Global ECommerce And Import Taxes, The Awful Truth

Most of us like to buy online because it is fun , easy , and you can find unique products for a good price. Essentially the whole world becomes your mall.

You may have already noticed that,if you’re buying from a shop that is based overseas, that you will have to pay import taxes.

Let me let you in on a secret, shopping on Chinavasion.com is no different.

The sad truth is that, unless the store has one set customer country and they have stated otherwise 99.9% of international online shops will deliver D.D.U Delivery Duty Unpaid which means import taxes the consignee is responsible for the import taxes.

Thankfully though, import taxes don’t usually add much to the total order cost for most countries. While the amount of tax depends on the item you are shipping and the location you are shipping it from it can be usually worked out by looking up local customs tariffs online. And this is not too difficult thanks to our support article Customs Websites & Public Import Information which acts as a guide to most of the customs sites around the world.

So what happens when you buy something from Chinavasion?

When you buy something from Chinavasion we pack it, label it and ship it to you with couriers such as UPS Fedex or DHL, or by airmail or EMS. IF you have selected UPS Fedex or DHL as your preferred method of delivery they will first pay the import taxes for you.

Then when they delivered the item to you, they will give the bill and charge you what they have paid for you.

While that works for most of the world we realise that there are countries which are famous for having tight borders like Greece , Russia Brazil and Turkey.

If this is your location then we usually recommend airmail or EMS.

However, for more tips we have put together a general customs guide as one on importing to Brazil and shipping to Greece.

Again there no much to be worried about, however it is always wise to place small order first with airmail and see how you go with that.

Now check out our fantastic range of China cell phones, MP4 watches and MP4 players. They’re small priced well below the market and guaranteed to please. And, if you want to join the discussion check out our very active Import Tax Discussion.