Thumb drive -> HDD

[Andy Burns]

Agreed.

I've started to see EU citizens bitching about getting double charged VAT on purchases from AliExpress

</schadenfreude>

[Vir Campestris]

Going via the moon is it?

[Martin Brown]

Airfreight standby when there is space or whatever they call it these days. Cheaper but high variability in the delivery timing. Some (lightweight) things really do come by genuine airmail and quickly.

Container ship would be much longer delay ~5-8 weeks.

Shipping costs to/from China tend to be very asymmetric so sending faulty kit back to get your money back is often pointless.

[Roland Perry]

In message <sehgkq$559$ [e-mail], at 21:11:06 on Thu, 5 Aug 2021, Vir Campestris [e-mail] remarked:

Via rather slow customs clearance once it arrives in UK, I expect.

[Chris Green]

I think it'a actually faster now if the right label/paperwork indicates that VAT has been paid at source.

[Roland Perry]

In message [e-mail]>, at 08:17:00 on Fri, 6 Aug

2021, Chris Green [e-mail] remarked:

It's possible; I'll be sure to post a note here when it does arrive.

[Theo]

I had a widget come on Aliexpress' 10 day promise. It had landed in Heathrow by day 7, cleared customs a few hours after landing, and entered the Royal Mail system. But then Royal Mail sat on it for a week ('tracked

48' they claimed) so it actually took about 14 days to arrive.

Theo

[Roland Perry]

In message <S5h* [e-mail]>, at 11:03:52 on Fri,

6 Aug 2021, Theo <theom+ [e-mail]> remarked:

I'm not sure the date on such things for "entering the Royal Mail System" are when it was actually handed over, rather than when the forwarder booked and paid for the label.

[Theo]

It was showing as registered on Royal Mail's tracking 3 days before it landed at Heathrow, and the tracking number matched the one showing on Aliexpress's tracking from day one. And the RM tracking when it landed was Heathrow International LC which suggests it was in... Heathrow.

Theo

[Roland Perry]

In message <S5h* [e-mail]>, at 17:18:32 on Fri,

6 Aug 2021, Theo <theom+ [e-mail]> remarked:

Isn't that the same phenomenon as I described as "forwarder booked and paid for the label".

Yerse, but in whose hands at Heathrow? Whose address is on the 'Tracked

48hr' label as the sender.

[Roland Perry]

In message [e-mail], at 08:23:15 on Fri, 6 Aug 2021, Roland Perry [e-mail]> remarked:

At the risk of this turning into a saga, I got a text from RM with tracking info this morning (9th) where they claim it "left Hong Kong" at

8am.

The 5th is described as "sender preparing item" at 4am.

Presumably that's UK local time, being 11am in Hong Kong.

[Roland Perry]

In message [e-mail], at 07:36:15 on Wed, 4 Aug 2021, Roland Perry [e-mail]> remarked:

The outcome.

Dispatched by seller on Thursday 5th Leaving Hong Kong (whatever that means) on Monday 9th Arrived Royal Mail facility at Heathrow Friday 13th Left Royal Mail facility at Heathrow 5hrs later <is this when the domestic "48hr tracking" starts?>

Left regional sorting centre 8pm Sunday 15th Tracked at local delivery office 7am this morning Monday 16th Arrived at my door noon today Monday 16th.

As for the VAT etc, a bit murkier. No extra charges, but the item is on the customs label as "documents, value $10", no mention of pre-paid VAT.

[Roland Perry]

In message <c5GeTLnKqWChFA+ [e-mail], at 17:10:50 on Tue, 3 Aug 2021, Roland Perry [e-mail]> remarked:

Lexar thumb drive arrived today. But despite reporting 'success' the utility doesn't work (doesn't brick the drive, but doesn't flip it from being 'removable' either).

But I see a note that perhaps it's not good for USB 3 drives, so I've now ordered a [smaller] USB 2 drive. From the UK this time.

[Andy Burns]

Can't remember if you mentioned ordering via AliExpress earlier? If so then a PDF invoice is usually available in your account, showing GBP->USB->RMB with VAT

[Roland Perry]

That was something else.

This one was via eBay, and they claim to have charged and paid the VAT on behalf of the vendor, but there's no evidence of this on the packet for the clearance people to nod it through.

[tim...]

which is exactly how it works if the item is supplied via an "Online marketplace"

Presumably because it came packaged up in a larger bundle of stuff that did have this paperwork attached.

Which is then separated out for local delivery (as I have tried to explain to you before)

I really don't see how the logistics of this work in any other way (and I mean that generally not specifically to the new-VAT rules)

The idea that each individual "resold by eBay" item is going to wend its way from HK to London rattling around on its own, in its individual envelope, is just daft

[Roland Perry]

In message <sfflq1$g2p$ [e-mail], at 07:43:12 on Tue, 17 Aug

2021, tim... [e-mail] remarked:

Some people describe AliExpress as a marketplace, but the thing I bought there was sent (probably in a bulk shipment) an agent in the UK who then re-labeled it for domestic delivery.

The indications are it was handed over to the international postal system in HK, and thus would have made its way individually.

That's what happened with AliExpress, not this eBay item, which has tracking from the Royal Mail portal across ass the stages I documented.

It's how the International postal service works. Just as it would if I went to my local Post Office and mailed something overseas (details filled in whatever the "Green Label" is called this week.

It's not sold *by* eBay, but *on* eBay.

That's how the postal system works!

The jiffy bag was clearly labelled in HK, with my UK address on it. It's got the local PO logo on it!

[Roland Perry]

In message [e-mail], at 15:19:26 on Mon, 16 Aug 2021, Roland Perry [e-mail]> remarked:

Same result, unfortunately. I'm beginning to think that utility program is a bad'un.

Also it reports the second 64GB thumb as 1670MB, which is wonky. But then I don't remember what it reported the 256GB one as... later: minus

918MB.

I think I'm going to give up now.

[Fredxx]

Apologies for the bad steer :-(

[Roland Perry]

In message <sfofqp$ten$ [e-mail], at 15:56:25 on Fri, 20 Aug

2021, Fredxx [e-mail]> remarked:

Not your fault; there was plenty of people suggesting it might work (but to be fair others saying perhaps it wouldn't).

It was worth the experiment (now abandoned).

And I've still got two reasonably-priced thumb drives for other stuff.