Cheap Fomapan alert

Which batches are they? It might somebody trying to offload one of the batches with the infamous soft emulsion provoking the parallel hairline scratches throughout the frame. Caution.

post #5 for an example of what I mean:
 
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That was an expiry date if 2013, according to the answer to the question on Amazon this is 2023. E1BDF5B8-0F90-4090-B58F-1C3D9B4802AD.png
 
Apologies, I should have been more precise. The provided link was only to show the nature of the issue. The thread is very old but the issue very much persists. I have experienced this myself with batches expiring in 2022 and 2023. This is still ongoing though I'm seeing some improvement in the very last batch I've purchased. I will post actual batch numbers later when I am home.
 
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Thanks for the heads up. Just a note of caution on the delivery time, currently showing 1-2 months. It's also coming from Amazon EU so not sure if import duties will affect it, a single purchase should be fine as it's under £15.Screenshot_20220522-154240.png
 
Is there a limit on the value of goods when you start paying import tax, then? I've had items from Amazon EU for abot 40 quid, and wasn't asked to pay any extra. Maybe Amazon take care of it at their end, as they're sending all over Europe anyway.
 
My understanding is that the VAT treatment of imports of goods from outside the UK in consignments not exceeding £135 in value (which aligns with the threshold for customs duty liability) changed after 31 December 2020 as a result of Brexit as follows:
  • The point at which VAT is collected moved from the point of importation to the point of sale so UK supply VAT, rather than import VAT, will be due on these consignments.
  • At the same time the abolition of Low Value Consignment Relief, which relieved import VAT on consignments of goods valued at £15 or less was abolished
  • Where online marketplaces (e.g. Amazon, Ebay) are involved in facilitating the sale, they will be responsible for collecting and accounting for the VAT.
  • For goods sent from overseas and sold directly to UK consumers without online marketplace involvement, the overseas seller will be required to register and account for the VAT to HMRC.
  • Sales made by persons who are not in business (e.g. gifts) are outside the scope of the new measures.
  • Consignments with a value above £135 remain liable for import VAT and Customs Duty.

Quite how it all works in practice I don't know, I can see it's relatively easy for HMRC to put the grips on the online marketplaces but I can't see independent retailers based overseas selling the odd item to UK buyers having any clue about VAT registration and I've no idea how HMRC expect to police them.
 
Quite how it all works in practice I don't know,

I don’t think anyone knows tbh, even some of those who implement the fees.

Be aware however that ´they’ won’t lose out!

Something to be aware of that I’ve mentioned before on this topic is that although there may be no request for additional fees at the time of purchase, an unpleasant surprise may land on your doormat at a later date in the form of a bill.

Ive had this happen on two seperate occasions, one purchase from the USA, the other iirc from Japan.
The former one came nearly a year after having actually received the purchased item.
 
If it's sold by Amazon EU they will deal with all imports and customs handling as part of the delivery cost they charge afaik. They do with international orders from Amazon USA too. In my experience, quite often items ordered from Amazon EU come from a UK warehouse anyway, and items ordered from Amazon UK can be sent from an EU warehouse (usually Germany).
 
Thanks. At that price, I'll give a batch a go. :) (y)
 
Apologies, I should have been more precise. The provided link was only to show the nature of the issue. The thread is very old but the issue very much persists. I have exerienced this myself with batches expiring in 2022 and 2023. This is still ongoing though I'm seeing some improvement in the very last batch I've purchased. I will post actual batch numbers later when I am home.
To follow up, the worst affected batches I had stumbled upon where as follows FWIW

012856-1 - exp 2/2023
012956-1 (didn't note down the expiry date for this but it would have been somewhere mid/late 23).
 
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Brief follow up. Due to, I guess, a picking problem, I only got 2 rolls rather 2 five-packs, unfortunately because it was an Amazon EU order they can't replace it, only refund me, and so I will need to reorder - of course the price has gone up slightly, now £15:46 for a five pack.

The batch number of the 2 rolls I got is 013456-3 exp 12/2024.
 
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Somef follow up. Due to, I guess, a picking problem, I only got 2 rolls rather 2 five-packs, unfortunately because it was an Amazon EU order they can't replace it, only refund me, and so I will need to reorder - of course the price has gone up slightly, now £15:46 for a five pack.

The batch number of the 2 rolls I got is 013456-3 exp 12/2024.
Someone on Twitter reported they got 20 rolls when they only ordered 10, obviously supplier needs staff who can count.
 
Silly me, I reordered figuring lightning never strikes twice in the same place and am now singed and smoking having just received another 2 rolls rather than 2x five packs. Amazon are going to look at the posting to see if the description is wrong but good luck to them if they are planning to sell Foma 200 at £15 per roll! The 2 rolls were the same batch no. as before: 013456-3 exp 12/2024.
 
I've had the same, complained to Amazon and they refunded me the missing rolls. I asked for the order to be fulfilled completely but they said they could only refund and suggested I ordered again to get the missing rolls, when I pointed out the difference in price they refunded me most of the price difference.

I'm still waiting for the replacement rolls to arrive, no doubt they wont all be there.
 
Another update on the cheap Fomapan saga, so after the last disaster and the Amazon refund, I thought I'd try once more and ordered another 2 x 5 roll packs ( that was all they had in stock) and when the order arrived guess what? Only 2 rolls not 2 x 5 rolls, so back onto Amazon and after explaining the situation 3 different ways I managed to get them to understand and they have refunded me the total order cost and I don't have to return the 2 rolls they did send me, its sort of a win but I wish they'd just sent me what I'd ordered.
 
Sounds familiar. My refund email for my second attempt put it down to a mix-up during packaging. I note the listing still refers to a 5 pack but I think I will give up.
 
The only option available to me was to return my 2 rolls and wait for a refund.
I had problems with the package preparation (UPS drop-off point wouldn't accept the package as prepared to Amazon's instructions- labels in wrong place, package open).

I called customer service and spoke to the representative... as is normal for almost any customer service, they wanted to start from the beginning. Before I got to explain my packaging problem, they had arranged a full refund and told me to keep the two rolls... that's a better outcome!
 
I finally had confirmation today that mine have been despatched at last. They say I'll have them on Monday (ordered on 5th June).
 
Mine arrived today. Just one roll instead of five. :rolleyes:

Still, it's a freebie now I suppose as I got a full refund . . .
 
It's odd though, as given the online price from photo stores is around £5 per roll (Firstcall Photographic £5.09, Analogue Wonderland £5.00) even factoring in delivery the Amazon price of £15.55 would be steep for a single roll. I suppose given the limited number of MF photographers it won't even register on Amazon's bottom line but as I can't believe anyone accepts receiving a single roll for £15 they must be refunding everyone and effectively giving the film away. My wife suggested that all I needed to do was another 3 orders and I'd have the quantity I originally ordered for free!
 
Funny, I was just looking at this listing but I saw the following review.

I don't know how they get away with the title/details.
 

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