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Chiltern Seeds sending to Europe again?

NormandyLizNormandyLiz Seine Maritime, FrancePosts: 90
in Plants
I hear that Chiltern Seeds is dispatching to Europe again, their website seems to indicate so. Has anyone in Europe tried ordering recently?

Posts

  • EmptyheadtimeEmptyheadtime Ireland Posts: 179
    Oh that would be good. Watching with interest.
    reading the delivery t’s and c’s I am not sure as they say they don’t accept any customs liability, so I am reading that as they maybe don’t do all the relevant EU paperwork but are happy to post them and customs could well confiscate them. Hope I am wrong.
  • AnniDAnniD South West UKPosts: 11,006
    They seem to do a standard and tracked delivery to Europe, but l would contact them to be absolutely sure.
    https://chilternseedsdirect.com/shipping/
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 28,564
    If the seeds don't come with EU standard sanitary certificates they are likely to be confiscated by Customs in whichever country they end up.   P&P charges arelikely to be higher then before too.

    There is a thread listing alternative seed sources on the Continent if you don't want to take the risk of losing both seeds and money - 

    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1048376/uk-seeds-to-europe-and-northern-ireland-reminder#latest 
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • NormandyLizNormandyLiz Seine Maritime, FrancePosts: 90
    @Obelixx, yes absolutely. We know the plant passport all too well, having gone through the hoops to get one for a crassula when we moved (long story...)

    We were getting our hopes up as the Chiltern Seeds website has changed to remove the 'don't try to buy from Europe' line. Sadly, I've just had an email confirmation from them that they still don't send to Europe. 

    I can get some lovely unusual seeds here, mainly through Graines de la Folie, but there is still the odd thing that's hard to find, hence getting hopeful about Chiltern Seeds. But there you go, 'tis what it is.
  • NollieNollie Girona, Catalunya, Northen Spain.Posts: 6,548
    I must confess I have slipped the odd packet of hard-to-find seeds into my luggage on return legs from UK visits, but from a reliable source that I used to buy from pre-brexit that I know to be heat-treated and compliant. Its not just the requirement for phytosanitary certs, but relying on the UK supplier to do the proper import paperwork and deduct UK VAT at source, without which they will be sent right back or you will end up paying VAT twice since you have to pay it in the recipient country too. I would never do that with plants though because of the danger of importing soil pathogens, diseases, pests etc. 
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