Why I Don't Ship Abroad!

 A guy in the Netherlands (or is it Holland ?) contacted me wanting a Yew crossbow prod. My suggested price was too high as he'd also be paying 20-25% VAT. However by the time he'd decided not to proceed, I'd already started work!...
So being a kind and cunning inividual I decided I'd complete it and send it as a gift, but asked that he should donate a suitable amount to support Ukraine (against the Russian invasion).
I finish it, parcel it up, get online to UPS and fill in all the details. I declare it as a gift, a "wooden ornament" with a nominal value of £5 and take it round to the drop off point at the shop down the road.
I don't declare it as anything that could be construed as a weapon in case such things are banned, and anyway it's not a weapon until it is mounted into a stock.
I walk round to the shop and the guy explains that it needs 3 copies of a customs declaration attached!....
I walk back home (quietly muttering to myself), print off 3 customs declarations (declaring "NOT COMMERCIAL", a notional value of £5 and no retail value) shove 'em in a plastic bag, tape them to the parcel and try again.
I subsequently receive E-mails informing me of my parcels journey including pictures of it having a coffee in the airport departure lounge ;-) (that's joke just in case you aren't sure)
Next morning I receive another E-mail informing me that they are contacting the recipient as:-
Duties, taxes, and fees totaling 8.88 EUR are due for this delivery.
What a palaver! 8.88 EUR on a piece of wood with no commercial value, when according to UPS there should be no tax or duty on anything that is not commercial and is worth less than £34 (or some such).
Now I can't definitively blame this on Brexit... but it nicely sumarizes why I don't ship abroad.
... and relax...