Yeah it is. But it really should come as no surprise. We’ve been talking about it for years. Indulge me for a few minutes while I give you a quick backstory.

And H/t @pendletongs who tweeted about the Amazon announcement a few days ago

/1 https://twitter.com/DmitryOpines/status/1284806225956409344
Two reasons behind this announcement:

1⃣ (obviously!) Brexit and the introduction of customs formalities between the UK and the EU, and

2⃣ the removal of the low-value consignment relief which is an import VAT relief for low-value parcels.

/2
We've known about both of these for years

/3
In case of 2⃣, I mean really... for years...

/4
The EU has even introduced a special form of customs declaration for that very purpose

/5
And the impact of both of these factors combined on e-commerce has also been evident for a while

/6
And here (though under slightly different assumptions)

/7
And I'm not blowing my own horn here - I was only one of MANY ppl who spoke about this
@BastidonPauline was much more vocal about it.
Pretty sure @vivamjm and others commented on it on several occasions as well

/8
And even here from @uk_domain_names

/9
Amazon had a couple of options.

Being by far the largest e-commerce platform impacted it could have taken customs formalities upon itself - technically at least cause well... we all know Amazon

/10
As far as I understand there were other options the company was exploring for post-Brexit distribution though I don't know the details (perhaps someone could add to this).

/11
Obviously and perhaps unsurprisingly, in the end, they decided to go in a different direction - pass all the costs and formalities onto the sellers and likely also customers.

/12
I'm really not one for "I told you so" moments but sometimes it's really hard to resist

/13
It's a bit of a grim thought but I suspect there will be many more moments like this before the end of the year and even more after that when ppl realise that Brexit is a big change not only in terms of "sovereignty" but also in their daily lives.

/14
So yeah - this is huge. Just sadly not unexpected.

UK here is a tip - just do what they do in Geneva. Find yourself a French friend across the border and get your Amazon goodies delivered to them

/end
You can follow @AnnaJerzewska.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:

By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.