OP, beware the £shock could happen to you again unless you (and possibly others reading this) realise that import taxes are assessed at border entry and charged to the importer of record i.e. the buyer (almost always). I'm sorry it's too late re the £195 x 2. It's a harsh lesson unfortunately. It means, to avoid the shock of unexpected import duty, that the practical onus is on YOU to learn what'll be coming your way BEfORE you click 'buy'.
You'd think sellers should explain on a listing (I believe eBay advises it) but expecting overseas sellers to register and act as importer in every buyer’s country is something that such sellers would probably think is unreasonable due to the involved and variable legal, tax and operational burdens - so they don't do it. Even if they did act as the importer of record, buyers would be well-advised to verify all stated costs/duties etc before buying. It'd be useful to buyers if such sellers at least warned about it on their listings but how many do that? And even if there was more than a moral obligation to inform you, how could you enforce that? - so we're back to the only realistic method which is to find out for yourself before you buy.
gov.uk has reams of info about this, worth reading at least once to forearm yourself, suggest you start on their 'VAT and overseas goods' page.
In short, 'caveat emptor' - 'buyer beware'.
However, read the site fAQ about the huge buyer advantages in using ebay's Global Shipping Programme: no surprise fees - item price + any international postage + duty etc shown up front; import VAT, duties and handling are calculated and collected at check-out. eBay (or its GSP partner) handles customs clearance and paperwork. Tracking throughout. With GSP, most items (exclusions apply; liability limits apply, read up about undeliverable items) are covered by eBay's Money Back Guarantee. Check the GSP terms before buying as terms can be updated from time to time.
(I got this info from reading the fAQ, gov pages, and multiple-searching an 'ordinary' non-AI search engine [took ages]. My own experience is minimal: I've bought only a few things using eBay's GSP, but all were smooth transactions that required me to do nothing but read the £totals and then to pay. My last GSP transaction was earlier this year.)
