On Fri, 20 Nov 2020, Peter Corlett via cctalk wrote: > That same $100 widget imported into the UK becomes $120 due to the 20% VAT > rate, which comes to £90, but the UK has its own self-inflicted problems which > cause importers loads of extra costs and £100 is easily believable.
Don't forget a fixed per-clearance administrative fee, covering all the bureaucratic processing, will easily fill the missing £10 (exact amount varies by the carrier). For an item worth $20 received via Royal Mail I recently paid £13.31 customs charges: £5.31 VAT + £8.00 handling fee -- almost doubling the nominal value of the item (and that does not include postage!). Maciej