Sorry I know we are going slightly off thread here, but, its very easy to try and take advantage of the awesome £ to $ rate at the moment, as things are cheaper than ever in the US then we have the rate on top of that, but..... If you can ask the seller to reduce the value of the parcel and also make sure it is marked gift on the USPS note then the chances of it being pulled by Parcelforce and ultimately customs are greatly reduced.
I spent nearly half an hour arguing with some snotty " iam am here to do a job and not help you" type person at HM customs regarding my WE Boxer and I explained it was a working sample for trial by Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team, which it is when I have finished playing with it for a few days, and she said even if its a sample and even then for a charity like MRT, if there is a value on it over £18 it will be scrutinised by Parcelforce who will then submit the parcel to HM customs for analysis as to which import catagory it falls under, thus allowing them to calculate duty and VAT, then Parcelforce slap there £13.50 handling fee ontop of all that. That is the official standpoint, so I said well.... this week alone I have had parcels from the US totalling $800, one of them was $400, one was $100, and finally one at $300, and I said these parcels werent subject to any fees at all, her reply....."you were lucky then" !! So I said well customs and excise is a pot luck organisation, is that what you are telling me ??
She said "Yup" she also went on to say if the item you are shipping is DONATED to you then it is not subject to any charges, so there you go...If you are reading this Matt at Battery Junction, John at Lighthound, Mike at Pacific, its donations we want and lots of 'em, lol.
Basically keep the value under $40 and mark it as gift, this way you should be exempt and get thru.
Lee
