TTS books duty for EU - end of the road for TTS?

[MarkSax]

Last option would be E book.

Too easily pirated.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Last option would be E book.

Looked into that as well. Not an option as the minimum quantities for realistic costs are not viable for the likely sales numbers.

Too easily pirated.

That as well. Plenty of bad people out there who do not respect copyright.

 

[Ghr9204]

However a lot of US customers are just assuming they will be tariffed so sales are right down since all these new de minimis changes.

I am very sorry to hear that small entrepeneurs like you are being heavily affected by this whole international tariffs and additional taxes situation.

Greatest concern here in US is day to day, we do not know what the true tariff situation is. Plus, the language used to define the various tariff items are not as well spelled out as they should be. I'd be lucky to find a glossary that used to be IMO common in earlier times up front, so that there would be no ambiguities. Seems one needs to be intimately involved to make sense of our gov's spiel. Then I am not sure that those who are close in really know, either.

Plus since Covid, international shipping to US overall has been disfavorable for merchandise. 2021, an international airmail letter to a friend in New Zealand took 4 months to arrive. Although things since eased a little, personally I have been reluctant to order across the pond like I did 10 - 15 years ago due to overall heavily increased shipping costs and shipping delay times.

Then, there was considerable freedom. I ordered motorcycle parts and accessories not available in US from Netherlands, a styles CD for my Roland WG7 keyboard from France, books from UK, and etc. Shipping then only took 10 days to New Mexico and was nominal.

Of course, this tariff situation that keeps shifting from day-to-day has not helped at all nor has the Hormuz situation affecting fuel prices in shipping helped.

One Internet lamp, Woodwind Forum went off the air August 9. I understand costs are costs, but it would be very unfortunate if another lamp, the Café had to also shutter its doors.

 

[Pete Thomas]

One Internet lamp, Woodwind Forum went off the air August 9. I understand costs are costs, but it would be very unfortunate if another lamp, the Café had to also shutter its doors.

I believe the writing is on the wall, but not in the immediate future. I may make a separate post about this. It would probably not be purely for financial reasons as there is probably scope to tighten our belt before we start making a significant loss and/or I can personally no longer fund it myself.

A more damaging thing would be less activity. Again at the moment we are IK.

I am very sorry to hear that small entrepeneurs like you are being heavily affected by this whole international tariffs and additional taxes situation.

We are also heavily affected by changes in discovery methods, search engine visibility has dropped since the introduction of ai “answers” into most search engines

 

[mizmar]

As an aside - this is why I appreciate the American receipt that details all the added taxes. Like:
Coffee
City tax
Federal tax
Tax for the new football stadium
Tax for the governor's mistress' appartment
Etc.

 

[MikeMorrell]

Yes indeed.

It’s €3 per package plus VAT plus handling.

Not viable. I only sell them online at TTS.

Very sad to hear this, Pete. I'd thought that perhaps a viable EU partner might help. Yes, you pay €3 per 'line item' (rather than 'package') up to a value of €150, but I doubt whether this helps much. So for €3, you for could export 8 TTS books (at €18,66 per book) to an EU partner. Or 9 £9 CD's. But my guess is that the shipping costs on 8 books or 9 CD's would be higher than on 1 book or 1 CD. And that the 'EU partner' would also like a cut of the profits. Still, something worth considering.

From what I've quickly browsed, import/export 'regulations' are also already or planned to get much more (administratively) complicated. The current and planned changes will impact many 'small-scale' importers and exporters. So TTS is just one of many. Maybe on-line resellers such as Amazon could boost sales. Though they take a major cut too.

The only 'good news' IMHO is that consumers might have to get used to paying 'premium prices' for imported low-value goods. Whether they will, remains to be seen.

I can only suggest that TTS lists the UK £ (and possibly € and $) selling price and adds the additional shipping and 'import duties' at the time of purchase. Some consumers might choose not to proceed, given the 'extra costs'. Others may think 'OK the extra costs are not TTS's fault, so I'll pay the 'overhead costs'.

FWIW, I'd be more than happy to source possible (well-known) 'EU partners' in NL and bring them in contact with you. Let me know if you're interested.

Mike

Sources:

What Is an EORI Number? Apply in Germany, UK, Switzerland

Learn how to apply for an EORI number in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. Step-by-step customs guide for EU and post-Brexit trade.

gerlach-customs.com

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.fedex.com/content/dam/fedex/eu-europe/downloads/FedEx_DeMinimis_Customer_Gu-parcel-duty-150-exemption/#e8a82c-2-how-the-%E2%82%AC3-transitional-duty-is-calculated

EU applies €3 customs duty per item on low-value e-commerce consignments | Access2Markets

Abolition of the tariff exemption on low-value imports into the EU from 1 July 2026.

trade.ec.europa.eu

EU’s New €3 Customs Duty: What It Means for Books and Book Boxes | Beautiful Books

Plain‑English guide to EU customs duty on books: de minimis changes, impact on book boxes and sellers, who pays duties, and other helpful tips.

beautifulbooks.info

EU Customs Changes 2026: An Ongoing Guide for Ecommerce Imports

Understand the latest EU customs changes affecting ecommerce, including IOSS, the €150 de minimis removal, new import fees, and upcoming implementation dates.

passportglobal.com

Extra costs for online orders

Take into account extra costs such for online orders like VAT (btw), import duties (invoerrechten), and handling costs (afhandelingskosten).

www.douane.nl

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2020.444.01.0011.01.ENG

+ Dutch language sources

 

[MikeMorrell]

Just a thought, would a 'subscription model' for TTS and the cafe (with limited access for non-subscribers) help?

 

[Digger2054]

@Pete Thomas I asked the question on LinkedIn, and I've been in touch with a 'trade supplier' who has a facility in mainland Europe. I've explained the situation as best I can, and they don't seem phased by it.

If you want to send me DM with the spec of the books, number of pages, how it's finished etc, I've access to their portal and will see what their costs are.

 

[MarkSax]

Just a thought, would a 'subscription model' for TTS and the cafe (with limited access for non-subscribers) help?

JMO, I don’t like subs. But a once off larger donation I would gladly contribute. Or physical items for the Cafe’s charity donations like mpcs, reeds…etc.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I'm very grateful for all the suggestions, but the bottom line is I do not get paid from any sales so the added complication of EU vendors or Amazon, given the level of the business, I am not able to take on the extra work or investment involved.

I can only suggest that TTS lists the UK £ (and possibly € and $) selling price and adds the additional shipping and 'import duties' at the time of purchase.

Yes, we already do this so this avoids any surprises like stupid handling fees.

 

[mizmar]

To be a little of the dismal "science".
If you can't really sell the books at the current price, abroad ...
You may as well sell the digital download.
Sure some people will share the PDF etc.
But a lot of folks who download pirated material wouldn't have paid anyway, so not all are lost sales; And your target audience is quite likely to pay. So you'll get some sales/income Vs non at all.

A lot of people put online musicering material in PDF/MP3... And Google doesn't serve up their material very often. They still get income because grumpy, middle aged amateurs aren't that price sensitive to a £€$few

Sell the books UK only - folks there know folks here and will often ask them to pick up a copy and bring/send it on... Their problem.

 

[turf3]

I think you've probably explained this already, but is there a reason why you can't charge approx. L5.50 more for the book when shipped to EU, compared to within UK or to US? Is it just purely that the indications are that raising the price that much would kill your EU sales?

 

[Ghr9204]

We are also heavily affected by changes in discovery methods, search engine visibility has dropped since the introduction of ai “answers” into most search engines

Yeah, I am not a big fan of A.I. Thus far results I have seen, yes, in some cases it can flesh out info that would take time to search manually for. On the other hand, some of its conclusions are erroneous, bringing up forum folklore, commonly professed errors and etc. as fact.

Recently it was discussed in 2 model aircraft and model engine forums a couple of videos on a popular video platform. These were about model aircraft engine manufacturing company histories. It mixed and flashed non-relevant photos with relevant, historical errors mixed with current and past, etc. Forum members concluded it was done to flash eye candy to the uninformed to garner the most hits for monetization points. If it were simply used as a tool and the owner modified the videos to make corrections would be more useful.

Just a thought, would a 'subscription model' for TTS and the cafe (with limited access for non-subscribers) help?

Other forums like Cox Engine Forum and Stunt Hangar have a way to make a contribution for the current year. Then one receives an attractive banner icon in their forum posting profile with the words, "2025 supporter", "2026 supporter", etc. Banner remains until one contributes again, old is replaced with new. A reasonable minimal amount can be established as a low end threshold.

I am not found of using recurring automatically renewiing PayPal or other financial service. Perhaps such a method in addition to current may help garner additional support from those on the sidelines?

 

[Pete Thomas]

I think you've probably explained this already, but is there a reason why you can't charge approx. L5.50 more for the book when shipped to EU,

Yes but is only very recently the option for seller to charge the VAT via the courier has become a viable option for us. Still waiting to see if it works. Even then I know that many overseas (potential) customer just don’t want to buy imports due to loads of issues re:incompetent customs.

 

[turf3]

Yes but is only very recently the option for seller to charge the VAT via the courier has become a viable option for us. Still waiting to see if it works. Even then I know that many overseas (potential) customer just don’t want to buy imports due to loads of issues re:incompetent customs.

I was just suggesting a two tiered price: one price (lower) for UK, US, other destinations that don't charge the fee, one price (higher) for EU and similar.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Log in or register to view this reply.

 

[Gandalfe]

Log in or register to view this reply.