Buying from outside the EU

The price on the screen is not the price you pay. Since July 2026 that is true of small, cheap parcels too.

Ordering from a shop outside the EU is attractive on price and disappointing on everything that follows. The pattern is always the same: the amount on the screen is not the amount it costs you.

Three things get added. VAT is due from the first euro - the old exemption for small consignments disappeared back in July 2021. Customs duty is new for cheap parcels: since 1 July 2026 the EU exemption for consignments under 150 euros no longer exists, and a flat interim rate per product category applies until that arrangement is replaced in 2028. And there is the carrier's clearance fee, which is not a tax but a service they charge for. In practice that last one is often the amount that shocks people, because it bears no relation to the value of the parcel.

The way round it is not complicated: buy from a shop that collects VAT at checkout. Large retailers do this through the EU's distance-selling scheme, and then nothing further is added on delivery. If you see no VAT line at checkout from a seller outside the EU, the bill comes later - that is not a possibility but a certainty.

There is another reason to stay inside the EU that outweighs the cost. Returns. With a seller outside the EU you often still have a withdrawal right on paper, but sending a parcel back to another continent quickly costs more than the product is worth, and reclaiming duty you have paid is a separate procedure. If it fails after six months you are facing a company you cannot write to. That is the real price of the difference, and you only pay it when things go wrong - which on average they sometimes do not, and that is what makes it a bet rather than a purchase.

Since December 2024 there is a product-safety dimension too. Anything sold in the EU must have a responsible person established in the EU, named on the listing. On a direct order from abroad that is often missing, and then there is nobody to take a problem with the product itself to.

So what is left? For something genuinely unavailable here, it is worth it. For something also sold here, rarely - work out in advance what VAT, duty and clearance actually come to, and set that beside the European price. The gap is usually narrower than it looked. Before you order, check whether it is sold here too, or search for it on this site with the offers side by side.

Questions

Do I pay customs duty on a cheap parcel?

Since 1 July 2026, yes. The EU exemption for consignments under 150 euros was removed and a temporary flat rate per product category applies. VAT was already due from the first euro.

How do I avoid a bill on delivery?

Buy from a shop that collects VAT at checkout through the EU scheme. If no VAT appears on a non-EU order at checkout, the bill follows later.

Can I return something to a shop outside the EU?

On paper usually yes, but postage to another continent mounts up fast and reclaiming duty you paid is a separate procedure. Budget for that before you order.

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