From 26th October 2026 we can no longer accept orders from the EU

You know we've been facing all manner of tariffs and duties all over the world, well the EU has just imposed some more. Our t-shirt printers have made the decision to temporarily pause orders shipping to EU destinations from Sunday evening, 25 October 2026.
The combination of new customs requirements and increasing import costs means we cannot confidently continue under the current arrangements because it’s gotten so expensive for us and you and will likely cause delivery problems.
It’s complicated, but basically from 1 November, additional product identifier requirements apply to shipments entering the EU. Royal Mail is requiring this information for items posted from Monday, 26 October, which is why our pause must begin ahead of November.
Customs declarations will require the merchant’s product identifier, usually a SKU, alongside the manufacturer’s own product identifier and a standardised identifier, such as an EAN or GTIN, where one exists. Custom printing does not automatically exempt products: EU guidance specifically refers to the identifiers of the underlying garment for personalised textiles.
Alongside these requirements, a new €2 EU handling fee per chargeable customs line will be introduced. This is additional to the €3 customs duty per line already applicable to eligible consignments valued at €150 or less, bringing the combined charge to €5 per line, before applicable VAT and separate carrier clearance fees.
To illustrate the potential impact, consider an order sent to Belgium containing:

One adult T-shirt worth £30

One adult sweatshirt worth £40

Postage of £5

If sent with no VAT or import charges prepaid, the customer could face approximately:

Customs duty — two chargeable lines £5.22
New EU handling fee — two chargeable lines£3.48
Belgian postal operator’s clearance fee £18.70
Import VAT, including applicable charges £21.50

Total additional payment £48.90

This would take the customer’s total cost from £75 at checkout to approximately £123.90. The example uses an illustrative exchange rate of £1 = €1.15 and bpost’s published €21.50 clearance fee, which is also included in its import-VAT calculation. Actual charges depend on the service, exchange rate and customs assessment. We literally can’t afford these and I’m sure you can't and wouldn’t want to either, plus they’re likely to be different between all 27 countries.
It’s just not workable.
This pause will allow us to assess the available shipping options and data requirements before deciding how EU fulfilment can resume sustainably. If things change I’ll be in touch.

We are very sorry for the short notice and inconvenience. This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we appreciate your understanding. It’s all because of Brexit of course and shows what a monumentally stupid, anti-trade choice that was because if UK rejoined the EU, it would all go away

Johnny