UK anime fans please answer!
#1
Hello

UK buyers of anime, can I ask where you get your anime from? ANime imports, ebay etc. And can I ask whether you get charged custom fees or not? These fees often cost more than the dvds themselves and it sucks big time.

Any experiences you mayve had would be great

Thanks.
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#2
I have ordered absolutely $hitloads from JJ and not been taxed a penny by our oh-so wonderful customs.

However, I ordered the second season of Alias from DVDBOXOffice (also based in canada) and ended up getting screwed for 10.49 import tax. :mad:

Go figure.

But i've never been taxed when ordering from JJ, so I wouldn't worry too much mate.
Welcome to my world.
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#3
Hmmm JJ is excellent, nothing wrong with his shipping, Animeniacs screwed me over big time along time ago with £30 import tax once i was like wtf?

DVDBoxOffice i never had any import tax with them. Ebay is okay-ish sometimes.
My Life Is Incomplete.....
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#4
it all depends on how much you order, usually if the order fits in a "jiffy bag", i think they are called that, then you wont get taxed but if the order comes in a big box then your fucked. usually i can get away with up to 8 discs at a time without gettin taxed.
see you space cowboy...
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#5
As Sanosuke said it's all to do with the size of the parcel - UK customs can't resist opening something that looks interesting.

A lot of eBay sellers are in HK. They mostly use jiffy bags, postage stamps rather than printed postage label and sometimes the address is handwritten. Basically it looks like you've been sent something from a friend or relative and it passes through no problem. Kenshin 1 & 2 came in two jiffy bags when I ordered from Flora. The packages are also usually 'declaration friendly'.

I don't order massive amounts in one go from IA, but I've never been stopped. JJ is 'declaration friendly' too!

I've never been stopped when ordering from ordering from DVDBoxoffice. I've ordered (separately) Ranma Season 5 (5 DVDs) and the first Patlabor TV boxset (4 DVDs) and these were reasonably big packages. Strange.

However, I've ordered all four of the YUA boxsets from one site and got stopped the first time, got away the second and third time and then stopped for the last set. :confused:
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#6
Quote:Originally posted by Thunder King
Hmmm JJ is excellent, nothing wrong with his shipping, Animeniacs screwed me over big time along time ago with £30 import tax once i was like wtf?



The reason you got taxed with your animeniacs shipment is probably because they put the correct value on the package. Animeniacs is the only store that does this as far as I know and this is one of the reasons I haven't ordered from them yet. The rest puts a more customs friendly ammount on the package.
I also have never been taxed with HKdvd's (largest 20 discs with gatefold) but with my official EVA box from Australia I did get taxed. Another reason to stick with HK'sBig Grin
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#7
Just a quick overview of my experiences getting stuff to the UK.

JJ is fantastic and nothing has been stopped yet. The first port of call for any purchaser. Thanks mate Big Grin

Animeniacs have had a few packages stopped (roughly 1 in 4) but I order large bundles at once so this figure may be unreliable. They don't put the full value on the declaration, rather they state a nominal amount ($68 at the moment). Frankly the savings in getting a decent price for several dvdsets outweigh any customs duty significantly.

Animekrazy are a bit more expensive in terms of sets but also will write whatever amount on the customs form if you ask them to.

Dvdboxoffice are usually pretty good at avoiding customs, maybe 1 in 10 gets caught. Don't have too much anime in stock though, lots has to be ordered in.

Dvdsoon.com are very good as they label ALL packages at a value of $12 no matter the size. The only problem with them (they are quite a bit cheaper than Dvdboxoffice) is they charge your credit card when the order is placed rather than when it is dispatched and it can take a while for them to order in stock.

Ebay tends to depend on what instructions you give the person sending the set, ask for a low (under £18) declaration and you should be fine. However auctions tend to cost more than the better suppliers so I've stopped using them.

The runup to christmas is usually the worst period in the year for customs checks because nowadays so many people order gifts from overseas so a lot of attention is paid to VAT fraud rather than drugs, etc. The reason some of the charges are so high is not because of the VAT being claimed but rather that Post Office/Parcelforce place a huge markup on paying the customs charges during delivery, about 75%-115% I think with a minimum charge of £8.

Still, with the exchange rate at a cracking $1.74 to the pound its certainly worthwhile getting stuff at the moment, I particularly recommend the excellent FX Noir set, FX GTO and the FLCL dvds.

Cheers,
Neil
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#8
Thats a shame. I am waiting for a 9dvd set and a 3 dvd set. It sounds like im screwed.
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#9
hay, i really hvnt got many different titles, but i get most of my anime from this site or from someone of ebay. He has a lot of choice and prices are good but not as good as here. But he dose charge a bit on postage compared to others.

http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...ce=-1&rd=1

this above is where you will find his listings.

l8rSmile

by the way whats jj and its add
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#10
Quote:Originally posted by fahad17
He has a lot of choice and prices are good but not as good as here. But he dose charge a bit on postage compared to others.

http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...ce=-1&rd=1



I've seen this guy's auctions before - the prices are disgraceful. £25 + 4 per cent for Kare Kano?

The only point of interest is that the listing shows the MI Perfect rip. The back of the packaging is the same as the GTO MI Perfect and I note that Chinese subs are included. Is this MI's new tactic?
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#11
to be honest i didnt really get much of your last post, whats that 25+ 4 % for Kare Kano?
sorry i couldnt help much
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#12
Quote:Originally posted by fahad17

by the way whats jj and its add



JJ (JunkieJoe) is the username of the owner of this store and site.
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#13
Quote:Originally posted by fahad17
to be honest i didnt really get much of your last post, whats that 25+ 4 % for Kare Kano?
sorry i couldnt help much


Sorry about that.

I'm referring to the third auction in the list. The Japanese title for His and Her Circumstances is Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, which is often shortened to Kare Kano.
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#14
I'm awaiting a big package from deepdiscount.. wonder if the tax will negate the sales savings. V_V
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#15
from searching almost anywhere i can find, ebay is definately the most cheapest when it comes to anime dvds. you jusy have to shop around


prophey hero--I have bought some dvds from that ff7_3 guy before. he did a mistake once and i bought tenchi muyo universe for only £10 which included postage.
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