European Mail-Order Blues

07/16/2001
by Irene Tosetti
Columnist

Computer hardware in the US is usually 20 to 40 % cheaper than in Europe. Amazing, isn't it? But if you live in Europe and are about to place your first mail or web order in the US, read this first: there are several issues you should be aware of.

First of all, always keep in mind that you have to pay for high shipping fees, as any item you order will be sent to your address with international shipping - that's much more expensive than the domestic service that a store might be advertising. Then there is the REALLY BIG problem... Here in Europe when you receive a parcel from the US you must pay for "customs duties"; this is usually a category tax (which varies depending on what kind of items you buy, eg. electronics, sportswear, medical equipment etc.) plus a 17.5% VAT. So altogether this makes a huge lot of money that you need to be prepared to shed. Want some more bad news? The taxes are applied to the total declared value of the parcel, which includes shipping. This means that for instance, if you receive a peripheral that you have bought for 200 dollars with a shipping fee of 30 dollars, and your total customs duties are 25%, you end up paying 57.5$ of taxes. So what seemed to cost 200 bucks, in the end gets to you at a cost of (200+30+57.5)$=287.5 $ So be careful and do your math before you think that something would be a real bargain if you bought it in the US. For some pieces of hardware, though, the price difference between EU and US is so huge that even after paying customs duties and heavy shipping fees you still end up saving a lot money (RAM is a very good example - in Europe it is 2 to 4 times more expensive than in the US). Anyway, always call your local customs office to know the exact amount that you'll have to pay on a parcel; tell them the total declared value of your parcel (including shipping) and a list of the items you're buying and they'll calculate the fee for you. Someone might as well say "No way! I'm not paying this rip-off tax!"... Well, sorry, but unless you succesfully organize a revolution... your parcel will be kept in the customs offices for ever! This may sound unfair - and it is, as it's a system created to reduce or avoid foreign competition. Here in Europe we have a pretty poor computer industry compared to the US - that's why our governments and administrations feel like "protecting our market" with this law.... And they call this the "Information Age"!! Of course there are ways to avoid customs, but they're all against the law, so I won't even discuss them. Maybe if you live in Europe and you're very much into computer shopping, you'd better send in your application form for the next Green Card Lottery. :-)