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Thread: International Transformers retails and Australian GST. What retailers are doing.

  1. #31
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    Well all the next wave of POTP toys are up for preorder with BBTS but not due until July which means they will either be unavailable to us or available but extra expensive

  2. #32
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    Can someone post the text of the email that BBTS is sending out regarding GST?

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by DELTAprime View Post
    Can someone post the text of the email that BBTS is sending out regarding GST?
    I posted the email on the previous page
    Hunting:
    Beast Wars/Machines/Neo/Second

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by swoop View Post
    I posted the email on the previous page
    TY.

    As a note. I looked on Amazon's Australian site for the first time in forever. They seem to be using Amazon AU to allow you to order some items from Amazon US. Not a perfect solution, but at least I will still be able to order cheap hard drives from Amazon US.

  5. #35
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    I've just sent a few queries off to BBTS of my own. But people here might already know the answers:

    *Will GST be charged on each individual item as we purchase them, or will it be charged on the overall cost of combined shipments (such as from HLJ and BBTS)?
    *Will the GST be charged on shipping costs (if shipping cost $60 before will it now cost $66)?
    *If you have your items shipped to a friend in the US, then they send it to you as a 'gift', can the government do anything about that?
    *Is the GST going to cover the overall value of shipments, or is it going to be something like a $7 charge per package (no matter how many items are in the package)?

    I've checked the ATO site and taken soundings online and can't find a clear answer anywhere

  6. #36
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    From BBTS:

    I’ve hit up BBTS for more info about their practices regarding the GST and got the following response:

    Hello Trevor,
    Thank you for the follow up and I will be happy to explain. We will continue to ship to Australia, but these new tax laws will be in place on that date. We should be sending out a more formal, mass notice about this change in the coming days but from what I understand the GST will be collected on our end and then provided to your government inevitably. If you would prefer to alleviate this tax burden on any items that are currently in your Pile of Loot already or any orders you place prior to July 1st, we do suggest shipping them any time before that deadline, otherwise that merchandise will be taxed upon shipping it.

    I have summed up responses for you as well below:
    *Will future purchases have GST charged on each individual item as they drop into my POL?
    Any items purchased on July 1st and beyond will be subject to GST tax. Please note we do not collect applicable tax and shipping until you release your Pile of Loot items, so you would be taxed at that time.

    *If not, will GST be charged on the overall cost of my POL when shipped? Or is there a standard fee for every package, no matter its cost?
    From what we understand any products with a value of less than $1,000 will be subject to GST. This means that you could ship various items valuing $2,000 in merchandise but all of it would be taxed. It is my understanding that a single item that costs more than that, will NOT be subject to GST.

    *Will GST be charged also on the cost of shipping itself?
    Yes, just like the merchandise, your government will be assessing GST on shipping expense as well.

    This unfortunate law will definitely be an inconvenience for our customers in Australia, however, the good news is that we will continue doing our best to provide you with collectibles going forward. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance in the meantime and have a great day!


    Now obviously the bloke doesn’t quite understand the new laws, since of course we WOULD get charged GST on an individual $2000 item, but since I don’t know the ins and outs of the US tax system I don’t expect them to understand ours. I’ll be hitting them up again about whether we would get still get charged GST if we have an Aussie billing address but an American postal address, as perhaps for us with US friends that would post stuff on, it may be a way around these bastard new laws.

  7. #37
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    Amazon rarely does pre-orders, but they've just listed Predaking for pre-order, for August 1st... now, if they charge the entire amount of the toy and postage right now, they *should* still be able to ship it in August, because they are only stopping their orders from July 1st, not shipments (because the GST only applies on money changing hands after June 30th).
    Unfortunately, the price is about AU$280 shipped, so the risk is if it is released here, and it's price here.... but if it doesn't get released here, and is more than $300, the Amazon option may be worth it.

  8. #38
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    I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but I was curious what the situation with forwarding items from Amazon via Shopmate was and I contacted AusPost. They gave me the following answer:
    "GST will be payable on:
    - The value of the item(s) you are shipping into Australia via ShopMate including any shipping fees or local taxes paid to the USA retailer (i.e how much you paid to purchase and ship the item)
    -The value of the ShopMate shipping and service fee (including Extra Cover if applicable)

    In basic terms, if the item is being delivered from outside Australia, anything you pay to purchase and ship the package will attract GST, as per the legislation."

    What I don't get is why would we pay GST on the American domestic shipping to the Shopmate warehouse? An even more bitter pill to take is paying GST on second hand items!

  9. #39
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    Well shopmate are auspost and auspost are paid by the au government, so it's all part of the same scam.
    As such they treat all items that come into your US mailing address as a "new item being imported to avoid paying for it at aussie retail prices", even when it's something second hand.
    That, and shopmates already high prices, are good enough reasons to avoid the service in my opinion.

    Here's some more info for everyone.
    As my accountant explained it to me, anything purchased through a digital platform such as amazon or ebay has to have all tax included in the final price you pay if shipped directly to australia.
    So anything that an ebay seller sends to you can not be taxed on this end because the platform (ebay) is supposed to pay the australian government the taxes on that item due to collecting it from you in the final cost.
    Expect to see a section labelled "taxes" during final checkout when purchasing on ebay after june 30th.

    Now if the items are sent to a location in america/japan/etc (such as a friends place or other shipping forwarder) then forwarded to you as merchandise you will pay tax at the post office when it arrives here.
    The exception to this is if the shipper has collected tax on the australian governments behalf, I know tenso (a japanese shipping forwarder) has stated that they are collecting the taxes, so you'd be paying those when you pay tenso their fees.

    If however the items are sent to you as gift (either from a friend or from a shipping forwarder that isnt collecting taxes) you should not pay any taxes.
    Also when sending as a gift it can help to have, for example, "used toys" in the description to further show that this is not an item that can be bought in australian retail outlets (the thing that this tax is supposedly in place to combat).
    If the forwarder/retailer has charged you taxes in the final price then it doesnt matter if the customs form says merchandise or gift.

    Apologies for the wall of text but hopefully this information is useful and accurate (which I assume it is coming from an accountant).

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by DarkHyren View Post
    Apologies for the wall of text but hopefully this information is useful and accurate (which I assume it is coming from an accountant).
    All accurate, but Shopmate isn't Auspost - It's Singapore Post, contracted by Auspost... Figures

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