Quote Originally Posted by London_Manila View Post
DHgate.com have been shipping goods to the UK for years.......
they do a nice iphone 5 for around $50 (nothing like the real thing but a decent copy)
if you ship individual items marked up as a "present" then they will arrive here in the UK
forget bulk orders customs will just impound them

send single items diba
Care still needs to be applied.

Goods from a non-EU country to the UK, even as a gift, may be subject to Customs Duty, Excise Duty and import VAT.

It makes no difference if the goods are new or used, it doesn't matter if you buy them for own personal use or if you intend to sell on.

If you're sending or receiving a gift from outside the EU:-
- Excise Duty is payable on any alcohol or tobacco products
- Customs Duty is payable if the value of the gift exceeds £135 (but will be waived if the amount of duty is £9 or under)
- import VAT is payable if the value of the gift exceeds £36

To qualify as a gift:-
- It must have been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in the UK.
- The Customs Declaration must be completed correctly – see guidance on the customs procedures for goods posted to the UK link below.
- It must be for the use of either you or your family.
- There must be no commercial or trade element and it must not have been paid for by the recipient either directly or indirectly.
- It must be of an occasional nature only - for example for a birthday or anniversary.
- If it's perfume or toilet water it must be within the allowances described in the earlier section 'Perfume and toilet water'. If the allowances are exceeded than charges apply on the excess.

Anyone on their immigration journey needs to be extra careful these days with new and stricter terms of the good character requirements implemented on 13 December 2012.