I just did a test, looked at a lens that someone in Japan has at $750 BIN with free postage. Used the ebay "add to cart" option which is not a commitment to buy, then looked in the cart and it showed they were adding 10% GST, or $75 to the cost. Then did the same with a $7 lens hood from China & ebay added 70 cents GST.I might pop over to Whirlpool and see if anyone is talking about it over there.....
Edit: quick scan and they are talking about Amazon, but are saying that if you are buying off of ebay from an O/S seller, you are slugged 10%
In the UK, we have to pay 20% sales tax (VAT) plus customs duty, which is around 5% to 8%, on all goods imported from overseas. This is collected directly by Parcelforce who mange normal household packages coming from abroad. They send a bill in the post which can be paid online. They also add their own handling charges. All together, this adds roughly 30% to the price of imported godos
I looked on the B&H website about this and they clearly state that they collect applicable taxes like GST at the time of purchase. Go to: About Us > International > Customs, Taxes & Other Fees (at bottom of About Us page). So it looks like they do collect GST for Aussie buyers.
I'd say it's because the government wants the money but it doesn't want the headaches of getting Australia Post to do it. Easier to make it the responsibility of Amazon, ebay etc.Same in Spain and for all sales above 22 €. The Spanish Postal Service acts as buyer representative at customs and charges roughly 20 € for this administrative work payed by the buyer.
I don't understand why this solution is not posible in Australia.
Actually I just tested that with B&H as I've never had an order with them that was over $1,000. I placed enough items in the cart to go over $1k and that triggered a panel that was alerting me to the additional tax, plus various other charges if I let their delivery company handle it. I then removed items to get the total below $1k and that message disappeared, so I'm thinking that nothing has changed. I suppose we won't really know until someone places an order and takes delivery, just on the off chance that some shipping firms might decide that they are going to collect the GST before handing the package over.I think it probably took a good programmer about 5 minutes to make the update to their online shopping app! In the past (pre-July 1) if I got excited and added enough products to exceed $1,000 AUD, the GST was added. Once I removed a few items the extra tax disappeared. Change $1,000 to $1 in the software and they're good to go! I went a bit crazy in the last few weeks stocking up on paper with multiple orders around USD $700 and avoided the GST for the last time I expect....
Now we are into July it occurred to me to try a quick test. I added some items to a cart at B&H and went part way into the purchasing process and there was no mention of collecting GST or not shipping to Australia, so fingers crossed that nothing has changed there. Then I tried Amazon.com and added a book to my cart and when I got to the payment section there was a red error message saying they can't ship to Australia and that I should try the Australian Amazon site. I went there and searched for the same book which was obviously being supplied by the same USA seller however the price had jumped from USD 28 to AUD 48 and then they added $15 shipping and 10% GST on top. So that quick test suggests to me that Amazon is now next to useless for my purposes but that B&H might stay as it has always been. I'll be interested to hear of others experiences, particularly when placing real orders.
What's the expression, no good deed goes unpunished. Sorry if I caused any problem. But I'm sure they would have found out about this sooner than later.You may be singlehandedly responsible for calling it to B&H's attention and making Australians pay the taxes when ordering from B&H. Good job!
True dat!What's the expression, no good deed goes unpunished. Sorry if I caused any problem. But I'm sure they would have found out about this sooner than later.
Would you like to send me the information and I will see about arranging to buy it and then ship it to you? Is there GST on gifts? This could be fun.
Also, is GST charged on used goods or only on new?Is there GST on gifts?
Good question!
But...when is a gift not a gift??
My gut feeling is the 10% plus increase in the cost of buying anything from overseas may be a factor?Not an issue at all, I have no idea why there is a big kerfuffle about this.
Not an issue at all, I have no idea why there is a big kerfuffle about this.......
......Every business in Australia is a tax collector, if they wish to operate here, they need to get onboard.
Mick.
...
Time for an enterprising US based member to set up a "photo gift clearing house" for us. We'll even let them add 5% for the service!!
Is there GST on gifts?
Good question!
But...when is a gift not a gift??
5% is hardly enough to make tax evasion worth it. But if you'd like to supplement that money with Akubras, or other useful Australian goods...
Why buy Blundstones, when you can buy Red Wings in the US.How about a pair of ruby red Blundstones? Some Canadian friends visited recently and went home with a pair each!
https://www.blundstone.com.au/shop/mens-or-womens-red-rub-casual-boots-style-1431
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