Ebay item marked as "gift"-is it a can of worms?

franglais · 11-07-2008, 5:38 PM

Hello all-
Living in Euro zone, it's too tempting right now to buy electronics from the states. I found a Squeezebox Duet on ebay.com; it says it's shipped from the states and marked as "an inexpensive gift" for international buyers, thus avoiding nasty things like VAT and customs duties.
But would I lose an protections from ebay/paypal by buying, ahem, "an inexpensive gift"?
If I bought it here in Paris, it would be about 150 euro more!

Thanks in advance for ANY input

nheather · 11-07-2008, 5:45 PM

As far as I understand, PayPal protection is for the purchase value regardless of how it is described.

Cheers,

Nigel

overkill · 11-07-2008, 5:57 PM

I would ask them to post it as a gift, nothing else. I would worry that customs would become suspicious otherwise.

franglais · 11-07-2008, 6:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overkill

I would ask them to post it as a gift, nothing else. I would worry that customs would become suspicious otherwise.

Hmmm...You may be on to something...that would suck if I ended having to pay massive fines and whatnot....

dan1979 · 11-07-2008, 6:07 PM

I don't know how it works in France but marking something as a gift to the UK bumps the tax threshold up by something paltry like £6 so doesn't really achieve much.

nheather · 11-07-2008, 6:50 PM

Quote:

I don't know how it works in France but marking something as a gift to the UK bumps the tax threshold up by something paltry like £6 so doesn't really achieve much.

Think UK gift threshold is £36 but ....

They are a little more generous than that and use discretion. It is intended for situation where my sister (now living in New Zealand) wants to send a birthday present to my son then it is marked as a gift and the regardless of value (within reason), customs treat it as such.

However, if customs ever have reason to think that the gift is actually a commercial transaction then they will come down heavily, tax wise and the seller could be in serious trouble.

Cheers,

Nigel

franglais · 11-07-2008, 7:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nheather

....and the seller could be in serious trouble.

Cheers,

Nigel

"seller" being the operative word there, wink wink, so as long as customs doesn't bother me, the buyer, I should be alright?
But more pointedly, should I trust a seller whose scruples are so low as to conduct business like that?

Peridot · 11-07-2008, 9:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franglais

"seller" being the operative word there, wink wink, so as long as customs doesn't bother me, the buyer, I should be alright?
But more pointedly, should I trust a seller whose scruples are so low as to conduct business like that?

The seller has probably had lots of requests to mark items in that way and knows that there is probably little a European administration could do to prevent them doing so.

In my experience a reasonable number of items correctly identified with their value get through UK customs anyway so I always hope for the best

The seller has good feedback ... good enough for me to order a Duet from him a few days ago. I've had tracking details emailed to me and hope to have it delivered, with or without customs charges, sometime next week.

I'll update with my experience if it helps

franglais · 11-07-2008, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peridot

I'll update with my experience if it helps

Yes please,

That would be great!
And thanks for your input on the seller.

Peridot · 11-07-2008, 10:14 PM

It left JFK at 9:11 PM yesterday.

I'll post again when it arrives

Or if it doesn't

andykn · 11-07-2008, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franglais

"seller" being the operative word there, wink wink, so as long as customs doesn't bother me, the buyer, I should be alright?
But more pointedly, should I trust a seller whose scruples are so low as to conduct business like that?

I bought a pair of lovely "**** centre speakers from the manufacturer in the US and was delighted when they put "computer speakers" on the customs declaration for about 25% of what I paid for them.

Even reputable businesses hate the taxman.

And there's plenty of disgruntled ebay sellers on here complaining that Paypal always favours the buyer.

franglais · 12-07-2008, 7:48 AM

Thanks all for your reassuring words; you've put my fears to rest

...well, almost. I'm waiting with baited breath to hear more of Peridot's experience

Peridot · 14-07-2008, 6:57 AM

It's arrived this morning - and with no charges

Was marked as 'Home Electronic Parts' with a value of $49.85 and the 'Gift' box ticked.

Ordered it on Sunday 6 July, so I'm very pleased with the service and price.

Naqv · 14-07-2008, 8:54 AM

I've ordered countless items as gift and they have all got through apart from one, which was marked as a gift, but to a high value $200.

**Steven** · 14-07-2008, 10:43 AM

I've imported a good few things from abroad. DVDs, headphones and an amp. In fact I am currently waiting on new Audio Technica ESW9 headphones

Just note if an item is marked down, then caveat emptor applies. Should the goods be damaged then it would be at the discretion of the seller to insure you up to the full amount of the goods, rather than the stated insured amount

I will point out from experience (as you have now found), customs and RM don't have a clue when it comes to audio gear (save iPods

) I've never paid more than a tenner (quite reasonable vs price of gear)

franglais · 14-07-2008, 7:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peridot

It's arrived this morning - and with no charges

Was marked as 'Home Electronic Parts' with a value of $49.85 and the 'Gift' box ticked.

Ordered it on Sunday 6 July, so I'm very pleased with the service and price.

Cool, happy to hear that

And it was new? As in "unopened"?
In other words, do you LOVE it?
Knowing French customs, as long as it's not sent via UPS, FedEx, etc, it shouldn't get noticed, but I wanted to err on the safe side...
Thanks for keeping me (us?) posted

Peridot · 14-07-2008, 8:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franglais

Cool, happy to hear that

And it was new? As in "unopened"?

It was a perfect brand new sealed box. Unfortunately I had to go straight to work and am just home now so it will have to wait 'till tomorrow to be set-up.

I did have a quick look though and it seems to be a very well made bit of kit. It's somehow reassuring to see Logitech copying Apple in terms of quality packaging. I know it's hardly the most important aspect of a product but if that's the quality they're aspiring to generally - I'm not complaining

Mr Incredible · 14-07-2008, 11:06 PM

For a few quid more you can buy it from the UK for £99 + postage. Hardly worth the hassle if it develops a fault and needs returning. Or am I missing something?

franglais · 15-07-2008, 6:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Incredible

For a few quid more you can buy it from the UK for £99 + postage.

You sure about that price? On Amazon.co.uk it's listed at 277 Pounds! Maybe you're thinking of the Squeezebox "Classic"?

Mr Incredible · 15-07-2008, 7:56 AM

There is the BASE and RECEIVER at £299 but the BASE on its own is £199 and the RECEIVER on its own, which is the eBay item, is "just" £99.

Unless I've picked up the wrong eBay item!! All the "DUET" ones on eBay that I could find were controller and receiver for about $398. I couldn't see any others which mentioned "gift" in the description.

....
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...
...

NOW I find the eBay item!!!!

Actually at $359 delivered as a "gift" IS good value. Ignore me. Senior moment!!

franglais · 15-07-2008, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Incredible

....
...
...

NOW I find the eBay item!!!!

Actually at $359 delivered as a "gift" IS good value. Ignore me. Senior moment!!

Yep, that's the ticket!

It's a good deal, right? Especially here in France, where it's going for 380 euro; convert the ebay one from 410 US dollars (that's throwing in the shipping) to 246 Euro, and that's a savings of 134 euro.....jackpot!

Mr Incredible · 15-07-2008, 11:21 AM

The correct US link I gave is $359 delivered. So even better value at 225 Euros.

franglais · 15-07-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Incredible

The correct US link I gave is $359 delivered. So even better value at 225 Euros.

On the drop-down delivery destination, are you showing UK, France, or US?
'Cause for me, when I chose 'france', delivery goes up from $18.99 (to US), to $69.95 (france)!!

Mr Incredible · 15-07-2008, 11:39 AM

Yup, you're correct. Didn't see the drop down list for "other services". Still, a good price if you can get it through les douanes without duty and VAT, ......

Peridot · 15-07-2008, 8:24 PM

Having set up the Duet, I'm extremely happy with it. Extremely simple to set-up and operate - just as we've come to expect from Slimdevices / Logitech.

What's even more important is that Mrs Peridot loves it, as she never got on with the Squeezeboxes' original remote

franglais · 16-07-2008, 5:00 AM

Good news, happy to hear that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peridot

What's even more important is that Mrs Peridot loves it, as she never got on with the Squeezeboxes' original remote

So my theory that The Wifies like the iPod-like browsing "with album artwork" is correct? I have no doubt that Mrs Franglais will adapt immediately to it, too

franglais · 30-07-2008, 5:00 AM

Well, like Peridot, my Squeezebox Duet was delivered just one week from the order date. Not bad from the states to france. It was marked "gift" and valued at something like $40. Listed as "home electronics part." No letter from the Customs man yet

Been using it for a few days, and am in love. To boot, they just put out a nice firmware update with loads of new features. It has great range in our 80 sq. meter duplex. No glitches....yet!