There are three ways to get shopping home from London without carrying it: the shop ships it for you, you post it yourself at a Post Office, or a courier collects it from your hotel. Whichever you choose, the parcel is an import when it lands, and it is your own country's customs rules, not Britain's, that decide whether anyone pays duty or tax on it.
That second point is the one that catches people. A British shop can sell goods sent abroad without British VAT, but the parcel then meets your country's import VAT, sales tax or duty at the other end, often with a handling fee from the delivery company on top. Some goods cannot be posted at all, and a few, such as meat and cheese bound for the European Union, cannot even travel in your suitcase.
Our guide to tax-free shopping in the UK explains why shop shipping is the only remaining way to buy without VAT. This page is about the parcel itself: which route to pick, how to fill in the customs form honestly, and what is banned.
Sending shopping home at a glance
- Cheapest for VAT
- The shop ships it: UK VAT is not charged on goods it exports
- Cheapest for small items
- Usually posting it yourself at a Post Office
- Best for bulky or fragile
- The dealer's own shipper, or a courier collection
- EU, goods bought online from outside the EU
- VAT always due; €3 customs duty per item on orders up to €150 (Your Europe, checked November 2026)
- EU, gift between private people
- Relief from duty and VAT up to €45, value of the goods alone (Irish Revenue, checked November 2026)
- United States
- Duty-free threshold for low-value parcels suspended; gifts of $100 or less still exempt (Federal Register, June 2026)
- Never send to the EU
- Meat or dairy products, by post or in luggage
Route one: the shop ships it
This is the best route for anything expensive, because the shop is exporting the goods and does not charge British VAT, which is 20% of the price you would otherwise pay. GOV.UK says goods can only be bought tax-free in Great Britain if they are delivered straight to an address outside the UK. You cannot take the goods with you and claim the VAT back later; that scheme ended on 1 January 2021.
The department stores do this routinely. Ask at the till or the customer service desk at Harrods or Selfridges before you pay, because the export price has to be set up at the point of sale. Antiques dealers do it most of all: at the arcades and fairs in our guide to London's antiques markets, and at the dealers of Alfies Antique Market, most established traders have a shipper they use regularly and will quote for packing, transport and insurance together.
Not every shop offers export sales, and a small shop may only post within Britain. The shop's quote should say whether it includes your country's import charges ("delivered duty paid") or leaves them to you ("delivered duty unpaid"). If the quote does not say, ask, because the second kind ends with a bill at your door.
Route two: posting it yourself
For a few books, a pile of records or a box of tea, posting it yourself is usually cheapest. Any Post Office branch sells Royal Mail's international services and Parcelforce Worldwide, the faster tracked service, and will weigh the parcel and print the label.
You pay British VAT on the goods in the shop and cannot reclaim it, then pay postage, then possibly import charges at home. That is why this route suits low-value things and gifts. The record shops in our record shop guide and the tea merchants in our guide to tea and coffee to take home are the classic cases: heavy, cheap per item, and annoying in a suitcase.
Bring the parcel already packed but not sealed, in a strong box. The counter staff may ask what is inside, and a customs declaration has to be completed for anything leaving the UK that contains goods. Keep the proof of posting; it is the only evidence you have if the parcel goes missing.
Route three: a courier collects
The international couriers and the specialist luggage-shipping companies will collect a box or a suitcase from your hotel and deliver it to your door abroad, usually with tracking all the way and the customs paperwork done online. This suits a family that has simply bought too much, or someone going on to another country before flying home. It is often dearer than the post for a small parcel and cheaper than an airline's excess baggage charge for a heavy one.
Ask the hotel first whether it accepts courier collections and will hold the box at the front desk. Some charge for handling parcels, and some will not sign for anything on your behalf.
| Route | Rough cost, small parcel to Europe | Rough cost, same to North America | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop or dealer ships | Quoted per item; often £20 to £60 for a boxed purchase | Often £40 to £100 | Anything expensive, fragile or bulky |
| You post it (2 kg, tracked) | Around £20 to £40 | Around £30 to £60 | Books, records, tea, clothes |
| Courier collection (suitcase, 20 kg) | Around £70 to £150 | Around £120 to £250 | Too much shopping, onward travel |
All the figures in this table are our own estimate for November 2026, given as bands because prices depend on weight, size, speed and insurance. They are not quotes. Royal Mail, Parcelforce and every courier have online price calculators: weigh your parcel on the hotel's luggage scale and check before you commit.
The parcel is an import at the other end
Every country sets its own threshold below which a parcel passes without charges, and these thresholds have been shrinking. Two of the largest examples changed recently.
The European Union. The Commission's Your Europe service says that when you buy goods from outside the EU, VAT, customs and excise duty is always due. In 2026 a flat customs duty of €3 per item applies to orders worth up to €150 sent to consumers, charged per type of product rather than per parcel, so two T-shirts cost €3 and a T-shirt and a pair of trousers cost €6. The seller or carrier collects it. Above €150 the normal customs rules apply, and import VAT at your own country's rate is charged on top.
The United States. The long-standing duty-free entry for low-value parcels, up to $800, has been suspended for all countries, and two rules published in the Federal Register in June 2026 made the suspension indefinite for post and for every other way of sending goods. The same rules leave in place the separate exemption for genuine gifts of $100 or less. A purchase shipped by a shop is not a gift, and duty and fees should be expected.
For anywhere else, including Canada, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and Norway, check your own customs authority's page on parcels from abroad before you post anything valuable. Our page on UK customs allowances covers the British side for visitors arriving, which is a different question.
The courier's handling fee can cost more than the tax. When import VAT or duty is due on a parcel, the delivery company usually pays it at the border and charges you a fee for doing so before it hands over the parcel. On a cheap item the fee can be larger than the tax itself. A shop quote that includes duties and taxes avoids this.
Filling in the customs form honestly
The customs declaration asks for a description of each item, its quantity, its value and whether it is a gift, merchandise, documents or something else. Customs officers at the destination use it to decide what to charge, so "clothes" is not enough: write "two wool jumpers" and "one cotton shirt", with the price you paid for each.
"Gift" has a narrow meaning. In the EU, the relief for gifts applies only when the sender and the recipient are both private individuals, the sending is occasional and nobody pays for it. Irish Revenue, setting out the common EU rule, gives the threshold as €45 or less, counting the value of the goods alone, not the postage. The US exemption is also for bona fide gifts from one person to another. Something you bought for yourself and post home is not a gift, and nor is anything a shop sends. Marking it as one is a false declaration and can mean seizure or a fine, on top of the charges.
Keep the shop receipt separate from the parcel, in your hand luggage or as a photo on your phone. If the parcel is opened or valued at the border, the receipt is your proof of what you paid. If it is lost, the receipt is the basis of any insurance claim.
What you cannot send, and what you cannot carry either
Some rules come from the destination, some from the carrier, and some from both. These are the ones that catch London shoppers.
- Meat and dairy into the EU. Your Europe is unambiguous: travellers entering the EU from a non-EU country, which includes Britain, may not bring any meat or dairy products. The rule also applies to food ordered online or sent by post. Cheese from a London cheesemonger and a packet of bacon both count. Undeclared products are confiscated and destroyed, and a fine or prosecution is possible.
- Honey, fish, fruit and vegetables into the EU. Limited amounts are allowed for personal use, for example 2 kg of products that contain no meat or milk, such as honey.
- Plants, bulbs and seeds into the EU. Plants and plant products, including cut flowers, need a plant health (phytosanitary) certificate. A packet of seeds from a garden shop is not a souvenir that crosses this border easily. Many other countries, Australia and New Zealand among them, are stricter still.
- Alcohol, perfume, aerosols and batteries. Carriers restrict or refuse these to many destinations because they are flammable or classed as dangerous goods on aircraft. Check the carrier's prohibited and restricted list for your destination before you pack a bottle of gin or a large perfume.
- Knives and blades. Many carriers will not accept them internationally, and some destinations restrict them. A kitchen knife bought as a present is a case for checking first.
- Old objects. The Export of Objects of Cultural Interest (Control) Order 2003 requires a licence to export objects made more than 50 years ago, unless an exception applies. A dealer who ships regularly will know whether your piece needs one.
For things you carry rather than post, the airport security rules on liquids and sharp items apply as well, and are covered in our guide to airport security and the liquid rules. A bottle of whisky bought in a London shop cannot go in your hand luggage.
Tea and coffee cross most borders without trouble. Dry tea leaves and roasted beans are processed plant products that most countries allow in personal quantities, which is why they make such good presents to post. The exceptions are countries with very strict biosecurity rules, so check if you live somewhere like Australia or New Zealand.
Insurance, tracking and what happens if it breaks
Every carrier sets a maximum compensation figure for each service and a list of goods it will not insure at all, which often includes jewellery, watches, cash and works of art. Read both before choosing a service. For an antique or a piece of art, insist that the dealer's shipper insures it at the full value and packs it professionally; the cost is usually small next to the price of the object.
Photograph the item and the packing before the box is closed. If it arrives broken, photograph it again before unpacking further and keep all the packaging, because a claim almost always needs both sets of pictures. If the shop sent it, your claim is against the shop: under the Consumer Rights Act goods remain at the trader's risk until they reach you, and our page on returns and refunds in a British shop explains what you can ask for when something arrives faulty or damaged.
Carrying it after all: luggage and the last day
For many visitors the honest answer is a second bag. An airline's extra checked bag, bought online in advance, is often cheaper than posting 20 kg and arrives with you. Weigh your bags at the hotel before you leave, and if you have shopping to collect on the last morning, our guide to left luggage in London lists places to leave suitcases while you do it. Getting a large box onto the Underground at rush hour is unpleasant for everyone; our notes on luggage on the Tube are worth reading first, and our departure-day guide covers the timing.
Frequently asked questions
Can a London shop ship my purchases abroad without VAT?
Yes, if it offers export sales. GOV.UK says tax-free shopping in Great Britain is possible only when the shop delivers the goods straight to an address outside the UK. You cannot carry them yourself and claim the VAT back. Your own country may then charge import tax when the parcel arrives.
Will I pay import tax on a parcel sent home from the UK?
Very possibly. It depends on your country's rules, not Britain's. For the EU, Your Europe says VAT is always due on goods bought from outside the EU, plus a €3 duty per item on orders up to €150. The US has suspended its duty-free threshold for low-value parcels.
Can I mark a parcel of my own shopping as a gift?
No. In the EU a gift means a parcel sent occasionally from one private person to another without payment, and the relief applies up to €45, not counting postage. Shopping you bought for yourself, or anything sent by a shop, is not a gift. A false declaration can lead to seizure or a fine.
Can I post cheese home from London?
Not to an EU country: Your Europe says meat and dairy products from outside the EU may not be brought in, and the rule covers parcels as well as luggage. For other foods, and for other destinations, check your own customs authority before you post anything edible.
What is the cheapest way to send a few books home from London?
Usually Royal Mail's international post, bought at any Post Office. Pack the books tightly in a strong box, complete the customs declaration accurately, choose a tracked service for anything you would mind losing, and keep the proof of posting until the parcel arrives.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Tax on shopping and services: tax-free shopping (checked November 2026)
- Your Europe - Shipping and delivery: customs duty for orders up to EUR 150 (checked November 2026)
- Your Europe - VAT on goods bought from outside the EU (checked November 2026)
- Your Europe - Taking animal products, food or plants with you (checked November 2026)
- Irish Revenue - Receiving a gift from outside the European Union (checked November 2026)
- Federal Register (govinfo.gov) - Indefinite suspension of the de minimis exemption for mail shipments, 24 June 2026 (checked November 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk - Export of Objects of Cultural Interest (Control) Order 2003, article 2 (checked November 2026)