General rant n moan looking for advice

[1001kjk]

Hello all I'm wondering if anyone else has bought from abroad via eBay?. I have just had to pay a £12:20 surcharge on a "veitnam war" phantom my point is although it was less than thirty pounds and marked as a gift I had to pay VAT£4:20, not too upset at that, but £8 surcharge by hmrc/ post office was hard to stomach. Why was I not offered the chance to pay the £4:20?. So can anyone suggest the best/better places to "shop" I am concidering buying direct from eduard and MIG am I likely to find "hidden" charges there too. Any advice will be great fully received. Sorry victor meldrew moment over now

[Paul]

Hello all I'm wondering if anyone else has bought from abroad via eBay?. I have just had to pay a £12:20 surcharge on a "veitnam war" phantom my point is although it was less than thirty pounds and marked as a gift I had to pay VAT£4:20, not too upset at that, but £8 surcharge by hmrc/ post office was hard to stomach. Why was I not offered the chance to pay the £4:20?. So can anyone suggest the best/better places to "shop" I am concidering buying direct from eduard and MIG am I likely to find "hidden" charges there too. Any advice will be great fully received. Sorry victor meldrew moment over now

Anything over £15 is subject to vat charges and if caught you get the handling charge too, it's just the chance you take buying outside the EU