Shipping Used Items Abroad from Poland: EU vs UK

EU or UK: why the border matters

The United Kingdom left the EU, and a parcel arriving there from Poland is legally an import into Great Britain, not an intra-EU shipment. That single fact is why the two halves of this page read so differently: gov.uk publishes a clear VAT rule for goods sold into the UK, while parcels moving between EU member states stay inside the customs union, with no import declaration. Knowing which side of that line your buyer sits on is the first thing to check, before packaging or price.

Inside the EU: what stays simple

Parcels moving between EU member states travel within the EU customs union. This means no customs declaration is required for a standard used-item shipment between Poland and, say, Germany or France, and no import VAT applies. The carrier's form will confirm this at drop-off — if it asks for a customs declaration, it usually means the destination is a special territory (like the Canary Islands or the Åland Islands) rather than a regular EU country.

The practical answer either way is the same: your carrier's own drop-off form will tell you exactly what it needs for that specific route. If it asks for a customs declaration, fill it in accurately; if it does not, you're covered under EU customs union rules.

Sending to the UK: VAT, duty and paperwork

Here the rule is written down. Gov.uk's page on VAT for overseas goods sold directly to UK customers states that for goods worth £135 or less, "the seller must charge and account for VAT at the point of sale," unless the transaction is business-to-business and the buyer has given a valid UK VAT number. For goods over £135, the page says "normal VAT and customs rules will apply on importation" instead — a different mechanism, handled at the border rather than at checkout.

For a private individual selling one used item, treat it this way: the £135 rule was written for businesses selling new goods into the UK. For your one-off sale, the buyer may receive an invoice from the carrier for import VAT and a handling fee when the parcel arrives — this is how the UK collects VAT on private imports. The page does not say whether a customs declaration form is required alongside the VAT treatment, so ask the carrier at drop-off.

Declaring second-hand goods honestly

Whatever form your carrier hands you — a paper slip at a Poczta Polska counter or a digital one filled in online — describe the item plainly and give its real value: "used leather jacket, sold price" rather than a vague category, and never a lower number to reduce a fee you are guessing at. Marking a paid sale as a gift is not a shortcut; it misstates what actually happened, and it is the kind of thing this page will not advise regardless of how routine it looks online. Ask at drop-off which customs form, if any, applies to your route — the carrier will point you to the right one.

Marketplace cross-border delivery vs shipping yourself

Sending through the marketplace's own delivery option is not the same as posting a parcel privately. On OLX, for example, the protection fee that covers an empty parcel or a mismatched item is charged only when both delivery and payment happen through the platform — the terms are explicit that it does not apply "if the parties agree another payment or delivery method outside OLX." Step outside the platform's own delivery and you likely step outside its buyer protection too, on OLX and on most marketplaces built the same way.

Vinted runs a similar logic across its own cross-border sales, with country-specific detail — which countries a buyer can order from, how the buyer protection fee is structured there — covered fully on our Vinted cross-border page rather than repeated here.

Pre-shipment checklist

Before you tape the box shut, weigh it, measure it and pack it for a longer, rougher journey than a domestic parcel gets — packing fragile items covers how to do that so a cross-border trip doesn't undo a careful sale. Cross-border shipping also sits on top of whatever domestic rule your marketplace already sets for that item; check it against marketplace shipping rules before you promise a buyer abroad a delivery method you have not confirmed.

• Confirm the buyer's country before agreeing a price — EU or UK changes what applies
• Weigh and measure the parcel; a wrong estimate at drop-off gets corrected, usually at a worse rate
• Describe the item accurately and at its real value on the carrier's form
• Never mark a paid sale as a gift
• Ask the counter or courier which customs form, if any, applies to your route and destination
• Pack for the longer journey a cross-border parcel takes
• Keep the receipt and tracking number until the buyer confirms receipt