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Buying in the U.K from foreign mints/dealers?


SilverStar

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Hello there, SilverStar here with some newbie questions???

I'm just starting out in the U.K ?? and would like a little advice on buying from overseas mints/bullion dealers. I have bought silver in Britain ?? and I've used Silvertogo ?? with no problems. I have seen many items from USA ?? (APMEX) etc & Perth Mint ?? that interest me. I have read up on shipping which does seem expensive from America ?? but I'm worried about currency issues & customs/V.A.T rules.

What are your experiences? Who have you used? Who/where should I avoid? Are Commonwealth countries like Australia ?? problem free? 

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I git hit on a coin bought straight from Perth Mint and it added quite a bit to the overall cost. However, it seems to be hit or miss at times, sometimes packages come through ok, other times not. Probably the more busy buyers from overseas will know more.

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Customs is a hit or miss. I've got silver from Kazakhstan and Australia go through customs without getting to pay extra.
And another one from Switzerland on which i had to pay handling fee and VAT.

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Ordering from outside of the EU will incur VAT (20%) and customs administration charges (£8-£14).  If sent using one of the main couriers (Fedex, UPS, DHL) then it is pretty much guaranteed to get hit since all the paper work is done electronically at the point of origin.

Items sent using the countries domestic post can slip through.  That's all handled manually as they enter the country so it depends on the staff.  Sometimes they're on the ball and other times they're not.

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8 minutes ago, morezone said:

Ordering from outside of the EU will incur VAT (20%) and customs administration charges (£8-£14).  If sent using one of the main couriers (Fedex, UPS, DHL) then it is pretty much guaranteed to get hit since all the paper work is done electronically at the point of origin.

Items sent using the countries domestic post can slip through.  That's all handled manually as they enter the country so it depends on the staff.  Sometimes they're on the ball and other times they're not.

Sounds like a nightmare, maybe I'll leave it to the big boys and pick up coins from good sellers on eBay instead.

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16 minutes ago, SilverStar said:

With the Swiss ?? purchase, how were you charged for the extras? Billed through the post?

Went to pick up my package at the post office and had to pay 18 euro VAT plus customs handling fee.

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Just now, Mariner1961 said:


Or on here.

I'm going to upgrade to premium membership this month to see what's on offer. Have you bought and sold much on the Silver forum?

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I'm going to upgrade to premium membership this month to see what's on offer. Have you bought and sold much on the Silver forum?

I haven't sold anything but Ive bought quite a bit from reputable folk on here. All painless and more than happy.
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5 minutes ago, KevinG said:

Went to pick up my package at the post office and had to pay 18 euro VAT plus customs handling fee.

Have you bought and sold much on this forum?

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I'd stick to EU zone orders unless you calculate customs and VAT into your purchase and are still happy with the totals.

 

UK VAT generally shouldn't be added on EU-to-EU deliveries. After Brexit is formalised, that may change.

From what I understand the VAT is already paid on the mainland, at something like only 5% in Germany and slightly different or exempt in other regions, so your checkout cart already reflects the local tax in each coin price.

 

Definitely have a look at BackyardBullion's group order. He did one before and now he's doing another, so I jumped in for a few ounces. The unboxing will be epic.

 

 

For anyone interested in the law, the following page on the European Commission website talks about customs fees not being charged when purchase and delivery happens within the EU, and goes on to say that the tax is charged at the country of origin's rate, if any.. unless that business is above an annual threshold of intra-EU exports to the UK. You can also see the full list of VAT rates per EU region there.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/buying-goods-services-online-personal-use/buying-goods/buying-goods-online-coming-from-within-eu-union_en

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I'm not sure if BYB will do any overseas group ordering though. In a recent video he had a nightmare with UK Customs having sliced open a parcel he got from Canada (I think) and they gave it a serious thrashing. Very disheartening but at least nothing was confiscated. I don't know if he was charged for their [mis]handling service.

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On 5/1/2017 at 13:32, shortstack68 said:

Check out this thread here 

Combined order of Silver & Gold from Goldsilver.BE by backyard bullion, he's doing a group buy which saves everyone a little money
 

From experience, well worth looking at, great job by BYB :-)

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