Customs & Excise

[Ken Shabby]

I recently ordered some videos from a company in the States, and when they were delivered I was given a pretty steep Customs & Excise bill which I had to pay right there and then.
I there any way around this when ordering videos?
And, do your get similar bills when ordering from other countries (IE: Countries in the EU)?

[richie rich]

I have experienced similar, including DVD's so I now only order one at a time.

[royce gracie]

afaik you only have to cough up the c & e bills when ordering from the states.

you can still get stung even if you only order one dvd at a time but i agree you're less likely to attract attention with a smaller package.

[woodgnome]

please put o/t in the subject header of posts that are off topic - i.e. not about british models/videos or other matters relating to the british adult entertainment industry (section 2.9.5 of the faq).

[magoo]

If you ask the company to write "gift" on the customs label rather than "merchandise" that can help get them through. I have had packages of four at a time and not been charged import duty...Yet.

I have had the nosey buggers open one of my parcels but it looks like they got bored after 25 minutes and ejected the tape at that point and sent it on to me with a sticker saying it had been opened for inspection. I expect a lot of times its up to the individual officer if he can be bothered filling out a form for the Royal Mail to get the unpaid duty back.

[Inspector grabbit]

Now then young fella m,lad,
You dont know what it,s like on a shift here at Dover, sniffing
drugs and stuff, a chap needs something to look at, and I always
send em on to you, so stop moaning.
And now it,s even easier for me, I,ll be on the lookout for dubious looking packets marked: Magoo! Gift. Oh yes Iv,e got your number laddie.

[buttsie]

If your going to watch them,
the very least you could do for Magoo is review them,
that way he'll know which ones too keep,
remembering you are a servant of the public

Always better to give than receive or in your case consfiscate

cheers
B..OZ

[magoo]

Yeah, and can you rewind them after you have watched them Mr Grabbit. Its a well known fact that ejecting or inserting a tape at any point other than the start can potentialy result in a mangled tape.

Also may I remind you that whilst you sat watching my last tape several kilos of Columbian Sherbert and two lorry loads of illegal immigrants managed to get past you. HM C&Es finest caught with his pants down again!

[jj]

I believe that the cut-off point is goods to value of around ?18, so that would be the one tape: however, I've ordered 15 at a time from Jaded, which were sent a maximum of two tapes per package, and only got hit for duty once.
It's the luck of the draw, and whether C&E and/or the PO can be bothered to collect. Anonmymous packaging/labelling can help, but isn't infallible.

[Matt]

15 ?????? Surely something aint right there.

Jaded are particularly good in dealing with C+E in my experience. If you order several, they'll send them out in smaller packages so to avoid getting stung. Excalibur will label and even resticker videos to get round snoops if you ask them too. I remember opening a package to discover a video boxed and labelled as 'The History Of Railroading' one time. I put it in the VCR only to enjoy Intense Perversions 1 with Nicki Sterling (recommended to anyone, btw).

General rule is, get them sent one at a time if you can and don't pay over the odds or the good Officer may start to get suspicious. ..