Not sure if this is the right section to post this in, but I do have a question about shipping and/or mailing gifts to the UK. I want to send a friend some bday gifts, but I'm not sure if I would be charged VAT for them. If so where and how would I pay for that?
It's not you who would be charged VAT, it's your friend in the UK who would be charged (because it's the UK government who decide whether to charge customs duty on packages after they have arrived in the UK). If this happened, I think Royal Mail would hold the package and your friend would have to pay the customs charges when they picked it up.
However, if you are sending a gift, they should hopefully not charge VAT on the goods. It's a good idea to write on the customs form that the package contains a birthday gift (you usually have to write what the package contains as well).
On average how long would you say it takes for a small-medium package to be received in England? Oh and I need it to arrive by Feb 8th so would it be best to send them out tomorrow? Any and all help would be appreciated! Thanks 
If it's sent airmail, then it will usually take 1-2 weeks to arrive in the UK (surface mail used to take about 6 weeks but USPS no longer offer a surface mail option anyway), so it might still arrive by Feb 8th even if you sent it towards the end of January.
