rpenmanparker 

bruce 19, Customs does bill the customer, not the seller. But the shipper acts as agent for both. So FedEx paid the duties on your behalf and back billed you. Otherwise it would have taken forever for you to get your stuff. Why so much? That is the catch. They charge a hefty fee for providing the duty payment service. In order to get a sensible view on this, you have to total up all your international purchases over a long time and all your duty payments and calculate the average outlay %age. Considering all the purchases you make with no customs duties and fees, the number usually comes out pretty small, especially in light of the great prices from the UK sellers. If you can't tolerate even that low rate, then international buying isn't for you.