Buy from store & avoid customs hassle

[Ondrashek06]

I really want this Smallfry stamp set - it's just so cute.

The price is somewhat steep, at $50.

https://meccha-japan.com/en/figures/119194-figures-with-stamp-box-smallfry-splatoon-3.html

So where does the store ship from? Japan? Do they have a warehouse located in the EU?

And if not, how do I avoid paying 5x the price due to custom fees tacked on and/or the customs office ruining my life?

 

[SylverReZ]

I really want this Smallfry stamp set - it's just so cute.

The price is somewhat steep, at $50.

https://meccha-japan.com/en/figures/119194-figures-with-stamp-box-smallfry-splatoon-3.html

So where does the store ship from? Japan? Do they have a warehouse located in the EU?

And if not, how do I avoid paying 5x the price due to custom fees tacked on and/or the customs office ruining my life?

You could always get a proxy service like Sendico to ship it over to your country.

 

[Ondrashek06]

You could always get a proxy service like Sendico to ship it over to your country.

Sendico seems to only support 4 stores and the one I've linked isn't one of them.

 

[Hayato213]

They are based in Japan

 

[RAHelllord]

If you're importing those into the EU you'll not actually pay all that much in customs, that's 10 bucks or less, if you get unlucky. For the US it should be fairly similar, though that'll depend on the carrier they pick. There are online calculators available that can tell you what to expect to pay.

 

[Ondrashek06]

If you're importing those into the EU you'll not actually pay all that much in customs, that's 10 bucks or less, if you get unlucky. For the US it should be fairly similar, though that'll depend on the carrier they pick. There are online calculators available that can tell you what to expect to pay.

Yeah, but do you need to submit paperwork or do you just wire the money somewhere?

 

[Scarlet]

Yeah, but do you need to submit paperwork or do you just wire the money somewhere?

Generally if you do get charged it's just an email that gets sent to you to pay the fee before it can be released to you. Will vary slightly from shipping company to shipping company, but it's never something I've had an issue with in the UK. The worst thing that'll sting you is that some companies will add a set charge on just for the fact there is a charge. I think UPS is like a £10 or so flat fee, which does hurt for cheaper things like this. But yeah, I've never had to do any paperwork or anything like that. That should all be done on the sender's side.

 

[RAHelllord]

Yeah, but do you need to submit paperwork or do you just wire the money somewhere?

As Scarlet said, most places have the shipping company handle all the paperwork and you just get to pick up the mail. Usually these days it's via email provided to the seller when you bought something, failing that it's either an invoice to the address in the customs declaration / bill, or they ask you to pick it up at a post office and have you pay in person. Though the latter is increasingly getting phased out where I live.
Most shipping companies do ask for a service fee to handle all the import paperwork, I've seen it range from 6€ to 12€, depending on company.

 

[tech3475]

Generally if you do get charged it's just an email that gets sent to you to pay the fee before it can be released to you. Will vary slightly from shipping company to shipping company, but it's never something I've had an issue with in the UK. The worst thing that'll sting you is that some companies will add a set charge on just for the fact there is a charge. I think UPS is like a £10 or so flat fee, which does hurt for cheaper things like this. But yeah, I've never had to do any paperwork or anything like that. That should all be done on the sender's side.

Be careful with Fedex, they'll deliver the item to you and then send a separate tax bill. They also didn't put a name on the letter which meant my manager at first thought it was meant for the company, as I had my Pocket and Accessories orders shipped there.

Otherwise, only time I've had issues was when the seller (Analog) charged tax at the point of order when they shouldn't have and/or didn't declare it on the form.

 

[Hayato213]

If I'm not mistaken, they are located in Japan

Correct