Time for another Monday morning customs rant!
I discovered another "glitch" in the import customs system to day. I bought an item from Canada for $60, seller insisted in using the eBay global sellers program so it cost me another $64 for the shipping and duty fees. I was not amused but lived with it anyway as the item was worth $120 to me, despite paying more for the shipping than the item was worth.
Problem was the seller listed the $60 item value, but failed to list the $64 shipping costs on the customs deceleration. In steps Irish customs, ho ho ho whats this, no shipping cost deceleration? The Irish solution for this?, they lookup the cost of sending the package back to the sender and use that figure to calculate the duty. ...ok, guess it kind of makes sense.
UPS cost to ship the item to Canada?, that would be €136. So that's €136, + the $60 item value, + €15 admin fee, + €3 vat on top = €59.99. Yes thats right, €60 duty for an item that cost me €100 inc shipping and duty in the first place. Its only Monday and i'm already in a foul mood