When I first got a DVD player there were something like 100 times more titles available in the USA than in the UK so if you wanted anything specific having a region 1-capable machine was really essential.

There is so much choice here now that there is less need to get region 1 discs, in fact it is a long time since I got one, but there is still a financial incentive, which becomes significant on box sets.

For example, the complete series one of Lost costs £44.99 on Play.com but the region 1 version costs only £32.99 o their international site Playusa.com – a saving of twelve pounds. The Charmed box sets have even bigger savings.

What puts me off is the warning that the site carries:

The product you have selected will be shipped from North America and may be subject to import duties and taxes once it reaches your country. These and any additional charges must be borne by you. If you agree to pay these additional charges should they be levied click I AGREE below. If you do not wish to order this product click I DISAGREE below.

What it does not say is how much these taxes and import duties might be, or how they are paid. I am quite happy to pay whatever is legally required but if it is going to cost more than the normal region 2 price once you add them on I would obviously not bother. Also if the payment was complicated to make it would put me off.

I don’t want to get a letter saying that goods are held somewhere awaiting payment of duty, and then have to get to a post office or send a cheque to a government department and wait for their red tape before getting the goods.

Another thing is the way it says “may be subject to…” which implies that it does not happen all the time.

Can anyone say how likely it is that charges would be levied, how much they would be, and how they would affect the delivery?