Australian Seed Offer [UK]

[Maya]

Wow! Chad, what is the value of the order itself?

[Chad]

Maya it is all a bit frightening!

In £ Sterling values;

Seed 352
Phyto san certificate 103
P&P 24
International surcharge 41
UK import tax 95
Customs clearance fee 12

And I'll have a 'foreign transaction fee' on my credit card as well.

This is all a lot more than I'd expected!

And until the parcel gets here I don't know if everything we wanted is included, so I can't offer a 'per person' value yet. From the invoice it looks as if things that several people wanted got 'combined' so small and large packets or '20 seeds' will need me to do some repackaging when they get here.

Parcel force have notified me it is out for delivery, but not to my address, so the saga continues.

I shan't be doing this again in a hurry.

And I had hoped to do New Zealand Seed next year.

Maybe not!

Chad
ps. As I typed it the figures were nicely tabulated!

[Maya]

In January 2023 I bought seed from The NZ company you have mentioned. The value of the order was $99, shipping cost was $24. They didn`t charge me for phyto certificate and there was no extra charge/tax on UK side. Seeds arrived ok with no issues. I do not know if regulations have changed in the meanwhile.

[MartinNicklin]

Wow! That's very expensive. I've just received seed from Australia. Thought I'd just take a chance and order it thinking I may never receive it but it got here OK in a couple of weeks as did a plant I received today from Portugal. It all seems very confusing not to mention hit and miss. I hope everyone gets the seed they wanted and that it proves to have been a worthwhile undertaking and expense.

[charlie]

The impression I have gained over the years is that you are penalised for doing things according to the book, same with the delivery companies if you declare the contents as "Plants" the majority refuse to carry them and those that will its "uninsured" - even if they lose the parcel where I cant see why the contents makes a difference!

I feel for you Chad, I have had nothing but bad experiences using carriers to import, my 2009 Lapageria import arrived in 2 identical parcels both in value and size they slapped 34p duty on the one and £138 on the other when I complained they refunded me - 34p !

[Paul S]

It does seem to be a lottery. Chris Grundy (wasn't he one of the original chaps on here?) tells a story about buying some mangaves from Plant Delights nursery, sharing an order with a few interested parties to spread the cost. Except it went into 2 boxes, and PD, bless 'em, put the contents of the whole order on both boxes, meaning they were charged double for import duties/handling etc. He asked PD if, next time, they could actually write the contents of each box on each box, rather than the whole order. They said they wouldn't, so there was no next time.

[Chad]

I've sorted the packets out to envelopes for individual people and will probably post them on Monday.

Not everything was there, but they haven't charged for what is missing. Xanthorrhoea glauca is missing apart from one small packet that isn't enough to split. I've put it with whoever's list I was doing first, the rest of us haven't got it.

Tomorrow I start on apportioning the costs.

Chad

[Chad]

Well it took me a lot longer to get the seeds sorted and billed!

Today I have posted the last of the orders.

I won't be doing this again; it was far more work than I'd anticipated.

And the 'missing' packets upset my documentation.

Chad

[Paul S]

Sterling work, Chad, sterling work. :)

[Maya]

Seeds arrived today and are already undergoing pre-sowing prep.
Thank you Chad!