How It Works - Duty Free Cigarettes UK

We are your buying agent, not a seller. When you order, you appoint us to purchase the tobacco products you have chosen on your behalf from a seller in the country of origin, and to arrange their packing and postal carriage to you. Here is exactly what happens, and what you pay.

STEP 1You choose

Browse the regional stores. Every price is all-inclusive: the seller’s price (Goods Procurement Cost), a share of the fulfilment partner’s fee (Fulfilment Handling Fee) and our Buying Agency Service Fee. At checkout the subtotal is shown split into these three lines, so you always see what the goods cost and what you pay us.

STEP 2You authorise us and pay

At checkout you tick the Buying Agency Authorisation: your instruction to buy these goods on your behalf, in your name, up to the goods amount fixed in the origin currency. You also confirm the customs declaration that will be made in your name. You pay by bank transfer, UnionPay or another method offered at checkout; as soon as your payment is confirmed, your instruction is issued automatically to the fulfilment partner of the store you ordered from.

STEP 3We purchase on your behalf

Depending on the store, our fulfilment partner or our procurement representative buys your goods from a licensed local retailer, or the seller is an independent licensed tobacco supplier that also acts as our fulfilment partner. The goods are yours from the moment they are purchased. We keep the receipt or invoice; you can ask for a Procurement Statement at any time.

STEP 4We pack and declare in your name

Your goods are packed and handed to the postal carrier in your name, with tracking. The customs declaration is made in your name as the importer and states the actual contents, quantity, weight and the Goods Procurement Cost as the declared value. We do not describe or declare the goods as gifts, samples or documents, and we will not do so on request.

STEP 5The parcel arrives, you import

You are the importer. If your country charges duty, tax or a carrier handling fee, the carrier or customs authority will contact you; you pay them directly, not us. Pay within the carrier’s deadline and the parcel is released to you. Tracking is included on every shipment.

What you pay now, and what you may pay on arrival

Paid to us at checkout	Paid in your country on arrival (not to us)
Goods Procurement Cost: the seller’s price, fixed in the origin currency	Customs duty, excise duty and VAT/GST, if your country charges them
Fulfilment Handling Fee: packing and dispatch by the fulfilment partner	Carrier handling fee, if your country’s postal operator charges one
Buying Agency Service Fee: our fee for acting as your buying agent
International postage · optional Shipping Protection · (RS Store) the seller’s Export Processing Fee

We do not estimate your country’s import charges and we cannot pay them on your behalf. The rules for your country are yours to check before you order.

If something goes wrong

Parcel returned to sender (unpaid import charges, refusal, incomplete address, customs return): the parcel is received and held for you by our fulfilment partner as your property. You can have it reshipped at your cost, or we resell the goods on your behalf and give you store credit or a refund (less a €10 Refund Transfer Charge). The full rules are in our Returned Parcels, Reshipment & Refund Policy.

Parcel seized by customs or lost: seized goods are not returned, and once your parcel has been handed to the carrier our service is completed and it travels at your risk, whether it is lost in transit or in the destination country. With Shipping Protection, added at checkout where it is offered for your destination, you choose a free replacement, store credit equal to the Goods Procurement Cost plus the Shipping Protection premium, or a cash refund of the Goods Procurement Cost plus the premium, less a €10 Refund Transfer Charge. A lost parcel is treated as undelivered when tracking shows no movement for 30 consecutive days, or 60 days after dispatch if it has not arrived; a seized parcel, on the date of the seizure notice. We email you when that happens.

Our mistake (wrong item, wrong address entered by us, wrong declaration): we reship at our cost or refund everything, at your choice.

What we are, and what we are not. We are a buying agent. We purchase on your instruction, keep records, declare in your name and arrange carriage. We are not the seller of the goods, we hold no stock, we add nothing to the seller’s price, and we are not the importer. Full terms: Buying Agency Terms.

One site, many stores

Products from all regional stores are shown together in the Global Store; each regional store carries its own selection, procured and dispatched from its own country. Every product shows which store it is procured from. Look for the Ships from … Store badge. Each store ships only to the countries available for it at checkout; if your country is not available for one store, the product may be available from another.

The KR and EU Stores are opening soon and do not accept orders yet.

One cart, one store

The golden rule: products from different stores cannot be combined in a single cart or order, because each store is procured and dispatched from a different country by a different fulfilment partner.

If your cart contains items from one store and you add a product from another, a notice lets you keep your current store or switch to the new product’s store. Want products from two stores? Place two separate orders; each is procured and dispatched independently, with its own tracking.

Quick recap

Our role	Buying agent: we purchase on your behalf; the seller is identified on your order documents; you are the importer.
Your price	All-inclusive; subtotal split into Goods Procurement Cost, Fulfilment Handling Fee and Buying Agency Service Fee.
Customs	Declared in your name with the actual contents and the Goods Procurement Cost as value; import charges are paid by you on arrival.
Returned parcel	Held as your property: reshipment at your cost, or resale on your behalf with store credit or a refund.
Seizure or loss	Covered only by optional Shipping Protection: free replacement, store credit or cash refund.
Cart rule	One cart = one store; place a separate order per store.