Posting to Italy - Help required

[moonspender]

We continually have issues posting to Italy. 

We send low value items in large letter boxes and send these via royal mail click & drop untracked.

Custom label including tariff code and address digitally printed through click & drop; we are under the impression this info is digitally uploaded to customs? The customs in all instances has paid eu VAT through ebay.

However we are finding many of these dont arrive and eventually get returned to us. I assume its customs but have anyone got any thoughts or are you using an alternative postal service that work ?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[4_bathrooms]

Do the address labels on the returned items have the IOSS logo on them? There was a recent issue with Click & Drop where Royal Mail "forgot" eBay's IOSS number.

[style_wise]

I was just speaking to Royal Mail staff today, we both believe in 'belt and braces' approach to foreign customs. Specifically I was telling her I see a lot fewer issues when I physical put a CN22 form on the Large Letter myself (even when RM says it is not required). She was telling me that electronically held information isn't always shared because foreign customs don't have the access to the Royal Mail system that they need. (A different but similar issue would be recent posts from UK Buyers who were charged VAT twice.) The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, so best to physically put on labels including IOSS as @4_bathrooms advises.

[450-262541]

I have found that Italy has been a problem for the last few years so now I just exclude it as a country I ship to - it saves me time, and saves me hassle.

You need to work out whether the amount of profit you make on sales to Italy is worth the time it is taking you to deal with the issues... 

If you let GSP deal with Italian sales that is perhaps the best compromise