International Orders

Customs and Duties (VAT) – Please read

If you are a first time international customer please read this carefully. Each month we have a first time customer who places an order and is unhappy because when the order is delivered it has an "unexpected" VAT or custom's duty charge attached. This makes the customer unhappy and makes us feel bad as well. We want you to be happy with your orders from Scrapbook Express. So we are writing this to help prepare you for receiving international orders.

We follow all international shipping laws and requirements. We have no control over what happens when products are delivered in another country. Having said that, we do have many happy international customers who order from us time after time. We believe that these are savvy customers who understand the custom's rules of their country and work carefully within those rules.

For example, in the UK you may expect to pay a 17% VAT on internet sales items and possibly an additional Duty charge. If you are in the UK you can read about VAT and Duty charges by going to the UK Customs Website then looking under "internet shopping and VAT implications". We trust that other countries have similar Customs websites.

Please note the following:

Scrapbook Express does not pay Customs, Duties or VAT. Customs charges, Duties or VAT are not included in our prices. These “taxes” are the responsibility of the customer in the receiving country.
We will report the accurate cost of goods, on the customs form. We will not report less than the actual cost of goods. There is a reason for this. Please note the following from the UK Customs Office:

"Some unscrupulous overseas suppliers openly advertise on the internet, or on their web-sites that they will deliberately either mis-describe items or under declare their value in order to evade customs charges that are legally due on importation. You should be aware that although the foreign sender may have completed the customs declaration form on the parcel you are regarded (in law) as the importer of the goods and responsible for the information on the declaration, and any customs charges that may be due. This means that if you purchase goods from these suppliers and the declaration is found to be false or misleading you may be liable to financial penalties or criminal prosecution. Furthermore the goods themselves will be liable to forfeiture."

We assume that other countries have similar laws and believe that the best approach is to act according to the rules and regulations even though some of our less scrupulous competitors do not. We know that we lose some business because we refuse to circumvent the law, but we prefer to protect ourselves and our customers from prosecution.
We will not mark the package as a gift - for reasons already described above. Please do not ask us to do this.

Just as we try to adhere to the international laws, we will treat you with that same respect and concern.

A couple of thoughts on reducing shipping costs:

Know what the break points are in your VAT and Duty rules. By keeping your orders below a certain amount you may be able to reduce or eliminate the charges. It is sometimes better to make two or more smaller orders than one large one.
If you are planning a trip to the U.S. or have a friend coming to the U.S. you can place an order with us and have it shipped to the appropriate U.S. address at the specified time.
If you have family in the U.S. we can ship the order to them. Remember that orders over $75 U.S. are shipped free within the U.S. (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
We do charge shipping on overseas orders. The shipping costs are based on the weight and the means of shipping. We charge the actual costs. We do not add any additional charges to the shipping costs.

Shipping -- the Details

If Shipping costs will exceed $16 U.S. we will email you the cost and ask for your approval. We will not ship your order before you approve the shipping costs. A $5.25 credit will first be applied to the shipping cost if the order is over $75.
Remember that heavy items will cost much more to ship so lots of paper/cardstock, large organizers, Quickutz Handtools, and such, will likely carry fairly hefty shipping charges.
Small, light items can be shipped in envelopes often for as little as $11.00 U.S for 5-6 QuicKutz die shapes and will generally arrive in 3-4 weeks. If you would like these small orders to reach you quickly please put FedEx in the order comment section. Any items larger that 4"x6" must be shipped in a box and will be sent via FedEx international priority which is insured and traceable.
Remember that heavier items such as cardstock and albums are expensive to ship. Scrapbook Express wants to get your packages to you quickly and ships the most reliable, cost effective way possible.