Import from EU/USA/Asia Customs

[Jocosta]

Hi all,
I am about to start a dropship business and it will include ordering from suppliers in EU, USA and Asia to be delivered directly to the customer in the UK. Prices to the customer will range from £20 to £1000 or more. I have no experience at all.

I have tried so hard but cannot find any guidance on this.
How can I make sure no parcels get stuck at customs, and that the supplier does not include any prices/costs on the parcel?
Is this something that I have to discuss with the courier, is there anything that I have to set up for every order?
Is there any articles out there I can read for guidance?
If this question has been asked before, please share the link to the thread.

Thanks all in advance.
JC

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

How can I make sure no parcels get stuck at customs, and that the supplier does not include any prices/costs on the parcel?

Unless you are dealing with experienced suppliers, you can't, outside of getting it delivered to you and then you send it on.

 

[AmazonGeek]

Bit of a minefield this. You will need to make sure the customer is aware if there is VAT or duty due when the order hits the UK, which means you will need to know in advance. Duty rates will vary from product to product too.

If your supplier sends orders DDP then you need to make sure that includes VAT (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't) or your customers could get a nasty surprise when their orders arrive and they find they can't take delivery without paying another 20% + handling charges.

Also, make sure your customers know that there will be a long delivery time or you could end up with bad reviews and unhappy punters. In the case of China, make sure you are using reputable factories that are qualified to sell to the West. If you get one that normally supplies the Chinese market, you could end up with banned chemicals/products, etc or ones without the appropriate certification. Also, make sure the factory exists in the first place, so if you are finding them on Alibaba, do all the necessary checks first.

Then there is insurance - you need to make sure your products don't harm anyone. If you are operating via a limited company that will give some protection but if you are a sole trader, then all your money/assets could be at risk.

In other words, make sure you do your homework before starting anything.

 

[japancool]

I wouldn't be starting with £1000 products if you have no experience.

What if the customer is not satisfied and wants to return something?

 

[Jocosta]

Bit of a minefield this. You will need to make sure the customer is aware if there is VAT or duty due when the order hits the UK, which means you will need to know in advance. Duty rates will vary from product to product too.

If your supplier sends orders DDP then you need to make sure that includes VAT (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't) or your customers could get a nasty surprise when their orders arrive and they find they can't take delivery without paying another 20% + handling charges.

Also, make sure your customers know that there will be a long delivery time or you could end up with bad reviews and unhappy punters. In the case of China, make sure you are using reputable factories that are qualified to sell to the West. If you get one that normally supplies the Chinese market, you could end up with banned chemicals/products, etc or ones without the appropriate certification. Also, make sure the factory exists in the first place, so if you are finding them on Alibaba, do all the necessary checks first.

Then there is insurance - you need to make sure your products don't harm anyone. If you are operating via a limited company that will give some protection but if you are a sole trader, then all your money/assets could be at risk.

In other words, make sure you do your homework before starting anything.

Thanks for the advice.
I am set up as a limited company and intend to procure mostly from EU, and very rarely from USA and/or China. I won’t be using Alibaba or Aliexpress. I will be sourcing from small to medium manufacturers across the EU mostly.

I like the DDP option sounds like that is what I would work with. I’ll look into insurance as well as I had not considered that. Once I get in touch with the suppliers I’ll see what the options are.

Just thought there was some sort of clear guidance/option/process for businesses importing to basically declare and pay in advance… etc .

Dropshipping is such an old thing I assumed this would be a basic process that more businesses do and there would be a straight forward answer to my question.

Thanks all.

 

[NickZ]

ordering from suppliers in EU, USA and Asia to be delivered directly to the customer in the UK.

You'll need a handler in between. Rarely it is possible to send direct to a customers. Most of the time the first receiver gets all the items in one parcel.

 

[japancool]

You'll need a handler in between. Rarely it is possible to send direct to a customers. Most of the time the first receiver gets all the items in one parcel.

What utter rubbish.

 

[Lucky-Vicky]

Hi all,
I am about to start a dropship business and it will include ordering from suppliers in EU, USA and Asia to be delivered directly to the customer in the UK. Prices to the customer will range from £20 to £1000 or more. I have no experience at all.

I have tried so hard but cannot find any guidance on this.
How can I make sure no parcels get stuck at customs, and that the supplier does not include any prices/costs on the parcel?
Is this something that I have to discuss with the courier, is there anything that I have to set up for every order?
Is there any articles out there I can read for guidance?
If this question has been asked before, please share the link to the thread.

Thanks all in advance.
JC

How do you want to dropship your products? actually if you purchase from E-commerce platforms such as aliexpress,they have included the tax in the price with the item, which you should pay, it means your buyer won't need to pay extra to get the package. or you can find a shipping forwarder who can also offer you tax-included service，of course, many importers usually ask their shipping forwarders to declare at lower cost for the package to avoid high tax

 

[Customs Geek]

, many importers usually ask their shipping forwarders to declare at lower cost for the package to avoid high tax

Sorry we don’t advise forum members to act fraudulently or illegally . Most overseas sellers have very poor knowledge of UK procedures and leave their unsuspecting customers to sort out the mess .

 

[Lucky-Vicky]

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Sorry we don’t advise forum members to act fraudulently or illegally . Most overseas sellers have very poor knowledge of UK procedures and leave their unsuspecting customers to sort out the mess .

This was ealrier.Currently all should be compliant

 

[Customs Geek]

This was ealrier.Currently all should be compliant

Yes it should be compliant and that legal responsibility ultimately often lies with the UK importer. I don’t see how suggesting they ask the forwarder to declare a lower value to avoid duty is compliant.
There are many threads on this forum of importers who have experienced problems , poor quality goods and unexpected costs after sellers have promised all costs are covered.

 

[sdob]

DDP is your friend, and I would say a basic requirement. You'll find consumers have very little patience - or understanding - for customs realities.

If you really want to use a supplier that won't ship DDP, you'll need to ensure the billing of VAT and potentially duties goes to you. But this will insure import-declaration fees. DDP will avoid that.

As far as duties go, if the product is manufactured in the EU it's likely that there are no Duties. If it was imported into the EU before coming to the UK, duties are likely.