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July 2015 update: eBay now offers to pay the costs and taxes (including VAT) relating to your purchase when ordering so that you do not have to do so when your package enters France. The advertisements concerned are marked "Customs formalities and international tracking provided".

Some useful information:

When you order a product benefiting from this service, you pay for the product, the shipping costs of the order as well as the import costs of your order (estimated on the product sheet, confirmed when finalizing the purchase) .

If you pay via Paypal, you will find that for one and the same order, you will pay two separate amounts: This is normal. On the one hand, you pay the product and the shipping costs to the seller and on the other hand you pay the import costs to the service in charge of customs clearance of your shipment.

When the seller ships your package, you get a tracking number like UPAAAxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. This is not a number that you can track online. You will need to temporarily settle for the tracking provided by eBay in your purchase history.

When the package arrives in France, a statement indicating: "This package was transferred to ARVATO for delivery to the final destination AWSPBE N ° ..." will appear.

You can then track your package directly at GLS via the link provided.

If you order a product that does not benefit from the service "Customs formalities and international tracking provided", the information below applies:

As discerning LEGO collectors, you have no doubt already noticed that many sellers on eBay ou bricklink which offer the best prices and the largest selection are located in the United States.

Often the astronomical shipping costs inflate the overall cost of your coveted set, but it must be admitted that everything is also very often competitive.

But order in the USA via eBay ou bricklink can be an obstacle course if you don't take some basic precautions. Having placed many orders with American sellers, I think I have covered the problem (s) and I give you some very useful advice here, especially in case of problems:

- You should know that your order will take a long time to arrive. Most sellers use the services of the United States Post Office, otherwise known as USPS (not to be confused with UPS). Each seller offers their shipping method, the cost of which is relative depending on the speed of transport.

In general, for a small shipment, you will be entitled to First-Class Mail® International with an unsecured delay, and for a large shipment the seller will offer the solution Priority Mail® International with an announced delay of 6 to 10 days. Choose the latter, more reliable solution.

- Few sellers today agree not to declare the real value of the contents of the package and to carry the mention "Gift" on the customs slip to allow you to escape taxation. Do not insist if the seller refuses because he considers it illegal and does not want to break the law.

In the case of a high value product (over 200/250 USD), most sellers will declare the value of the shipment. And this is where the obstacle course will begin. First of all, ask the seller to put an invoice on the outside of the package in a clearly visible pocket and not on the inside.

If the seller is an individual, he must still put an invoice (eBay, Bricklink or handwritten). - Online tracking of your shipment is possible on the USPS website via the section Track & Confirm with the parcel number given to you by the seller.

Usually the first mention of online tracking is "Electronic Shipping Info Received" followed by "International Dispatch". If your USPS package number shipped in Express Mail International® begins with an E (ExxxxxxxxxUS), it will be taken care of by Chronopost once it arrives in France. Tracking will be possible on the Chronopost site with the original number. If your USPS package number shipped in Priority Mail® International begins with a C (CxxxxxxxxxUS), it will be taken care of by La Poste once arrived in France.

- When he arrived in France, the mention "Arrived Abroad"appears on the tracking and your shipment will be delivered to a French carrier, generally La Poste (Colissimo) and its number will change. You will therefore need to contact the 3631 or 0825 311 311 to obtain the Colissimo number for your USPS package. This is a classic approach and provided by La Poste, the operator will communicate this number to you without problems.

- If your shipment is not checked by French customs, you will receive it within a few days. If your package is detained by customs, then the words "Into Foreign Customs"will appear in the USPS tracking. In this case, you will have to act quickly: You will have to provide documents to obtain the release of your package: - A purchase invoice - Proof of payment - Possibly a sworn statement that you agree to pay the fees and taxes.

These documents will be requested by mail from a special service called Service Disjoints of the Export / Import center of La Poste in Chilly Mazarin.

An advice do not wait for this mail which can take a very long time to arrive, or even never reach you. Send your documents by email to the address disjoints.cei@laposte.fr by mentioning your USPS and Colissimo numbers in the subject line.

Do not forget to include in your message a detailed description of the contents of the package. Sooner or later you will be asked for it anyway. This La Poste service will answer you by email and confirm that your documents have been taken into account (prefer the pdf format).

If necessary, here is the telephone number of this service: 01 69 10 and the fax number: 01 69 10. - If all goes well, within a few days the USPS tracking must mention "Out of Foreign Customs", meaning that the customs declarant has done his job and that you will receive your package with a" Tax to be collected ".

You will have to pay on delivery a sum calculated on the basis of the declared value consisting of VAT at 19.6%, customs fees and any administrative fees. If your package needs to be opened, you will be charged an additional tax. You will find on this page of the official customs website directions for estimating the taxes you should pay based on your purchase. At the same time, Colissimo tracking will also give you the position of your package with information such as "Missing invoice, your package is held by our service pending customs clearance"during the verification and charging phase.

In any case, be careful and follow your shipment every day in order to react quickly in the event of an incident, and to be able to send the documents as soon as your package enters France. Do not harass the Service Disjoints, they are only administrative agents of La Poste. As for the customs declarant, he cannot be contacted directly.

If you phone the Disjoints Service, be clear and specific. Give your information and leave your phone number, you will be called back quickly if necessary.

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