Phew! Ok, I’ve got some good news to share!
I just got off the phone with Matt over at SimplyVAT and I gotta say, it felt so refreshing to talk to someone that understands this whole situation well and was able to explain it so clearly. Five stars to Matt over at SimplyVAT!
Here’s the deal:
- Turns out, even if I make no changes on my end, I will be able to ship to the UK and EU via the www.armaturenine.com website without having to worry about creating a VAT account or issuing quarterly satements (as long as your order is over the threshold). This would essentially mean shipping the conventional way I’ve been using over the years (DAP – Delivery at Place) – meaning that you (the customer) is responsible for paying your country’s VAT when collecting your package. I will not need a VAT registration nor will I need to issue quarterly statements when passing on the VAT to the customer (for purchases above the threshold).
- Except Germany. Unfortunately it turns out Germany is stricter than all the other country’s in the EU and will outright reject any packages that don’t arrive with a EU or German VAT registration number. This means that unless I get a German or EU VAT number, I will not be able to ship the larger figures to Germany.
- SimplyVAT is going to get me a quote on their services which essentially gives me access to their API (a shopify plug-in) which automatically tracks everything for me in the event I want to ship DDP (Delivery Duty Paid) – so that customers don’t have to deal with this and simplyVAT collects it from me and issues the payments to the appropriate countries. Not sure yet what this will cost.
Immediate Course of Action
- Small figures will continue to be available via Etsy for customers wanting to purchase them form the EU and UK. If you need any specific items, let me know and I’ll list them for you there. Please note that they have drop-down menus so click on Rider and you’ll see the xx, xy, classic variants.
- ALL FIGURES are now available to purchase via the armaturenine.com website to all countries except for Germany as long as your shopping cart is over $200 usd (I padded this number above the UK and EU threshold in the event the dollar drops in value).
- Etsy orders will ship DDP (they collect VAT on your behalf)
- Armaturenine.com orders will ship DAP (you will have to pay VAT when receiving your package)
- If I end up signing up with SimplyVAT then I’ll be able to ship to Germany and other EU/UK nations via DDP. This will largely depend on what the quote looks like and whether my sales volume to Germany justifies the expense.
“Wait… so what you’re saying is that if I live anywhere in the world (except Germany), I can order any of your products off your website?“
YES! But if you are located in the EU or UK your order will have to be $200usd or above. So if you purchase multiple smaller figures, you can still get them shipped to you via armaturenine.com
That’s all for now everyone. I feel somewhat relieved but still bummed about Germany. If anything changes I’ll let you know.
Sincerely,
Paul
Armature Nine Blog 