Up until now I have only been selling in the UK via the x3 sites I use.
I decided I may need to cast my net further due to speculated prognosis of UK economy over the coming months. Looking around I got my head in quite a pickle over customs & couriers, etc…THEN!
I discovered a website on Art packaging & customs.
I have no affiliation or connection to it whatsoever, but have found it more helpful & explanatory than any I’ve looked.
It has superb info on packaging types/uses & customs info was actually understandable.
I’ve sold more internationally so far this year than I have within the UK so international is definitely worth getting your head round (its not that hard). You will need to figure out your HS tariff code (there is another thread on that where I gave the link to a website which allows you to do that) and if you work with mixed medias it is worth checking which countries will or won’t let in things like (untreated) wood.
Thanks for reply. I had already tried to work out the HS tariff code needed for legally required CN22 custom declaration form & got myself in a complete pickle (including from a link I found on Folksy). Worse, the UK gov. site custom tariff site just took me round & round in circles (bleedy useless)…BUT I found the info on the artbusiness.com site = easy. Plus there is buckets of other really interesting & useful info there.
I create primarily mixed medium sculptures, which is why I was initially having problems getting the right code for my sculptures. = (HS Tariff Code 97030090 HS Codes Classification = of Original sculptures and statuary, in other materials).
Oh. Thanks for the heads up RE: Untreated wood.
Now just have to find a definition on what ‘treated’ means?
Treated = x2 asprin & 24hr bed rest? Perhaps not. Tanalised? Kiln dried? Varnished? Wave tossed in Atlantic ocean?? Pickled in vinegar?
And you know that countries won’t agree on what counts as ‘treated’ either… (if you use a wooden packing crate then that wood would need to be treated too)
I’ve found that the US is straight forward with a nice high import tax threshold (so things don’t get stuck in customs whilst people pay fees) so you could always cut your teeth on them and once any kinks are ironed out add on others.
Something that will kill any tiny little bugs that might be hiding inside. Australia are the particularly picky ones for wood and natural substances, so this might help with some answers - http://www.agriculture.gov.au/import/goods/timber
HS Codes (or HTS Codes ), also known as the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, or simply the Harmonized System, are a standardized international system to classify globally traded products.
HS/HTS Code is required/expected to be added by an exporter to CN22 & CN23 custom declaration forms.
*Although I wonder how many sole traders who export… do put the correct code on the custom declaration?
I’ve never bothered putting the codes on in the past (there’s a space on the customs form but I always left that and the weight blank), but now they’re starting to introduce electronic versions which you’re meant to fill in before you send the parcel, and you have to include it on those.
I think some of the post office services (like drop and go or whatever it’s called) have started with the electronic version, but they haven’t introduced it for over the counter stuff yet.
I’ve just been making a note of the codes I might need for when we do need to fill it in.
The CN22 only asks for a 6 digit number, but apparently the electronic one will take the full number… it sounds like you just knock the last numbers off if you need 6 digits.
So far I’ve got
Paintings - 9701100000
Greeting cards - 4909000
Prints (the normal reproduction kind, rather than “original engravings, prints and lithographs” which has a different number) - 4911910090
