I might be wrong but I think they have tried (big try!) to justify it in the past by saying the subscription is the fee and that the actual value of their store items is low. Completely ridiculous but perhaps that seems to fly.
There was a time a few years ago where there were rumours of them removing free international shipping and adding custom fees. I believe some people here in the UK even got charged customs for a while. In that case, I think I'm correct in saying VMP paid the fees when people sent emails to them. I remember stating I would cancel if I got hit with a fee but it never happened.
Nah! They have two options. Either register for VAT and charge in advance with shipping. Amazon US so that and it works really well for stuff that is silly priced or not available here and that they have in stock.
VMP are not a big enough business for that kind of outlay. I don’t blame them for not doing that. The subscription also wouldn’t fly with customs, if they opened it and enquired they’d divide the subscription price by 3, 6 or 12 and charge you VAT on that. They used to underdeclare at $1 a record. That was absolutely wrong but none of us cared to be fair. I have no idea what potential sanctions would be. I suppose it’s a form of fraud but I don’t know seriously that is monitered, policed or enforced.
Now they don’t declare at all and I think that before covid they’re small packages and slipped through and now postal services are just so swamped that customs is the last thing on their mind. I’ve had no customs charges at all on postal stuff in the last year.