How do i handle this order..

[wastheels]

Hi,

i recently found a pair of Jeffrey Campbell Legion Boots and fell in love with them. I wanted to order right away but here is my Problem. The Online Store is located in Australia and i am in Germany. So from past experience i will get in a lot of trouble with the import department (tax and fees etc.) because the package will come from outside the EU. Next problem i live with my parents (who dont know about my heeling and i think they would recognize the package as a shoebox or so). How do i order them now ? I want them really bad and there is no other place i could find this pair. Maybe someone of you guys who lives in the EU could order them for me and send them to me in a neutral parcel. I would pay before the order of course. Or any other ideas?

These are the shoes:

https://www.amostore.com.au/products/legion-lug-sole-heeled-lace-up-booties-black-distressed-leather?variant=44074715347

thanks

[jeremy1986]

Shoes come in all shapes and box sizes... I don't think your parents will suspect they are high heel boots if they know nothing or don't suspect anything already. 

And even so, mailing to someone else won't solve the potential tax issue. 

Maybe there is a local second hand online market you can shop at for this style? 

 

 

[SF]

Gotta love them regressive taxes.....    Good luck !!!   sf

[HappyinHeels]

This illustrates one facet of the albatross that is the EU. Control your choices and your life by moving part of your capital, and by extension your identity, to Brussels. J-1986 is right mailing to someone else doesn't alleviate the tax issue. You may have to just forego the purchase if it isn't too late and choose another vendor and this time inside the confines (I mean that literally) of the EU. The other issue may be it may be time to move out on your own. I know it's more expensive but sooner or later this has to happen. HinH

[at9]

Since the US is, in itself, a free trade area of more than 300 million people, I don't think there is much understanding there of the barriers that can exist between multiple small countries. The EU is a free trade area comparable to the US, though a little bigger in terms of population. So a German company can send stuff to France just as a a guy in Alabama can send stuff to New Jersey. People can also move freely between EU states, just as they can between US states. You can drive across the France/Belgium border and there's no customs post. Just like driving between NY and PA. I am well aware of the tension that exists between State and Federal govenments within the US. Just as between countries and the EU. In the EU a country can't impose different rules on trade or movement of people. In the US a state can't do this. In the EU each country is free, for example, to set its own rate of sales tax. Just like US states.

When stuff comes in from outside the EU that's where it differs from the US. As I understand it, the rules for import duty etc are set at a Federal level in the US. Doesn't matter whether you're in NY or North Dakota, the enforcement is the same. This isn't true in the EU. Although there's a common rulebook each member state has its own procedures for enforcement. In the UK it's fairly lax, a lot of packages that should attract import taxes get through without being stopped. In Germany I think the enforcement is a lot stricter.

So if I (in the UK) ordered those boots from Australia they would probably get stopped by customs. I would get a note in the post saying I had to pay taxes and fees, something I can do online. The package would then be delivered by Royal Mail, DHL or whoever the carrier was. But there's a fair chance the package would just arrive, with no demand for tax. I don't know the German procedure but I can be pretty sure it's different.

[Gudulitooo]

Find a similar model by a EU seller.

[at9]

Size EU41 and others available here: https://www.zalando.co.uk/jeffrey-campbell-legion-2-lace-up-boots-je711n02s-q11.html

Various sizes here. Based in USA but will ship with prepaid tax etc to Europe: https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/jeffrey-campbell-legion-high-heel-boot-women/4397339

Some sizes on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jeffrey-Campbell-Womens-Legion-Boots/dp/B0757NV7LZ

Probably others if you look around. No need to ship from Australia unless you need a size that somebody's got there and nowhere else.

[alphax]

You could use a foreign buying service like this:  https://www.ausff.com.au/germany/

Such services exist for many countries to smooth the buying of goods from sellers who normally don’t ship to your country, speak your language, etc.

I have used such services in Japan.

They charge extra on top of whatever customs taxes, but well worth it to avoid hassle.

You will still have to pay import taxes, but at least the paperwork should be filled out correctly.

 

As to your other problem of how to receive the boots, have them shipped to work, or a reliable friend.

If you plan to order more things that you don’t want your parents to intercept, then rent a post office box.

Edited February 27, 2019 by alphax

[Cali]

It just might be cheaper and with less hassle to fly down there on vacation and return with them in your luggage.  You might even get a chance to try them on for fit first.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Cali

[Chorlini]

Can't  you have them send to a local collection point? Basically every delivery service in the Netherlands today has them and if you know the address of one, use that one as your address. I do that quite often. Although you'd have to know which delivery service this store uses. If its not in their FAQ section why not shoot them an email?

As for the import charges, there's no escaping those. I speak from bitter experience. You might occasionally have a package sneak by under the radar, but overall taxes, like death, are unavoidable.

[wastheels]

Oh guys thanks for all your replies. Unfortunately the links from the uk are the boots in black and not the greyish tone i want them but thanks anyways.

I recently found the boots at an uk online store but the store does not look really trustworthy..

 

http://www.wisdominpractice.org.uk/favorably-jeffrey-campbell-legion-boot-black-wash-women-58857-p-4883.html

 

what do you think?

[at9]

I agree. Some of their pages have outdated certificates and there are no contact details. These are required by the UK Distance Selling Regulations.

[alphax]

I am also wary of them. They seem desperate to convince you that their boots are "100% Genuine Jeffrey Campbell" or other brands

 

And the prices are too low.  You will likely either be ripped off or get a pair of low quality counterfeits.

 

Skip that one.

 

[wastheels]

Damn too sad. Now i think i will never get these boots ever..