4 ms·

I think most people are unaware of that, and also when you buy from Ali you're invariably paying steep customs fees (tax + holding charges). They were ridiculo

I think most people are unaware of that, and also when you buy from Ali you're invariably paying steep customs fees (tax + holding charges). They were ridiculously expensive for stuff like cables, they were reasonable on common IT kit (wifi extenders, etc.) and sometimes ok on PC components, and often they had some really great offers. I think a lot of people don't realise quite how broad their catalogue was - they sold disco gear, speaker cables by the metre, all your discrete components and gizmos, plus a bunch of smart home stuff, telephony, etc. And as others said, they had decent staff who could often give good advice. It's very sad that they've not been able to sustain a place on the High St.

pjc50 9y ago
> when you buy from Ali you're invariably paying steep customs fees Are you sure? Whenever I've done it I get parcels which have completely false customs declarations to avoid the fees ("samples", "gifts", zero value declarations etc)
- ealexhudson 9y ago
  It comes down to pot luck and (I think) how big the parcel is. I've had a bunch of stuff "get stuck", and the admin fee alone is usually £25. The tricks with "samples/gifts" etc. really don't work. Either someone from customs looks at it or they don't, and because a lot of relatively expensive electronics is pretty small now, if you're not sending to a business address they will pull anything that isn't paying tax.
- gambiting 9y ago
  Even if you are not caught by customs control, you are under legal obligation to pay the tax yourself(from the real value, not the fake one declared on the parcel). I know vast majority of people don't, but import enough and someone will come knocking on your door one day.
DanBC 9y ago
You pay VAT on anything over £15 (including P&P). You pay customs duty on anything over £135. You pay a handling fee for the courier to sort that out for you (although it's doubtful they can force you to pay that). It takes a few weeks to arrive. And you gamble with the safety of it, especially if it's mains powered. But it's so cheap Maplin doesn't really have a chance.

pjc50 9y ago

> when you buy from Ali you're invariably paying steep customs fees Are you sure? Whenever I've done it I get parcels which have completely false customs declarations to avoid the fees ("samples", "gifts", zero value declarations etc)

ealexhudson 9y ago
It comes down to pot luck and (I think) how big the parcel is. I've had a bunch of stuff "get stuck", and the admin fee alone is usually £25. The tricks with "samples/gifts" etc. really don't work. Either someone from customs looks at it or they don't, and because a lot of relatively expensive electronics is pretty small now, if you're not sending to a business address they will pull anything that isn't paying tax.
gambiting 9y ago
Even if you are not caught by customs control, you are under legal obligation to pay the tax yourself(from the real value, not the fake one declared on the parcel). I know vast majority of people don't, but import enough and someone will come knocking on your door one day.

DanBC 9y ago

You pay VAT on anything over £15 (including P&P). You pay customs duty on anything over £135. You pay a handling fee for the courier to sort that out for you (although it's doubtful they can force you to pay that). It takes a few weeks to arrive. And you gamble with the safety of it, especially if it's mains powered. But it's so cheap Maplin doesn't really have a chance.