Getting annoyed with the cost of shipping of balloons to the UK because of Brexit.

[TizianosBoy]

I was tempted to order myself some balloons but the shipping to the UK is very expensive because of Brexit and it’s putting me off ordering balloons online, one site is €16,99 and then another site is €21,99, anyone have any ideas on what I can do? Sorry if this question sounds silly.

Thanks 😊

[WindyBalloon]

I only order balloons from amazon or balloonace, and ace has very good ones in stock. Not everything, but still good.

[Merl]

How did Brexit do that? I thought it hadn't been implemented.

Worldwide shipping has gone up drastically in the past few years. There were two items from the UK which I wanted via eBay. The sellers and I tried to come to a deal to get around the suck of it, but it just wasn't worth it. Neither sale went through.

[Seasidelad]

Costs are high but balloon ace is in Uk try them

[yet_another_aussie]

Imagine shipping to Australia ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[grizzleylooner]

How did Brexit do that? I thought it hadn't been implemented.

Worldwide shipping has gone up drastically in the past few years. There were two items from the UK which I wanted via eBay. The sellers and I tried to come to a deal to get around the suck of it, but it just wasn't worth it. Neither sale went through.

Brexit happened eventually apart from the ongoing debate about the Irish border, I'm not sure what the current situation is with that, so we have to pay tax on all imports from the EU the same as we do from the rest of the world.

Overseas shipping is just expensive from anywhere these days, it went up at around the same time as brexit but not necessarily because of it. The increase got blamed on covid and fuel costs but it's never gone back down so now it's just profit....

I mostly buy from balloonace now, and they are slowly expanding their range so soon I think I'll be buying everything from them.
Used to get quite a bit from loonerworld in germany as ebay sort out the tax which makes it easy, but they don't seem to have as big a range any more and most of what they sell is available from balloonace for about the same price with faster shipping because it doesn't go through customs

[Merl]

we have to pay tax on all imports from the EU the same as we do from the rest of the world.

Right, but are those taxes a new thing, the result of the Brexit vote? If so I hadn't heard of it. If true, it sounds punitive for something that hasn't really happened.

Yeah, covid is still being used for massive profiteering worldwide, while "the little people" are made to suffer for it. I know small business owners who lost everything because of it.

[grizzleylooner]

Right, but are those taxes a new thing, the result of the Brexit vote? If so I hadn't heard of it. If true, it sounds punitive for something that hasn't really happened.

Yes and no... We've always had to pay tax / duty on imports (as I believe is the case in most other countries) but the EU is a free trade area so effectively all the same country for import purposes therefore while we were part of it there was no tax on goods purchased from other EU countries.

For companies importing goods from the EU it just generates paperwork rather than direct cost, as they don't have to pay local sales tax in the country of purchase if they provide their UK tax number, and then the import tax can be claimed back anyway. For individuals we still have to pay on purchase, then again on import, so get double taxed. Then just to add to the insult, the delivery companies charge us an extra £15 per parcel for collecting the tax!

This next bit has turned out a lot longer than planned.....

For example, I could buy direct from Cattex in Italy. If I bought 100 worth of balloons, I'd have to pay probably 20 for packing and delivery, plus 19% Italian sales tax on the goods and postage charge, making 142.80. Then on import I’d pay 20% UK tax plus 15 handling fee, making 186.36 – almost double the cost of the actual balloons!

If I was a registered company I’d be buying bigger quantities so probably get a bit of discount (say 20%) and the delivery charge would work out less per balloon (say about 1/4). No Italian sales tax as I’ve provided my uk tax number, so that 100 worth of balloons would cost 85.
On import there is still the 15 handling fee but spread across a bigger quantity of balloons that’s only 2-3 per 100 worth, and although I pay the 20% tax I can offset it against tax when I sell the balloons so it doesn’t cost anything. Balloons have now cost me 87.
If I double that, plus 20% sales tax, and sell them for 208.80, I’m slightly more expensive than buying direct. But the customer can have their balloons next day in discreet packaging with no customs declaration saying what’s in the box, they can buy smaller quantities, mix of different brands that I stock, etc so it’s worth paying a little extra.

So whilst brexit has made direct imports from the EU a bit crap as an individual – I’m now buying balloons in the uk for 208.20 that I would have bought from Italy for 142.80 a couple of years ago – it has created an opportunity for small specialist retailers who can make a profit from making my life easier.

[Merl]

Thank you for explaining it in understandable detail!

[Geoff Robinson]

I buy my balloons from Germany 🇩🇪 yes post is expensive,.But unfortunately we have no control over it.