Shipping And Taxes On US Purchases From Foreign Auction Houses

Can anyone tell me their experience on purchases from a foreign auction house shipped to a US address? I'm thinking of auction houses in the EU in particular. Will the Value Added Tax be automatically excluded on the invoice if the buyer has a US address?

In my experience it always is pretty much

Peter

I regularly bid with a German auction house. I have my purchases shipped by FedEx. I get notification that package has been sent; it arrives in the USA in about 2-3 days. But that is not to my address, that is to the FedEx center. It gets held up there anywhere from 1-10 days for customs clearance. After clearance, about 1 day for delivery.

Before I requested shipment with FedEx it was being sent by Deutsche Post DHL. It took anywhere from 2-3 weeks to arrive in the USA. It was then transferred to USPS who took another week or two. And USPS tracking is rubbish.

Costs. You must must must read the fine print in the auction house's Terms and Conditions and other information published in the catalog! If the lots are shipped outside the EU there is no VAT. But there may be other taxes or import fees; much depends on the origin of a particular lot. The catalog lays all this out so you can always calculate what it will cost.

Be aware that the premium on the hammer price may be higher than you are used to; 23.8% is not unusual. And shipping (DHL or FedEx) is not insignificant.

No duty will be charged as collectible stamps are always duty-free in the USA. FedEx frequently does charge a small fee, but not always (on top of the shipping charges you have already paid to the auction house).

Is it worth all this trouble? For me, yes, as I can obtain material simply not available from domestic auction houses.

As far as I know, there's no VAT on sales of stamps (as printed matter) at UK auctions, although there is on ancillary elements, and, in any case, VAT wouldn't be applied to exported items. Buyers' premia tend to be around 20%. What US taxes/duties you might be hit with is another matter.

VAT has not been levied on auction wins of stamps from Germany and France, nor on direct buys from France, GB, Netherlands, and Portugal. Limiting myself here to experience over last two years and purchases of more than 100 Euros.

Germania offers sound advice to watch terms and conditions carefully. But as s/he said, you may need to take the hit on high shipping and buyer premiums to obtain otherwise unavailable material, or to land an item being sold in an out-of-the-way venue.

I have been purchasing from Europe for many years and have never paid VAT or anything else other than sales price, commission where applicable and shipping.

Good to hear other people's experiences. Thanks to all.