I order alot from bonprix for both myself and the kids, till now no problems had. I was very happy with most my orders. Sending things back was also not difficult at all, I believe it costed me 6chf

But what about Customs Duty? I stopped shopping on line some time ago, because by the time Swiss Customs slapped duty on the goods, the prices were no longer competitive.

I've just put my first order on zalando.ch. I have been seeing the tv spot quite a while for the zalando in germany, and always wanted that it finally come to Switzerland.
They ship for free and returning is as well for free. Also I've found out that they offer quite good eur<->chf course.
I could track the shipment, and I think the packet should come. (4 working days)
Haven't had any problem so far. But that could change as it's my first order.

I also do lots of shopping on fashionfriends.ch. Sometimes they have very nice items for very good prices.

Last autumn, zara had big sales on the zara.com, so I ordered lots of clothes from them and picked it up in a zara store. Have to say it was quite convenient.

Whatever I need, I could found on toppreise.ch

topprise.ch

I did the same, last Christmas I ordered a Raclete grill from Amazon.de for 60 francs and had to pay the zoll over 100, can't remember it exzactly but think just adm fee was 35, here the same grill cost 189 so still ended up a bit cheaper, but never again will I order from Amazon.de

I often buy things on the British eBay - ebay.co.uk. They have a good selection and most sellers deliver to Switzerland. I normally get the items within 5 working days.

I've been doing some online shopping for my wedding, and had the same problem with the zoll. Most of the times, the end-price is the same.

However, some websites deliver to CH without any extra costs, such as Amazon (depending on the product) and Zalando.

Yes, the duty on stuff bought online out of CH is outrageous, they slap on fees and duty to an enormous amout - I think they are trying to discourage it.
I usually worked around it by using e-bay. Private sellers will happily send the pack marked "gift" "cadeau", as long as you ask... and from UK or FR the shipping fees are reasonable.

I shop online a lot - ebay.com, ebay.co.uk, landsend.com, sierratradingpost.com

since I'm an American, I am familiar with American companies.

For some things that I want, craft items, like yarn and beading supplies, ebay is really worth it, even with the zoll and service charge. Also for clothes - I buy a lot of eileen fisher, an american designer. I can buy a $200 item for say $100, plus $20 shipping and the zoll, which is usually about $30, it's still worth it to me.

I like lands' end for every day stuff - jeans, knit tops, etc - their prices are comparable if not better than bonprix for better quality. I think I ordered almost $400 worth of stuff, including shipping and the zoll was less than CHF 50. I do usually buy when stuff is on sale, so I think my last big order had some heavily discounted items.

Another place that I shop is sierratradingpost - they have lots of overstocks. I bought a lot of calida underwear for about 25% of what I'd pay here in Switzerland - and even with shipping and zoll, it was still half price or less.

For electronics, etc, I consult toppreisse

I've bought several very nice quality items from this Swiss online shop:

www.proidee.ch

Kitchenware, waffle iron, stuff for the garden, etc.

http://www.jelmoli-shop.ch/

I am veeery satisfied with ther quality and price.

From the above it isn't clear if online imports (Amazon) are consistently hit with VAT and/or import duties and/or inspection fees.

• Is it a lottery ?
• Could there be any penalty for not announcing the import in advance? (maybe I've been here too long to think that might be normal ...)
• How are the charges paid ? If the customer needs to go to a Zoll office and fill out German paperwork and queue that is an unappealing prospect.

Online shopping is heaven when it works.

It's really quite simple:

Less than CHF 62 (including postage), no charges.

Moe than that, 8% VAT + customs clearing charge of CHF 8 - 35, depending on the shipper.

So, either buy something for less than CHF 62, or for a lot more, as the customs clearing charge does NOT depend on the value (though some shippers will charge more after a certain threshold), and is paid to the shipper, and NOT to customs, they only get their 8% VAT, which is very low compared to the neighbors!

Tom

Depends on the shipper, DHL, etc. send a bill, the postman will collect at delivery.


Tom

I thought this was only for books ?

No, DVDs and CDs also.

I've had both DHL and UPS send bills after. And I've sometimes had to pay on the spot. Totally confusing, but not worth worrying about.

Favorites are Next and Marks and Spencer's and recently Macy's - the recently started having free international shipping deals. They do their international shipping with Fiffy One and now let you pay customs in advance or wait it out and see what DHL charges you on delivery. I've ordered a few times and paid around $50 on a $350 order. That's still way cheaper than what I can buy here.
Companys is pretty good, too though the sizing of their collections is a bit eratic