Sorted and paid, thank you.

[Icecrystalline]

Oh, that really stinks! Was not expecting this at all. Have shipped to other countries in Europe without having this come up, but I think this was my first time shipping to the UK. If I had known, I would've listed the price as being lower than it actually way, to avoid being hit.

Appreciate everyone's input so far. Any other suggestions would be great. I received my ponies from Icey last week without any problems.

Actually you are not supposed to under-list the value.  It can get you the shipper into hot water.   If the UK is cracking down then it is really not a good idea to do so.  I even have it in my ebay listing that I will not under list a value to avoid fees.  I have no desire to have the postal system come after me for false reporting or mail fraud.

And you can get hit with them here (have had it happen) when we get packages from overseas but it seems to happen way less then going over to the UK from here.

But there is no harm either in marking a loose G1 pony, that might be worth $30 to us, at $5.
Customs don't know Mimic from Peachy as long as it looks realistic.

I'm pretty sure this has been done for me several times before too, but I didn't ask, they did it automatically, and as Sebby, you quite rightly said, a pony is a pony! xxx

[Maniah]

The harm is if a claim needed to be filed (and is able to be filed) if you liste mimic as $5 then when they pay your claim, you get $5 back. It would suck to be in that situation.

Also, money spent outside your country is money leaving the economy. It does nothing to help further the economy. That's a big part of why they tax what you buy, so your money can benefit the economy in some way.

[ponylady]

I am glad that you may have found a solution Ice.  And thanks to everyone who offered to buy ponies from her to help raise the funds.

I have to say though there are lots of us who juggle full time jobs, school and on top of that children who manage to still be able to buy, sell and trade.  So it is possible. But I think you are making the right decision on taking a break like you mentioned from it if you already feel overwhelmed. 

[Icecrystalline]

I am glad that you may have found a solution Ice.  And thanks to everyone who offered to buy ponies from her to help raise the funds.

I have to say though there are lots of us who juggle full time jobs, school and on top of that children who manage to still be able to buy, sell and trade.  So it is possible. But I think you are making the right decision on taking a break like you mentioned from it if you already feel overwhelmed. 

I can manage buying/selling and trading, I save up money for things I specifically want, but of course, customs charges are not part of that, and as I currently am very short of money, it's not something I want to be stuck with regularly.
And yes, thanks for the suggestions. I'm selling all ponies on my thread at a car boot next weekend, I usually come home with £20 from ponies, so I'm hopeful

[NoDivision]

A car boot sale is a great idea! Always easier to just get the cash in hand. Good luck with your sales

[WingedElf]

Unless the package is insured I can't really see the harm in writing $5 rather than $50 for a G1; these laws were not primarily intended for vintage items rather to prevent us from buying things that are cheaper outside of Europe such as perfume, designer clothes, iPhone's etc etc. Sebby is right, ponies have no real value, just what we are prepared to pay for them as collectors.

I once had an issue with customs charges where the seller wrote that two ponies were worth more than I had actually paid which resulted in me receiving a charge for more than the value of the actual items. I tried explaining this to RM but they could do nothing about it, so I ended up not claiming the ponies (two TAF babies) because I absolutely could not afford the customs charge and they were supposed to be returned to the seller but actually ended up getting lost poor things. So I would be very wary of leaving anything uncollected relying on RM being able to return it the seller.

Anyway, back on topic! I'm glad you found a solution Ice I often sell some of my spare G3s at the carboot and they always sell really well, I'm sure yours will do well too