A uk buyer...any advice?
Hi everybody, i am a uk buyer who would love to get sam and max season 1, but also the hardcover surfin the highway. Obviously, i know with shipping etc this will cost me nearly £50.
What i was wondering is this: how reliable/fast is shipping, and how well packaged are the items? I know it sounds anal but i am mildy OCD, and i would be pretty dissapointed if the collectors books came out of shape etc.
Sorry for a strange post, any replies will be much appreciated!
What i was wondering is this: how reliable/fast is shipping, and how well packaged are the items? I know it sounds anal but i am mildy OCD, and i would be pretty dissapointed if the collectors books came out of shape etc.
Sorry for a strange post, any replies will be much appreciated!
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Comments
We are looking into other options for shipping and hopefully won't have to live with the spotty shipping forever. Normally I'd say if shipping time and packing materials are a huge concern for you, then you should wait because it may be better in the not-too-distant future, but because this is a limited edition and I don't know how long we'll have them in stock, obviously waiting is risky, too.
Sorry. I wish I could say we've never had any problems with shipping to Europe, but it wouldn't be true. That said, most packages are fine (although sometimes a bit slow to arrive). Also, on the plus side, the hardcover will be a lot sturdier than a paperback, and as a result, probably less likely to get damaged in the mail.
and the shipping for the hardcover is only £9.95 and it was the same for the disc version
expect to pay duty when it arrives in the uk if you get the hardcover, which is why i plan to order the paperback
And emily, thank you so much for an honest reply. Time isnt really an issue, but the packaging is :S...i am still no closer to a decision, and as you said, its a collectors edition! Damn...
Also, what would be the procedure if it came all damaged... would i end up paying loads to send it back and then have to take the risk again...i wish you had a UK base!
price the paperback is below the value for import tax and the hardcover is above
also the value is displayed so they send you a letter saying the value you need to pay
i would try and explain it but it is confusing, but you pay UK vat on season one as it is technically DLC with a free physical gift which new laws were placed about a year ago.
Downloadable products are a different story. If you buy Season One from us (either with or without the free bonus disc), you will be charged 15% VAT at the time of the transaction. If you opt to get the bonus disc, the value of the disc is $0 and you should not have to pay any additional taxes on it. The price of the Season One downloads will not be included as part of the value for your package; only the book (and any other merchandise you buy) will be counted toward the package value.
Our policy is to replace a product if it arrives damaged, at our own expense. We wouldn't make you pay to send it back (but as this is a limited edition, we might send you prepaid packaging for you to send it back in).
I hope that helps.
(By the way, bigger sites like Amazon have VAT-inclusive prices, which is why you don't have to worry about any of this -- they add the VAT into the purchase price, making it invisible to the customer. So the taxes are still being collected, you just don't know about it.)
The limit is £18, so $35 at the moment.
Is that so? It'll probably be cheaper for me to order loads of things seperately than face the dreaded customs... interesting...
It seems you get charged customs duty if it is £7 or over. Source.
About the packaging, when my Sam & Max (not Surfin' the Highway) and Bone books came, they were in perfect condition - the poster was all bashed in, but you're not ordering a poster. I don't think you're going to have a problem, to be honest (don't blame me if something goes wrong though!). Don't worry, I'm a fellow UKer who is ordering the book too, so we'll be in the same boat.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_009989&propertyType=document
Never been stopped for anything under £18, personally. My cynical brain suspects that that's probably because the duty on a £18 game is 63p (3.5%) and would therefore cost them more to process than they would gain. Indeed, it certainly seems a general consensus amongst UK games importers that £18 is the limit. Still, anything you import is at your own risk.
I had more to say, but patters beat me to it. Damn you patters, Daaaaaaaaamn youuuuuuuuu!
you may need to pay import tax but it is pretty much definitely exempt from customs duty
postage is between £5 and £10 so i think £10 is a good bet and should cover the excess i goes over (book price)
if you pay by paypal it usually gives you the value in sterling too which is a definate benefit
Also - the dollar is on your side right now!
Since you're ordering a book and everyone says you don't get charged customs for that, the postman won't give you an extra charge. Should you order something demands a customs charge, you'll get that plus an £8 'handling fee' from the Royal Mail. We do love them, eh?
The exchange on the dollar was amazing in the third quater (I think it was) of last year. It was at 0.4something.
Remember, that's only if customs is charged. I still think it is worth you ordering the book, either way.
P.S. - The Royal Mail website is rubbish.
already linked that earlier haha
yeah i guess i agree with your previous statement that royal mails site is dreadful especially the tracking system
you got it
Pretty much, yeah. That's the bummer when ordering from America (or anywhere else, for that matter)... infact, the Telltale store was the first place from America I've ordered from.
snap i have also imported some merch from a band
and i ordered a paperback copy of surfing the highway
Just do it.
The Royal Mail charge may be more if they have to open/re-seal your package (unlikely) and most couriers will ask for the handling charge on imported goods at the point of delivery, so make sure you keep some money around to pay the man :P
For what it's worth, I've so far had the sketchbook, season 1 DVD and a T-Shirt and it's all turned up in perfect condition. Just ordered Season 2 & Surfin' the Highway and noticed the animated series on DVD - can't wait 'til I get paid next week and can justify ordering that to myself, I can smell the nostalgia already! =D
Glad to hear it! Thanks for posting about your good experience -- we usually only hear about the bad ones.
*shuffles nerviously*