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 trackable.
-
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.
Copyright Scrapbook Express 2007