Do you pay Swiss import VAT and customs charges when ordering from Loake Shoemakers?
Loake sells international orders through Global-e, which acts as seller of record and shows local taxes in the checkout total, and the parcel travels by DHL. Before ordering, check that Switzerland actually appears in the country or flag selector, because the delivery page still says the worldwide rollout leaves out European destinations.
Confidence is low because neither page names Switzerland. The same delivery page says the worldwide rollout at first excludes countries within Europe, and Loake's separate Nordic and EU site does not list Switzerland either. I could not confirm that Switzerland is a selectable delivery location, or that the Global-e DDP flow applies to it.
Loake's Delivery and Returns page states that local taxes may apply outside the UK and that these are shown at the checkout. The same page says every non-UK order goes on a trackable DHL service, with free carriage once a country-specific minimum order value is reached. The FAQ explains that Loake has partnered with Global-e as third-party seller of record so it can ship worldwide. Duties and taxes are either included in the price or calculated at checkout, depending on the country. That is the standard prepaid (DDP) arrangement, under which DHL should hand over the parcel in Switzerland with nothing further to pay.
If Switzerland is not offered in the country selector and a buyer uses a forwarder or a UK address, the shipment arrives DAP. Swiss import VAT of 8.1% plus a DHL clearance fee then lands on the recipient.
“Local taxes may be applicable outside the UK, these will be shown at the checkout.”
“duties and taxes will either be included or calculated at checkout depending on the country”
“We have partnered with Global-e, a third party service acting as your seller-on-record, so we can ship worldwide.”
“All orders for delivery outside the UK will be sent on a trackable service via DHL.”
“At first we will be despatching to a selected range of countries, which excludes any within Europe.”
Shop policies change. Watch this one and we will re-check it for you, and tell you if the answer moves.