Buy from Adidas Germany
Ship to the UK

Here is the version most forwarders won't tell you. The UK has a single number that controls everything: GBP 135 per consignment, measured on the goods value alone (shipping and insurance don't count). At or below GBP 135, there is no customs duty, and the overseas seller charges 20% UK VAT at checkout. Above GBP 135, the carrier collects import VAT (and any duty) when it delivers and adds a handling fee. Note the dates: the GBP 135 duty relief is still in force today — its abolition was announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 but is future-dated 'by March 2029 at the latest,' so it does not apply now. There is no VAT-free threshold for commercial goods: above GBP 135 the 20% import VAT is charged on the full value, not just the part over GBP 135. Only genuine person-to-person gifts up to GBP 39 are VAT-free.

Duty itself is often 0% on EU-origin goods: under the UK-EU trade agreement (TCA), a valid statement of origin gets you 0% duty. Without it, standard MFN rates apply — roughly 12% on clothing, 8% on footwear, 2% on leather goods — while perfume, cosmetics, phones and laptops are 0% anyway. One caveat we won't sugarcoat: shipping to an EU forwarding address counts as a domestic EU sale, so EU VAT is charged and a private buyer generally cannot reclaim it. The tourist refund requires you to personally export the goods with a customs stamp — a forwarder cannot do that for you. So before you ship, we estimate your full landed cost — item + shipping + estimated duty — so you can plan with a realistic estimate. Create your free EU forwarding address and run the calculator.

The euro prices on adidas.de are VAT-inclusive: they already include German VAT (MwSt, 19%). Here is the honest part - because your order ships to a forwarder address inside the EU, it is a normal German domestic sale, so German VAT is charged and is generally not reclaimable by a private consumer. A tourist VAT refund requires you to personally export the goods and get a customs stamp; a forwarding service cannot do that for you, so we never promise a VAT refund via forwarding.

When we re-ship the parcel from Germany to the UK, it becomes a UK import and UK import VAT (20%) applies on the way in (see the landed-cost example for how that is collected). The real value of buying on adidas.de is not a tax saving - it is access and stock. Since Brexit, adidas.de won't post to a UK address at all without an EU delivery point, and it lists the full continental range, 'Made in Germany' Originals and EU-first colourways that often aren't on adidas.co.uk, or that have sold out there. You pay German retail in euros and we forward it; the win is getting the model, size and colourway you want.

Here's an illustrative landed-cost estimate (dated 2026-06-14) for a typical single-pair adidas.de order - a Samba OG at about EUR 120, with German VAT already included in that euro price. At roughly 0.85 GBP/EUR that's about GBP 102 of goods value. Numbers are rounded and for illustration only; this is not a quote.

The key UK rule is the GBP 135 consignment threshold (goods value, excluding shipping and insurance). Because your parcel is forwarded into the UK from Germany rather than bought direct from a UK-facing checkout, UK import VAT and any duty are collected by the carrier/forwarder on entry, not by Adidas at checkout. At or below GBP 135 of goods value there is no customs duty; above GBP 135 the carrier collects 20% import VAT plus any duty and adds a handling fee. On duty: EU-origin goods qualify for 0% duty under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with a valid statement of origin; without it, MFN applies (footwear around 8%). Adidas products are made worldwide, so origin isn't guaranteed - we estimate landed cost before shipping. A single pair at ~GBP 102 stays under the GBP 135 line, so duty is nil and only 20% import VAT applies; add a pricier pair or a second item and the consignment can cross GBP 135, where duty (origin-dependent) may also apply.