***if you plan on shipping from this store to another country, read this first***
My experience pertains to shipping some gifts from this store to the US and what happened afterwards with additional taxes and duties. My in-store experience was fine and obviously I liked the merchandise enough to make a purchase.
The store manager offered to ship my purchase (all gifts) back to the US in this case and I wouldn't have to pay the VAT. Instead I would pay the fedex shipping fee which is a breakeven after about ~200 pounds purchase. What he failed to mention was that there was another tax waiting for me in the US, 11 to 16% depending on the merchandise, assessed by US Customs, plus Fedex's fee for paying it on your behalf! Specifically, when I spoke to Fedex the representative told me that the store had checked a box that said to bill me for the charges which the clerk did NOT mention to me and must have known that it exists, hence the 2 stars. Poor service if I want to be generous, misleading if I am feeling cynical.
In order to avoid any import duty, the shipping has to be from person to person (not business to person), with GIFT clearly stated and not be over $100 in value according to the Fedex rep I spoke with. I hope this helps anyone else trying to ship from this store to the US, as that was a bit of a sting when I got the additional invoice.
I am giving an extra star because the merchandise is quite nice, upscale and unique as far as the selection on the Royal Mile goes. read more