New Figure - Sebastian Kneipp 70680

[Ismene]

The EU has all sort of import rules that make it difficult for small sellers to keep up (like having to register and pay an annual fee to import packaging into each country - obviously they can't just slap a stamp on Kneipp and send him on his way -, which means websites are having to prioritize countries that they think will buy enough to compensate for the fee). I'm not sure if that's what is going on here, but I do know many sellers are removing EU countries from their shipping locations and it's only going to get worse unless governments adjust regulations so that small sellers can keep up.

[tahra]

There's no legal obligation to sell people things, unless it discriminatory, and geographic location isn't considered to be that.

I thought there was something (recently) about not being allowed to discriminate customers within the EU. Same promotions, same prices (not for shipping, of course).

Clearly, I missed something, because.. well.

[Oliver]

I thought there was something (recently) about not being allowed to discriminate customers within the EU. Same promotions, same prices (not for shipping, of course).

Possibly -  but anyway, it would surely only apply to companies with a minimum turnover - because we have local, independent shops that will deliver within a certain distance (say 5 or 10 miles) and they couldn't reasonably be expected to send something to Poland. So these guys would probably fall below that.

The EU has all sort of import rules that make it difficult for small sellers to keep up (like having to register and pay an annual fee to import packaging into each country - obviously they can't just slap a stamp on Kneipp and send him on his way -, which means websites are having to prioritize countries that they think will buy enough to compensate for the fee).

I thought the point of the Single Market was that is was, well, a SINGLE market?! 

[tahra]

Possibly -  but anyway, it would surely only apply to companies with a minimum turnover - because we have local, independent shops that will deliver within a certain distance (say 5 or 10 miles) and they couldn't reasonably be expected to send something to Poland. So these guys would probably fall below that.

I was referring more to playmobil.. although.. What you said may be reasonable if we're talking a huge tv or a refigerator or a truck. But a playmobox?  Just print the darn address. Buyer pays shipping. MOST people realize shipping something abroad is more expensive than locally.

I thought the point of the Single Market was that is was, well, a SINGLE market?! 

Exactly.

[Ismene]

I thought the point of the Single Market was that is was, well, a SINGLE market?! 

They seem to have forgotten that part somewhere along the way because when it comes to importing and taxation, they have different rules. And Brexit isn't making any of this easier either.

[Hadoque]

They seem to have forgotten that part somewhere along the way because when it comes to importing and taxation

The single market eliminates import duties and taxes between member-states of the E.U.
It does not eliminate import duties and taxes when importing something from outside the E.U. (Unless there is some kind of trade-agreement, with reduces or eliminates import duties.) Those duties and taxes for goods from outside the E.U. can differ - usually slightly - from memberstate to memberstate. The VAT % in Germany f.e. is (or used to be?) slightly lower then in Belgium.

Are import-duties and taxes the same in every U.S. State, when importing from outside the United States?

[Macruran]

Like Schiller and (especially) Erhard before him. Yes I know I'm an ignoramus, but I wish the people commemorated were more widely known. Even limiting the choice to Germany and Austria, there must be a dozen composers (for example) who are better known than these three (I've said that before.) At least each composer could be featured holding a musical instrument rather than just (as with writers) a pen!

But, of course, many promo figures are commissioned by people who are interested in a particular historical person, however obscure.

The solution to this is in my view to have cultural sets for each country, possibly driven by museums, as Germany is doing. Every country has historical figures that are significant at home yet hardly known abroad.

This museum-led trend is really showing the way. The Greek sets demonstrate that a local cultural theme can develop into something more popular. Ideally we'll have both our local Kneipps and our popular Zeuses.

[Ismene]

The single market eliminates import duties and taxes between member-states of the E.U.
It does not eliminate import duties and taxes when importing something from outside the E.U. (Unless there is some kind of trade-agreement, with reduces or eliminates import duties.) Those duties and taxes for goods from outside the E.U. can differ - usually slightly - from memberstate to memberstate. The VAT % in Germany f.e. is (or used to be?) slightly lower then in Belgium.

Are import-duties and taxes the same in every U.S. State, when importing from outside the United States?

The way I understood it, is that EU-to-EU shipments are affected by the packaging registration requirement and fee, along with shipments from outside the EU. It's not technically an import duty (which is not applied to EU-to-EU shipments). Currently, each country has a separate registration system and fee. There's been no guidance in this, so if you have any insight, I'd love to hear it.
Meanwhile, Germany still wants invoices in duplicate, which creates more packaging to be trashed. (That's an extra plastic envelope and two sheets of paper.)

Import duties are not handled by states in the US. They're determined and charged when the package reaches the country (not the destination state), so yes it's the same across the board.
There is sales tax, which not-tiny businesses have to now charge and process, but it's not an import duty. It's a result of the South Dakota vs. Wayfair Supreme Court decision, which effectively changed the definition of nexus. City and county taxes don't need to be applied unless a company has physical nexus (the old school definition).
The UK has moved to having international businesses collect VAT on purchase (rather than when the package enters the UK), and I hear the EU will be following suit soon.

Clear as mud? 

[Hadoque]

The way I understood it, is that EU-to-EU shipments are affected by the packaging registration requirement and fee, along with shipments from outside the EU. It's not technically an import duty (which is not applied to EU-to-EU shipments).

"Packaging registration requirement and fee"? Never heard of that... But I´m not a sales-expert.
When I buy something in another E.U.-memberstate and have it shipped to me, I only pay the purchase-price plus the shipping-cost.

There might  be some/a lot of confusion due to Brexit though, especially in the southern area of the E.U.
I know some Playmobil sellers in e.g. ... (well, you know) who were informed by their local postal offices, that they now have to include custom-documents with every package shipped to e.g. Germany or the Benelux-countries. False information they got from their confused local postal services due to Brexit, it still is only necessary when shipping outside the E.U. At least that is what I get told here by my local postal and custom sources 

What can happen, is that sometimes a webshop  - usually the big international platforms like e.g. Amazon (and also a certain Geobra Brandstätter) but only rarely a local shop - takes into account the (very) small difference in VAT-tax that exists between member-states (e.g. 21% VAT in Belgium, 20% VAT in France and 19% VAT in Germany) and adjusts the sales-prices (once you registered or entered your address) to the VAT applicable in the country you reside in, but like I said most shops don´t that. When one crosses the border physically to purchase something in another E.U-country, then on the return-trip there is also no custom-agent waiting (anymore) behind the bushes (growing on the former borders) to charge the (usually) small VAT-difference.

Meanwhile, Germany still wants invoices in duplicate, which creates more packaging to be trashed. (That's an extra plastic envelope and two sheets of paper.)

I think it should be in triple, with one for the courrier-company responsible for handling the imported goods and two for the receiver of the goods. Of course only for packages coming from outside the E.U.

Import duties are not handled by states in the US. They're determined and charged when the package reaches the country (not the destination state)

Same here, as I was once informed. Or it should be, if rules are interpreted and applied correctly.

Clear as mud? 

  

[Ismene]

"Packaging registration requirement and fee"? Never heard of that... But I´m not a sales-expert.
When I buy something in another E.U.-memberstate and have it shipped to me, I only pay the purchase-price plus the shipping-cost.

The buyer doesn't pay it. It's an annual fee that businesses are supposed to pay to the powers that be for covering the costs of recycling/disposal of the packaging materials that are sent into the country. The consequence is that micro businesses are having to guess which countries will buy enough from them to justify the fee and are removing shipping to countries they know won't. So it might explain why Kneipp can only be ordered from certain EU countries (although maybe they have some completely different reasoning behind this).

I think it should be in triple, with one for the courrier-company responsible for handling the imported goods and two for the receiver of the goods. Of course only for packages coming from outside the E.U.

It may very well be triplicate for packages sent through couriers. We're told duplicate for shipping through the post office. Most countries get by with a stick-on customs label.