American Department stores with websites that take international credit cards.

Hi Doug, i found sear's and a few others are offering internation shopping.

Hope it helps

Saying it's a gift gets you out of customs duy and VAT?
Doug

You are supposed to be charged VAT on gifts over £36 in value, and customs over £100ish. Don't quote me on the customs figure - I only vaguely remember what I was told about this last year when I had to pay VAT charges on Christmas gifts my mum sent over.   

Saying it's a gift gets you out of customs duy and VAT?
Doug

Well, you can't just *say* it's a gift, but if it's bought as a gift and it's known to the online retailer ie. you tick the "gift" box / options at the time of purchase (I know how to do this with Amazon.com / .co.uk and a few other shops) this makes it known to customs that the item is exempt from additional tax and duty...  

You are supposed to be charged VAT on gifts over £36 in value, and customs over £100ish. Don't quote me on the customs figure - I only vaguely remember what I was told about this last year when I had to pay VAT charges on Christmas gifts my mum sent over.   

There may be a limit on cost, but I'm not so sure.  I've had care packages that cost over $200 before and I've never been charged import duty or tax, but then regulations can change at any time.  You'll probably want to double check with HM Revenue & Customs to be sure.  Plus I have to routinely send my wedding & engagement rings (over $1000) back to the US for inspection and have them returned to me and I never get charged import tax & duty nor do the recipients in the US (which can be my jewlers or my family).  MrsRich you may want to make sure your Mom knows to tick the "gift" box when she's sending things to you if she isn't already.

There may be a limit on cost, but I'm not so sure.  I've had care packages that cost over $200 before and I've never been charged import duty or tax, but then regulations can change at any time.  You'll probably want to double check with HM Revenue & Customs to be sure.  Plus I have to routinely send my wedding & engagement rings (over $1000) back to the US for inspection and have them returned to me and I never get charged import tax & duty nor do the recipients in the US (which can be my jewlers or my family).  MrsRich you may want to make sure your Mom knows to tick the "gift" box when she's sending things to you if she isn't already.

She always marks that it is a gift.  She's been sending parcels to me for nearly 10 years, and only in the last few have VAT charges become an issue.

The limits are here on the HM Revenue and Customs website:  http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P50_4654

Shops should not ever mark something as a gift because they can be prosecuted.

It's really hit and miss (and almost entirely depends on how they ship it, how big it is, what sort of packet it comes in, etc).

I run an online needlework shop, have all my stock sent through regular mail and only occasionally get hit for VAT.

VAT in itself is not really the issue. It's usually only a couple of quid. The stinger is the "handling fee" charged by ParcelForce, and more recently, the Royal Mail. I've had parcels come where the total customs charge was £2, but had to pay £12 "handling" because I had the audacity to order it in December.



In my experience, if it is sent USPS Global priority, you WILL BE CHARGED VAT and a handling fee by the UK postal service.

If it's sent in a plain envelope, or by an international courier, you won't (usually).


And I've never had a problem using a UK credit card on a US website.

Hi,
Wow-  I am always having problems using my UK credit cards on US online ordering. I have a UK mastercard, not a maestro, bona fide and owned for a few years now.  I could create a list of the stores that don't take my UK card but I don't want to detract or hijack from the OP     Perhaps I just shop a lot more?

LOL Maybe! Perhaps it's issued by a smaller bank so has odd starting numbers? I have no idea. That must be so bloomin annoying though 

I use a Barclaycard for all my international transactions as it details on the statement what exchange rate they used and how much was commission.