www.7dayshop.com

Just wanted to make people aware of this company. They sell photography equipment and are based in Guernsey. I've used them three times now and cant fault them. Their prices are superb, they only charge £1.99 delivery, if the order is over £100 or 50 items then its free. I've spent in the region of £1000 with them and had no tax to pay on anything, (personally i dont think your liable for tax on purchases from Guernsey, but im not entirely sure).

The only bizzare thing i've found about them is if you make a multi item order they always seem to send part of the order one day and the rest of the order the next day.

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Just wanted to make people aware of this company. They sell photography equipment and are based in Guernsey. I've used them three times now and cant fault them. Their prices are superb, they only charge £1.99 delivery, if the order is over £100 or 50 items then its free. I've spent in the region of £1000 with them and had no tax to pay on anything, (personally i dont think your liable for tax on purchases from Guernsey, but im not entirely sure).

The only bizzare thing i've found about them is if you make a multi item order they always seem to send part of the order one day and the rest of the order the next day.

You are liable for VAT on any goods coming from the Channel Islands. I think you've just been lucky. However, saying that, play.com afaik have their warehouses based in Jersey or Guernsey or some such place, and I've never had anything seized coming from there.

[Rob]

7dayshop are cheap because of their "tax haven" location. You are liable, for tax on all purchases, above your import limit of £18.00. Usually there will be stickers on the package stating it's value.

It seems to be luck of the draw as to whether UK customs will intercept the package and require import duty to be paid. If they do, it can negate the savings on initial purchase price, especially when the Royal Mail add thier handling fees for collection of duty.

We've done a lot of this discussion before in the Digital Camera threads.

Buit arent they part of the UK therefore it doesnt apply? I'm sure i read that somewhere.

Mind you that probably explains why each item is dispatched seperately to make it lower than £18

[Chris]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Buit arent they part of the UK therefore it doesnt apply? I'm sure i read that somewhere.

Mind you that probably explains why each item is dispatched seperately to make it lower than £18

I think they're a 'dependent territory' rather than actually part of the UK, which is why they are allowed to set their own tax rules.

Originally Posted by towny

I think they're a 'dependent territory' rather than actually part of the UK, which is why they are allowed to set their own tax rules.

Yes, they have their own government i think. I've certainly seen it written somewhere that they are part of the UK or GB and as a result this causes tax issues with importing. I think its because they dont have their own country code and our country code is used instead. Guess ive just been lucky, well accroding to the HMCE web site i have been lucky!

[bob_builder]

Originally Posted by Bifta

You are liable for VAT on any goods coming from the Channel Islands. I think you've just been lucky. However, saying that, play.com afaik have their warehouses based in Jersey or Guernsey or some such place, and I've never had anything seized coming from there.

Play.com are based in Jersey. As others have said it is the luck of the draw whether your packet gets spotted. I think they tend to go for the larger value items or ones that command a higher duty (you have to pay this first and then pay VAT on that too)! Plus you have to pay a fee to Royal Mail for processing.

See:
http://www.hmce.gov.uk/public/shoppi...rnet-goods.pdf

The worst example would be £20 of smoking tobacco:
Purchase price = £20
Duty @ 74.9% = £14.98
VATable price = £34.98
VAT @ 17.5% = £6.12
Royal Mail fee = £4
Total Price = £45.10

[Matt D]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Yes, they have their own government i think. I've certainly seen it written somewhere that they are part of the UK or GB and as a result this causes tax issues with importing. I think its because they dont have their own country code and our country code is used instead. Guess ive just been lucky, well accroding to the HMCE web site i have been lucky!

The Channel Islands are not part of the UK - they belong to the Crown (they're a Crown Possession, or Crown Dependency, or something like that).

They have their own government, & their own laws & tax rules.

They currently enjoy tax haven status, although apparently the EU is not happy with that.

As others have said -

Anything imported from the Channel Islands is liable for VAT & import duty, if over the £18 personal import limit. If you don't get charged, it's just good luck. Customs don't inspect every package.

Originally Posted by Tezcatlipoca

The Channel Islands are not part of the UK - they belong to the Crown (they're a Crown Possession, or Crown Dependency, or something like that).

They have their own government, & their own laws & tax rules.

They currently enjoy tax haven status, although apparently the EU is not happy with that.

As others have said -

Anything imported from the Channel Islands is liable for VAT & import duty, if over the £18 personal import limit. If you don't get charged, it's just good luck. Customs don't inspect every package.

Spot on, i think we can close this now

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by bob_builder

Play.com are based in Jersey. As others have said it is the luck of the draw whether your packet gets spotted. I think they tend to go for the larger value items or ones that command a higher duty (you have to pay this first and then pay VAT on that too)! Plus you have to pay a fee to Royal Mail for processing.

Play generally sell low value product (cd's dvds costing under the magic £18), so can avoid the tax issue sending multiple packets to you.

[Dave Stones]

anyway back to 7dayshop

i use them for my ink cartridges, cheapest anywhere on the net for my cartridges, they may take a bit to deliver but cant fault the price

[bob_builder]

Has anybody bought a digital camera from them?
I am thinking of doing so as it is the cheapest place I can find even if I get stung for VAT.

Is the customer service OK?
Do you get UK or European models?
How is it shipped? Is it a standard Royal Mail parcel or does it come via ParcelForce?

[SMHarman]

It's effectivly coming in as international mail, as such parcel force usually pick up the non letter stuff and deliver it on 24 or 48 hr depending on the service chosen by the sender. Thats what happens with our packages shipped from the US.

[bob_builder]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

It's effectivly coming in as international mail, as such parcel force usually pick up the non letter stuff and deliver it on 24 or 48 hr depending on the service chosen by the sender. Thats what happens with our packages shipped from the US.

So how do ParcelForce deal with the customs part of it - are they like Royal Mail and ask for it to be payed at the door, or like other parcel companies who ask for the money before delivery?

Originally Posted by bob_builder

Has anybody bought a digital camera from them?
I am thinking of doing so as it is the cheapest place I can find even if I get stung for VAT.

Is the customer service OK?
Do you get UK or European models?
How is it shipped? Is it a standard Royal Mail parcel or does it come via ParcelForce?

Yes i bought a digital camera from them, Canon 300D. I've had no experience of their customer service as i've had no casue to contact them. The camera i got had a UK warranty, however it was a Rebel / 300D when it arrived but as is had a UK warranty it didnt matter to me. It was sent Royal Mail recorded delivery.