

Thank you Dusty. I have already done it

 

[creecher]

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper both for Sideshow and EU customers to ship from China directly?

That's a can of worms right there.

Imagine the outrage if Statesiders had to pay shipping prices like the rest of us.

Therefore the cost of shipping from China to the States is built into the prices. Made minimal because America is Sideshows biggest customer. We are all paying for the shipping to America. The biggest market is only having to pay the extra shipping for the shortest distance. Catering to the biggest market is a logical step.

Even so, shipping from China isn't that much cheaper, when I compare distances and how close in proximity China is to where I live. Then again, there are some strange shipping models about. Anything I order from China never comes by courier, which I'm quite pleased about. Some stores give a 30% discount, some don't even include shipping costs in their prices.

Stopping now. Post getting too long.

 

[Bullseye]

here's a suggestion for the FAQ:

take the size, weight and cost of a standard 12" figure the the same for a PF and show a breakdown of the final cost (to various EU countries) to ship using old and new method

And include the additional duty involved shipping from the US.

 

[Trilogy]

And include the additional duty involved shipping from the US.

As duties vary across the EU, Sideshow would really have to do their homework to provide such a list. To be fair, they will only be able to list shipping fee examples. You the collector will have to calculate the additional costs.

 

[JosephCPR]

Conclussion: we are screwed

 

[theguru1]

The FedEx shipping rate is definitely going to be lower, thus bringing down your invoice amount, .....

Does this mean that us 'other' overseas customers will also be getting cheaper shipping, like down to Australia.

With the Evil Queen PF due soon, not having to pay like $120+ in postage would be really nice.

 

[fat hobbitss]

I have been buying for many years now products sent from USA (I live in Spain) the added charges (import duties, VAT) go like this:


STEP 1. Product Price + Shippin cost $150 + $50 = $200 (TOTAL 1)

STEP 2. Import duties (they depend on the imported product type and origin, as Dusty said some products may NOT have to pay import duties on the EU, but this may depend on the country laws) added over TOTAL 1.

If Import duties are 6% $200x1.06= $212 (TOTAL 2)

STEP 3 V.A.T. This varies in each EU country. As low as 15% in the UK and as high as 25% in Denmark (18% in Spain, 20% Ireland, 19% France) .....

20% VAT (for Ireland) calculation is made over TOTAL 2 $212x1,20= $ 254,4 TOTAL 3


STEP 4 Customs Agent fee Most parcel services operate as customs agents. Fed Ex is indeed one of them. Depending on local policy, they will charge you a fixed amount plus a percentage calculated over TOTAL 3.

I will suggest SS will find what is this rate. I have heard of Fed Ex charging 30 euros (some $50) as a Customs Agent fee.

That could make TOTAL 3 ($254.4) + Custom agent fee ($50) = $304.4 GRAND TOTAL

So that would make an approximate 50% over the products original price plus shipping.

The "old way" would have been just STEP 1 + STEP 3 (15% UK VAT) = $230 instead of the new $304,4.



I do repeat every country has its own VAT and special import duties, plus Fed Ex will charge a Custom Agent Fee. I think SS will have to make clear and investigate this points.

I'm not sure this is for the best of us. Shure we will have the item delivered faster, but my guess is we all would prefer waiting some 3 weeks more and save around 30%