CD-Wow soon to be customs-friendly again [Archive]

Narshty

02-06-2004, 15:13

I wrote to CD-Wow asking whether they could implement an e-voucher service, where you could buy a voucher for whatever amount you wanted, then use it against items over £18 to bring the overall price below the customs limit, allowing them to go straight through.

I recieved:
A system is being implemented. I suggest you do not order any titles over 17.99 for another 10 days or so.

Please remember to do your bit:
CD-Wow! (UK) (http://tracker.tradedoubler.com/click?p=3128&a=60823&g=17349)
CD-Wow! (Hong Kong) (http://www.cd-wow.com.hk/index.php?affid=5502)
CD-Wow! (US) (http://www.cd-wow.net/index.php?affid=5502)
:thumbs:

added links - ic

Jimmyboy

02-06-2004, 15:21

I've never really understood how the customs thing affects cdwow anyway coz they must ship from within Europe given the relative quickness items arrive after shipping notice.

Herbal

02-06-2004, 16:03

But is'nt a voucher the same as Cash?

So if it's £20 and you buy £2.01 e-voucher and £17.99 CC

Then the total value is still £20?

Only a money off link will take the money off the box, i have had loads of e-vouchers (50p) and it still comes through as the price stated.

pauls2

02-06-2004, 17:56

Originally posted by Herbal
But is'nt a voucher the same as Cash?

Yes - I can't see how using a voucher would make any difference at all.

Perhaps Cd-wow are implementing something completely different from a voucher. Their email just said not to order over £18 - it didn't say anything about any sort of e-voucher.

paul

sampath

02-06-2004, 18:13

Surely the way to do this is to have a 'variable' postage charge? I mean it's reasonable that orders for boxsets with a number of disks, or disks which have to be 'specially sourced' (like the Kill Bill Japanese R2, for example) have a few ££s added to cover postage, which would bring the declared price coincidentally down to £17.99. :norty:

Obviously doing this for stuff that's more than £25 or so would be pushing it a bit, but otherwise....

Much

02-06-2004, 22:09

Probably just going to relay post of the expensive titles from within the EU. :)

Dunno how any 'e-voucher' option would work, as I've only noticed the price on the shipping label being affected by the use of discount links not by the use of vouchers. ;)

Ds3

02-06-2004, 22:56

The evoucher would work fine, if you want to buy a box set valued at £25, you first go to the cdwow web site and purchase a "spend £25 and get £8 off" voucher, at the cost of £8. Obviously customs won't sting you for buying this voucher as its only £8.

Customs only get you when the goods are shipped into the country, so when the box set is sent to you it has a true purchase value of £17 which is below the threshold...

I think... :suspect:

target

03-06-2004, 06:06

Nope. Paying with a voucher does NOT reduce the value of the item being shipped to you.

david080664

03-06-2004, 07:29

Originally posted by Jimmyboy
I've never really understood how the customs thing affects cdwow anyway coz they must ship from within Europe given the relative quickness items arrive after shipping notice.

All CDs, Games and DVD's are shipped from Hong Kong, the time difference is in CDWOWs favour.

Monday:

Customer places order at 9.00 am UK time (4.00pm HK)

Pick/pack and despatch by 6.00pm HK time (11.00am UK), and put on the 11.30pm HK time (4.00pm UK) flight to London

Tuesday:

Order arrives at Heathrow 5.00 am, put in UK postal system Tuesday

Wednesday:

Your order should arrive but the postie nicks it!:D

Argo

03-06-2004, 08:58

I've had DVDs from CD wow that were sent from Sweden, not Hong Kong.

But where does this idea that something shipped within the EU will not attract a custom charge come from.....it is not true.

malcy

03-06-2004, 10:17

Originally posted by Argo
I've had DVDs from CD wow that were sent from Sweden, not Hong Kong.

But where does this idea that something shipped within the EU will not attract a custom charge come from.....it is not true.

CD Wow used to ship over £17.99 items via Sweden but stopped last December 2003. This was after issues with UK customs who started targeting them.

Something shipped within the EU is not subject to any additional taxes when it enters the UK (there are a few exceptions eg tobacco), as you have paid VAT in the country it was bought from.

The issue with a retailer from outside the EU shipping via say Sweden to the UK is they may well have not paid VAT & import duty when the item arrives in Sweden it can then only be forwarded to the UK without any further taxes if this is the case.

Others like PlayUSA ship via Belgium but as they don't pay any taxes there you are liable when it enters the UK.

Unless CD-Wow pay tax on these items then it will just be a customs avoidance scheme which is unlikely to survive in the long run.

KeyserSoze

03-06-2004, 14:32

the packages dont smell like they come from HK. And believe me HK smells.

its a real shame, CDwow are still one of the top companies but i wouldnt order anything over £18 now.

i wonder what this new system is. I need my ROTK : EE when it is released :dork:

Herbal

03-06-2004, 16:21

Well they have a Hong Kong stamp on them and if you had any recent dvd/cd's then you would have noticed that they have replaced the number (stamps) and still from HK

zantarous

03-06-2004, 16:29

They really should just have an option where you can chose to pay the VAT and duty if you want as al least this will get the RM handling fee out of the equation.

SimonI

04-06-2004, 11:22

CDNow used to do that if you ordered from their European site - trouble is, they applied the VAT to all orders, including those under £18... so I avoided that site like the plague!

KeyserSoze - why not buy your ROTK EE from DVD Soon where it is currently under £16... no customs there and you're unlikely to find it cheaper.

Squirrel God

04-06-2004, 23:58

Originally posted by Narshty
I wrote to CD-Wow asking whether they could implement an e-voucher service, where you could buy a voucher for whatever amount you wanted, then use it against items over £18 to bring the overall price below the customs limit, allowing them to go straight through.

I recieved:
Blimey, I asked them whether I could buy gift vouchers a while ago as I had noticed that using a voucher meant that the price of item on the package was marked to the value after the application of the voucher (this is no longer the case). They told me gift vouchers were not possible at the time, however. Glad to see they've finally decided to do something about it, but they would have to go back to their system of deducting the voucher value from the declared value for it to be of use.

Squirrel God

05-06-2004, 00:10

Originally posted by malcy
Unless CD-Wow pay tax on these items then it will just be a customs avoidance scheme which is unlikely to survive in the long run.
Yup, especially now it's been advertised on a public forum frequented by several HM C&E employees.

KeyserSoze

05-06-2004, 11:21

Originally posted by SimonI
KeyserSoze - why not buy your ROTK EE from DVD Soon where it is currently under ?6... no customs there and you're unlikely to find it cheaper.

ah how good are they ?

what i dont like abotu DVDsoon is cancelling orders can take ages to refund money. And lost items you need to wait a month or so before they take action. Hmmm

Roy

10-06-2004, 21:26

What's the latest on this? I emailed CDWow but just got a standard reply saying I would be liable for C&E charges...

Bill Carr

11-06-2004, 10:58

Originally posted by Squirrel God
Yup, especially now it's been advertised on a public forum frequented by several HM C&E employees.

Who are they then? :suspect:

Roy

11-06-2004, 19:17

Originally posted by Bill Carr
Who are they then? :suspect:

Dunno mate, but they're all gaylords... COME ON C&E, BRING IT!

ryonhilluk

11-06-2004, 21:09

Lurkers.

Bapapapa

11-06-2004, 21:24

Originally posted by Roy
Dunno mate, but they're all gaylords... COME ON C&E, BRING IT! :lol:

AWaite

14-06-2004, 15:44

I posted this in a new thread earlier, didn't know ths one was here:

I ordered a game from CD Wow about 10 days ago which I just received. Suprised to see that it has come from/via Guernsey, and has had VAT/Duty already paid.

Oddly, on their web site, it still gives a warning about import duty when you add the item to your cart (Project Gotham 2 - £18.99)

Paul Moran

19-06-2004, 13:33

Several members have reported recently, on this thread and others, that their >£18 CD Wow orders had unexpectedly arrived via Guernsey, VAT/Duty paid. All very well, but their site is still giving out the usual warnings on >£18 orders, and I'd prefer to know before placing an order whether it was likely to get hit by Customs.

So I emailed CD Wow: "I understand that you may now have a new system for dealing with UK orders over £18, intended to eliminate UK customs charges on such orders. Are you able to provide details of these arrangements?"

Very quickly came the reply: "Thanks for contacting us. I am unable to discuss any of our shipping routes with customers. If you have any further enquiries please don't hesitate to contact us."

Very odd. If the system is legal, why be coy? If it is a scam, that relies on HM Customs not knowing about it, it won't last very long.

And yes, I realise that I'm adding to the publicity.

AWaite

19-06-2004, 14:42

It's very strange.

aapeen

19-06-2004, 22:38

well, there could be at least one explanation..

they don't know where you live when you order a certain dvd.. at least if you live in finland, they don't care if you pay the UK VAT or not, the finnish customs charge the finnish VAT anyway (because you're importing from outside EU VAT zone), so the warning is valid (for us that is)..

- aapee

Paul Moran

20-06-2004, 09:40

Originally posted by aapeen
well, there could be at least one explanation.....they don't know where you live when you order a certain dvd.. True, but it should be easy for them to get round that problem. At present, the warning says:

"Please note that within the European Union you MAY be charged CUSTOMS DUTY/VAT on this item as the value of this product is in excess of your personal import allowance.

If applicable, this Customs charge is collected by the Post Office/Postal Agent who may also charge you an additional handling fee for clearing your package through Customs.

We are unable to provide any guidance as to how much the Customs Duty/VAT or Post Office clearance fee will be as unfortunately these charges are completely beyond our control."

All they need to do is add:

"UK Customers Only: At present, we pre-pay the customs duty and VAT on products in excess of your personal import allowance (currently £18). However, this involves a longer delivery route, and you should allow up to 14 days for receipt." ...or whatever the actual position is.

Or they could refer customers to the FAQs: “Special arrangements exist for certain EEC countries; check the FAQs for more information.” and put detailed information there.

reddwarf

20-06-2004, 11:30

My 24 Season 1 box set arrived via Guernsy with no charges.

It cost me nearly £30.

:clap:

sakura

20-06-2004, 17:25

I really cannot see how this would work.

Spooky_uk

23-06-2004, 23:40

my season 1 angel costing 20.99 (after £2 footy voucher used) arrived via Douglas - no customs charges..

thefatalfury

23-06-2004, 23:51

PROVERB......

:| LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE:thinking:

& LET THE HMCE LURKERS BARK UP ANOTHER TREE !!DONT GIVE THEM MORE AMMO :doh:

Spooky_uk

24-06-2004, 01:11

naive lurkers really edit me off ;)

Paul Moran

30-06-2004, 20:39

Members have been posting on several other threads that they've been receiving expensive box sets "VAT and Duty Paid", even though the CD Wow site is still giving warnings about the possibility of charges being imposed.

So I thought I'd approach them again, with a question on a specific title. My email read:

I am thinking of buying "The Criterion Collection: The Leopard (3 Disc Set) - DVD Region 1, Price: £22.99", but I am worried about possible customs charges.

Several UK members of the DVD Forums have reported that their expensive box sets have actually been arriving VAT and Duty Prepaid, even though there was a notice on your site about possible charges.

What is the situation on "The Leopard"?

Back came the response:

Thanks for contacting us.

The reason this charge may apply is because the items exceed the personal import allowance of £18.00 per item, as per UK Customs and Excise Import regulations.

Unfortunately, these additional costs are beyond our control and you will need to pay the duty if you wish to receive the item.

We do apologise for the inconvenience caused in this situation, and hope that this will not deter you from using our service in the future.

So, either customer service does not know what is going on, or CD Wow are not paying the VAT/Customs Duty on all items over £18. :cry:

Spooky_uk

30-06-2004, 22:26

why not order it and see then instead of continually moaning about it ?
:doh:

Paul Moran

01-07-2004, 15:54

Isn't it obvious? If it's £21.99 delivered and inclusive of VAT/Customs, it's a good deal.

But if I order from CD Wow and get lumbered with £7 - £8 extra charges, I won't be able to complain to CD Wow, since they still warn about the possibility of extra charges.

So I might as well go to other sites that are cheaper.

Sorry you think I'm moaning. I happen to think sellers should be open and honest about their terms of business. So I'll keep on complaining. I know that their management visits the forums occasionally, e.g. recent spat with jonathan.e. ;)

rwoolst

01-07-2004, 16:01

So I might as well go to other sites that are cheaper.
tend to agree with you there, until the situation is made clear on their site I will go elsewhere for items over £18, TBH they must be losing business over this so I don't understand why they're taking this position, unless it's to appease C&E - e.g. how do they ever sell any games in the UK? :shrug:

Spooky_uk

01-07-2004, 22:20

Paul Moran

02-07-2004, 10:39

well just the two of you missing out then. I have had a few boxsets delivered over the past couple of weeks and not had any charges. If you are not willing to take a risk thats your problem, but if you beleive thats a good price I would take the plunge and order it now - while you stand a chance of getting at that price..I'm willing to take risks when there's no better alternative. But consider this:

- there are several threads indicating that CD Wow is one of the sites targeted by HM Customs at the moment;
- CD Wow's site still gives the standard warning that orders over £18 may incur customs etc charges;
- despite posts by you and others that CD Wow have paid the VAT/Customs Duty on their box sets, CD Wow have declined to respond to a general enquiry about their new arrangements;
- when asked a question about a specific title, they did not say they would pay the VAT/Duty, and made the point that any charges would be my responsibility.

In view of this, I don't think it would be sensible for me to place orders over £18 with CD Wow if other sites are cheaper and carry the same or lesser risk of incurring a customs charge.

As regards The Leopard, I'll leave it on my wants list for now. :)

Choccy

11-07-2004, 14:33

e.g. recent spat with jonathan.e. ;)

Which thread was this ? :)

EDIT Never mind found it.

reddwarf

12-07-2004, 08:24

Hi

I ordered two Simpsons Box Sets from WOW recently. Both arrived via Guernsey with VAT & Duty paid, and oddly, lowered prices marked on the boxes.

Season 2 was marked as £11.22, and 3 was £13.22 to make sure they were below the £18 limit.

I expect CD-WOW are continuing to keep the warnings, and not answer emails corectly in order to keep customs happy. If customs get wind of what they are doing, then they would be in line for a serious fine. It is an illegal practice.

However, I'm not complaining. 4 Simpsons R1 Boxsets, 24 Season 1 & Sex & The City S6P1 ALL customs free.

TheCookieMonster

12-07-2004, 13:19

minister_x

12-07-2004, 16:26

If customs get wind of what they are doing, then they would be in line for a serious fine. It is an illegal practice.

I guessed this too, but thought better about posting it... however, thinking about it now, it isn't illegal - they can just say they charged £9 postage from Hong Kong, shipped via Guernsey - after all, they can charge what they like - they're not breaking the law, if anything they're simply finding loopholes...

Rob.

zantarous

13-07-2004, 08:36

Doesn't the £18 limit include shipping as well?

Choccy

13-07-2004, 08:47

Doesn't the £18 limit include shipping as well?

Only if it's over.

SO you can order something with £17.99 and £2.95 for shipping and be fine, but if it's £18.01 and £2.95 you would get charged VAt on the total including shipping.

zantarous

13-07-2004, 11:22

Only if it's over.

SO you can order something with £17.99 and £2.95 for shipping and be fine, but if it's £18.01 and £2.95 you would get charged VAt on the total including shipping.

If that is the case then that is a bloody good loophole.

Grego

28-07-2004, 12:01

I just added several items over £18 to my basket and they didnt show a warning for customs at all - just the usual make sure you can play this region stuff........

so they sorted this out or not?

Paul Moran

28-07-2004, 14:14

I just added several items over £18 to my basket and they didnt show a warning for customs at all - just the usual make sure you can play this region stuff........
so they sorted this out or not?I noticed the absence of a customs warning when I looked at their recent Family Guy S1-S3 offer (£28.99). So I decided to take a chance on it. Unfortunately, I was one of several forum members who had their order cancelled, due to stocks being exhausted :cry:

minister_x

29-07-2004, 09:24

StuBruise

01-08-2004, 10:23

I noticed that the price of the Critic boxset has jumped from being just over £18 to ~£26 -- I'd say it looks like they're now pre-paying duty.

~~stu

jonathan.e

04-08-2004, 10:48

So in the case of The Critic set you’d have been better off taking a chance with customs!

Paul Moran

10-08-2004, 20:56

Well pleased. "The Leopard" and the Renoir "Stage and Spectacle" box set both arrived via UK agents, duty and VAT prepaid.
No prizes for guessing who's getting my order for the Cassavetes box set. They don't come out cheapest on any price checker, but after 8 disc postage and the likelihood of duty/VAT/RM charges are taken into account, it's going to be difficult to beat CD Wow.

Spooky_uk

10-08-2004, 21:42

Paul Moran

11-08-2004, 14:45

you see, wasn't that hard was it ? did tell you several pages back!!! ;)Yes, you did. And didn't I tell you, in effect, that I wasn't going to risk it while they were still showing a Customs Charge warning? Well, as soon as they removed it, I ordered. :)

StuBruise

11-08-2004, 22:17

So in the case of The Critic set you’d have been better off taking a chance with customs!

US$40.95 on the US .net site so it's not that bad ;)

~~stu

KeyserSoze

16-08-2004, 10:19

just bumping,

Has anyone had problems with customs lately ? do they definately prepay all VAT charges now ?

a few backs someone said they got charged customs fee when they ordered a game through CD Wow.

bungle1979

16-08-2004, 16:27

I got 24 Season 3 through the post this week, no customs, had British postage paid stamp I think - Douglas?

Don't think value was declared on my box.

Chris

16-08-2004, 16:40

According to a post on the AV Forums if you get any customs charges you just email CD-WOW and they will send you an e-voucher for the amount.

KeyserSoze

16-08-2004, 18:40

Thanks

Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition here i come !! :clap:

Jimmyboy

22-08-2004, 18:52

I've read that some people have been taken to a different screen after the check out process than usual or something. Is that still happening?

Muz

23-08-2004, 14:10

Just talked to them today... said there should be no customs charges and that they will refund through e-voucher if there is... No diff to checkout as far as I could see :-)

zantarous

23-08-2004, 15:01

I have read about this additional page at the HTF for several retailers. I think for the moment this extra page is a US thing only been done by several banks to help combat fraud. It is something along the lines of you sign up for some sort of internet banking account with your cc and then you use that information on various sites to do your shopping instead of having to put your cc details on these sites.