This. PT customs has a backlog, not a trigger finger. I've had held packages sit for two months, then release with no fine. Belgium is where hardware goes to die.
Also: three datacenter fires, zero data lost. Offsite your RMA risk same way. Buy a spare board, eat the cost once, never do this dance again.
I don't understand why you Europeans make this so complicated. In Brazil I just pay the import tax, done. No forms, no guarantees, no "temporary admission." The tax is high but at least it is *simple*.
Your system saves money for people with time to study customs law. Everyone else pays more in stress than they save in VAT.
23% on a EUR 200 board is EUR 46. The broker quote I got was EUR 180 flat fee. So "just pay" is cheaper if you're not doing volume, but the double-hit risk is what hurts — replacement comes in, VAT again, then maybe you claim back, maybe not.
Still think broker is overkill for one board.
Member OP
Actually did this last month for another box. Problem is this X11 is EOL, stock is drying up, prices climbing. The spare I found was EUR 280 and had bent pins I had to straighten. Not a sustainable inventory strategy.
Opened ticket, waiting. Their colo support tier is... leisurely. 48 hours so far, no human.
Meanwhile the dead box is costing me colo rent for a brick.
Following. Same situation, UK resident, DE server, board from eBay. Did you ever get OVHcloud to agree to London handoff?
Spoiler: they won't. Colo RMA goes to the facility that holds your contract. Tomchan's contract is with the DE entity, so NL depot is the only path in their system. I've seen this with Hetzner too — DE contract, DE RMA, no exceptions for cross-border convenience.
The London DC is a separate legal entity. They can't even see your colo account.
Your real long-term fix: buy new, with EU origin docs, from a vendor who handles their own RMA logistics. Or accept that eBay discount is actually a customs lottery ticket.
Member OP
This is what I suspected but didn't want to hear.
Update: OVHcloud support confirmed exactly this. London is OVHcloud Ltd, my contract is OVHcloud GmbH. "We regret to inform you that cross-entity RMA is not supported at this time."
So my choices are:
Leaning toward option 3 and never buying used cross-border again. The "savings" were imaginary.
