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VAT is not a big change - you won't pay the EU member state VAT and instead will pay UK VAT. It's basically neutral, or in a few countries cheaper. Custom fees

VAT is not a big change - you won't pay the EU member state VAT and instead will pay UK VAT. It's basically neutral, or in a few countries cheaper. Custom fees are the big problem, which is basically profiteering from Royal Mail and co. I really doubt it costs £8-12 to clear a small package through UK customs (especially long term when the systems are bedded in more). For example, Amazon doesn't charge customs duties on goods from the EU coming into the UK, so my guess is it is actually very low cost. My hope is that over time there will be some competitiveness on customs fees.

toyg 6y ago
You just have to read some of the past threads where people involved in logistics pop in, to realize that the costs are very significant indeed. For one, it takes longer to clear packages, which increases your storage costs; and if a package is refused it cannot be sent back, it has to be stored for a very long time, again impacting profitability (you now need bigger warehouses). Also there are additional checks, so more people involved - the relevant UK civil service has already expanded to deal with the increase in volume of bureaucracy, but actual couriers have not. That means they will be forced to hire more people, again raising costs. That high cost of handling international custom-clearing packages is an average of actual immediate costs and predicted future costs.
- martinald 6y ago
  I'm not saying there are no additional costs, they obviously are. What I'm saying is the current costs should come down in the UK. It has a ruthless courier marketplace. Amazon is either eating the costs (possible, granted, but odd as they don't do it for other countries) or have got costs so low to clear that they're not charging customers for them. £12 to clear a small package is obviously way over the actual cost incurred by the delivery companies.

toyg 6y ago

You just have to read some of the past threads where people involved in logistics pop in, to realize that the costs are very significant indeed. For one, it takes longer to clear packages, which increases your storage costs; and if a package is refused it cannot be sent back, it has to be stored for a very long time, again impacting profitability (you now need bigger warehouses). Also there are additional checks, so more people involved - the relevant UK civil service has already expanded to deal with the increase in volume of bureaucracy, but actual couriers have not. That means they will be forced to hire more people, again raising costs. That high cost of handling international custom-clearing packages is an average of actual immediate costs and predicted future costs.

martinald 6y ago
I'm not saying there are no additional costs, they obviously are. What I'm saying is the current costs should come down in the UK. It has a ruthless courier marketplace. Amazon is either eating the costs (possible, granted, but odd as they don't do it for other countries) or have got costs so low to clear that they're not charging customers for them. £12 to clear a small package is obviously way over the actual cost incurred by the delivery companies.