On 20th March, iDealwine began shipping their wines “delivered-duty-paid” to the United Kingdom, meaning that there will no longer be any remaining taxes, duties or import fees upon delivery. Such a policy can be a major stress reliever for customers who’ve become accustomed to receiving surprising news of additional charges upon the arrival of their products from the European Union.
So, what exactly is delivered-duty-paid and how does it impact iDealwine customers?
Delivered-duty-paid, or DDP for short, is a term which describes a product which has been delivered to the customer after taxes, duties and import fees have already been paid. The opposite method, often called delivered-duty-unpaid (or DDU), describes a scenario where the customer assumes some or all of the customs charges once their product arrives in their destination country. Following Brexit, DDU became standard practice for many companies in the European Union when shipping to the United Kingdom.
How does this new process work?
iDealwine customers who choose to ship to the United Kingdom will continue to view prices which exclude taxes, duties or import fees while searching for products on the website. However, while finalising their payment they will now be able to see the added charges for VAT and customs duties, which will be applied using the following calculation: a 20% value added tax on the total value of the order, plus €3.40 per bottle, regardless of the value. With these two charges added to the final payment screen, iDealwine customers will no longer receive any secondary (sometimes surprising) invoices from the shipping company asking them to pay leftover customs duties. Our UK-based wine lovers will now be able to finalise their entire payment on the iDealwine website and simply enjoy the excitement of their bottles’ arrival, leaving behind any confusing steps in-between.
What motivated this change?
iDealwine is always looking for ways to stand behind our mission of making great fine wines as accessible as possible. The United Kingdom represents a strategically important market for us, generating nearly 3,000 customers to date. We have long been sympathetic to the challenges faced by our customers in the United Kingdom following the finalisation of Brexit, and as one of the first EU-based companies in our industry to continue delivering to the UK following the separation, our team quickly recognized the frustration of receiving additional charges after orders had already been processed. This is why we quickly went to work looking for a solution to this pain point and we are proud to have been able to introduce a solution via our new delivered-duty-paid system. To sum it up in the words of our co-founder Lionel Cuenca, “the choice to adopt this exciting new shipping policy was made with the utmost care and respect for our customers in the United Kingdom, who’ve undoubtably had to endure plenty of post-Brexit growing pains, and for whom we will continue striving to make great fine wines as accessible as possible.” If you’re located in the United Kingdom and this post has you excited to take advantage of the new system, be sure to check out our latest offering, whether it be at auction or fixed price!
