ordering cards online from US stores, from the EU

[Illissius]

Anyone around who has experience with this?

I basically have a couple of specific concerns:

- How is VAT handled? Is there any way where I don't have to pay it? (I heard somewhere that it only applies above a given price value, but not what it is, or where to find out...). And if I do have to pay it, how? According to Google, VAT is levied at the border... but since I'm not actually, you know, physically present at the border, how do I get the money where it needs to go, without delaying the cards getting to me if at all possible?

- How fast do the cards usually arrive? There's a tournament on the 13th of October, so, well, I'd need them by then. I notice there's a multitude of shipping options, but all besides the basic one can be rather expensive.

And is there anything else I should know? Like customs issues, or anything else...

[Mordenkain]

Im from the EU as well (Denmark to be precise) and a friend of mine orders the cards we need from the U.S all the time. It's very easy, cheaper and almost as fast as local services. Some sites should be avoided though, go to www.findmagiccards.com and check it out. It lists nearly all the available stores and gives you a nice easy look at who is the cheapest and who got good feedback.

If I were to suggest some sites (note: this is not meant to be advertisement) then it would be StrikeZone Online and Londes. Avoid BigFireball since their really slow, usually 14 days+. But StrikeZone Online is the fastest, always within a week. It's sweet.

[Atwa]

I used to order from starcitygames and cardshark.

Cardshark is just a Ebay like store, with fixed prices, but sellers have to earn a good reputation before they are allowed to sell overseas. Too bad they are almost always the most expensive (because of their status), but I still made some good deals over there. Most of the sellers have their cards in the Netherlands within a week.

Starcitygames sure is expensive, but they are really dependable. Where I've received some wrong cards in the past from cardshark (always corrected afterwards), starcitygames has a flawless record untill now. Plus they are pretty fast, most of the time I receive the cards within 5-7 workdays.

I've ordered some cards from Troll&Toad last week, and I've received shipping conformation within 2 days. Still waiting for the cards, but only a week has past. The cards were just some pimp for a deck, so there is no rush. I just wanted to test them.

One tip:
Unless the order is really expensive, I always pick the cheapest shipping method. This is possible with Starcitygames and Troll&Toad. Never buy commons at Cardshark, since they have a fixed shippingprice per card. When looking for +/- 20 common cards, the stores are cheaper most of the time, even if they have the cards listed more expensive.

[Pale Moon FTW]

StrikeZoneOnline FTW. I've ordered from them like 8 times now and I've never had any problems. Their prices are among the cheapest while they have a huge stock of cards (probably the biggest on the web). However you might have to pay a tariff ordering from the US. I don't know how it is in Hungary but in Denmark about every sixth time you order something from the US you have to pay a tariff of about €15. Depends on how lucky you are really.

[Illissius]

Thanks everyone. Anyone know how VAT is handled?

[Pale Moon FTW]

This link (http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/index_en.htm) might help.

[Illissius]

Yeah, I found that with Google.


VAT on imports and exports

...

However, as far as imports are concerned, VAT must be paid at the moment the goods are imported so they are immediately placed on the same footing as equivalent goods produced in the Community.

My question is how this happens. But whatever, I'll just order and it'll work itself out hopefully.

[Atwa]

I never had any problem with VAT.

I've placed orders on both Starcitygames and Cardshark over $100 and I've never had any occurance where had to pay VAT. Could be just the Netherlands, but I feel these kind of rules should be the same within the EU.