one_hit 1047 Posted February 10, 2015 Do RCMart and Stella give any "assistance" when declaring the value of kits shipped via EMS? If so, how much is it usually? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nitomor 2122 Posted February 10, 2015 Rc mart shipped as gift with a low value 50hkd (£5 which is nuts), I got a bill anyway from customs, goodness knows how they came to calculate a value based on that declaration but they charged me the equiv vat of it being worth £75. I think if you get stopped they whack on an arbitary value which plus £8 parcel force handling works out at £25 odd quid, if they got it wrong you can complain, but in most cases I guess they figure folk will just pay up than go through the hassle and they've scored some revenue. They are supposed to put in a note saying how they calculated the vat owing, I had no break down and mine had been opened I believe. It transpires that I could have actually got the item for £40 cheaper from Tamico in Germany!! Beware that responsibility that customs declarations is correctly completed is on the buyer, which seems crazy. All that means in reality is that you'll be responsible if it does get hauled I guess! I can't comment for Stella, have a package en route so will soon find out. Edit...found the relevant clause...guess this is what they did with mine; Taken from here; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-252-valuation-of-imported-goods-for-customs-purposes-vat-and-trade-statistics/notice-252-valuation-of-imported-goods-for-customs-purposes-vat-and-trade-statistics 3.8 What if customs has doubts about the transaction value? Where we have doubts that the declared transaction value represents the total amount paid or payable, we will ask you for more information. If those doubts continue we shall notify you (in writing if you request) of the grounds for those doubts before making a final decision about the acceptability of the declared value. You will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond. Then we will make a final decision and notify you of it in writing (see paragraph 2.6 if you disagree with a customs decision). I was never contacted, I guess in reality they don't have time to contact each person so just make a decision themselves if they suspect anything. If we don't like it we can appeal. I'm not grumbling, although my limited edition internal packaging was damaged where it was opened which I was upset about, but at least everything would appear to still be there. Cheers Nito 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
one_hit 1047 Posted February 10, 2015 Thank you both for the input. For a kit in the $150-$250 price range, how much ysually docStella and RCMart declare? Trying to figure out how much I'll be paying in duties before taking the plunge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nitomor 2122 Posted February 10, 2015 Mine was more than that and marked at 50HKD. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lee1980 71 Posted February 13, 2015 Not got anything from Stella since re-re bruiser but never got customs on anything from them large or small order. The bruiser worked out at under £500 when it was first released to, if been hit would of been near £600. Stellas packaging is the best to even large bruiser box was pretty un-marked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LongRat 616 Posted July 29, 2015 Nowadays I doubt they would get away with it, but ~10 years ago I bought a load of stuff from Stella for about £800, and it came in a box so big it only just got through my front door. Declared value? $31 USD GIFT! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
