I live in the EU and with just one very special and unusual exception some time ago I have never paid any custom fee (what I of course mean, I was not even charged it) and I did receive some parcels with high values over the time. But I've heard different stories from other EU countries so the policies might not be as tolerant elsewhere---until such a regulation as above comes into effect.

42zaphod, December 25, 2008; 9:42 PM

Oh well, sigh. I researched a bit and it seems that most of the charges still apply for total values exceeding 22 Euros. Customs (3.5%) only apply from 150 Euros onwards, but import taxes (19%) still kick in at 22 Euros. :-(

handstand, December 26, 2008; 6:32 AM

Some guys have all the luck. When I order from the US, 9 out of 10 are held back and I have to pay custom taxes. Moreover, whenever I go there, the people at the custom office seem to have gotten more stupid in the meantime.

thb8, March 9, 2009; 5:47 PM

There's no increase in stupidity, only in the need for money.

coma, December 30, 2008; 7:05 AM