Grand Master Supporter 2.1k Posted 1 hour ago I won a common coin of Postumus from Astarte auction in the middle of Feb. It was only 24 CHF, was shipped on 22nd, and two days later was impounded by Customs. There it sat for a week. I got an e-mail from Customs Friday asking me to provide proof of payment, the invoice and why such an item was shipped by registered post. Now Switzerland is not in the EU so I knew I would have to pay an import charge, normally it would be around 7 Euros. I sent all these documents along with the reason for buying it was for personal use. This morning I received an e-mail stating that I would have to pay a customs fee of 35 Euros within 5 working days otherwise the coin would be sent for destruction. So, the end result after speaking to the "official" involved about how they came up with a fee of 35 Euros plus tax, for a 24 Euro coin, was that I had to do a bank transfer to them. Ultimately the coin has cost me Hammer total 24.00 CHF Buyer's commission (+18.50%) 4.44 CHF Subtotal 28.44 CHF Payment fees (PayPal [+5.00%]) 1.42 CHF Shipping costs (Registered mail [+1.00%, +15.50 CHF]) 15.78 CHF Total 45.64 CHF Converted to Euros this is 47.52, And now on top of this a fee of 43 Euros, giving a total of 90.52 Euros. To say I am disgusted is an understatement. I will never order anything or participate in an auction from outside EU again. Rant over
I don't trust customs anywhere now, which is why I stopped buying things from Europe, as I am in the United States. I wonder if the ground crew strike in Germany will have any effect on shipping?
Sorry you’re having customs problems but I fear that is something we all face or will face in the near future. It’s a money maker for the government of that country.
Sorry for the customs debacle. You might talk to Swiss auction companies about the problem. They may be able to ship coins from the EU. I’ve traveled in and out of Switzerland on the train and never had luggage or packages inspected. All that mattered were passports. Cal
I spoke to them this morning before dealing with the customs agent. They have no plans to offer that service. Spain is becoming very finicky about coins being exported outside of Spain, even to other EU countries, and now it seems importing is the next phase to get stricter with.
I've not had problems with customs yet, so perhaps I should quit while I'm ahead. It's too bad that the process can't be any smoother, especially these days. My favorite places to buy ancient coins are based in the UK and Germany respectively, now I've got to find someplace else. I also order a lot of military surplus from Finland and have had no issues. Hopefully the customs from Canada to the US is more lenient when it comes to coins, as I order from there every now and again.
Yes, you could start a GoFundMe to recoup the fees but only if you swear to not buy any coin again from Switzerland. You know someone on another coin forum would light you up for it.
Sorry to hear that. I refuse to pay anything besides the cash leaving my hand to the dealer. Coin in pocket. That sucks but my stress level would skyrocket if I had to deal with something like that.
