EU-tax -import

Hello fellow non EU members. 
We are in the same boat now UK and Norway.
The same sea at least.

When i order stuff from the EU I am not supposed to pay the EU tax. Only Norwegian VAT.
But on smaller web stores that is more or less a lottery and most times you loose.

Looking to buy a gear set for 650 or 800 euro from Greece, so with or without tax do matter here.

Then sometimes (or most) when buying stuff abroad, the online store will collect the norwegian VAT but then when parcels come to Norway, the post office also collect the norwegian VAT that i must pay to get the parcel delivered.
Usually they say the online store haven't registered the VAT electronically in VOEC and I must get a refund from them.
On ebay sometimes I do but most times it is less then 5-10 GBP and I do not bother when there is a 50% chance i get a refund. 

How do these things work in UK?
 

In my limited experience of tools and car parts from European suppliers usually via country specific ebay or amazon eu it's just been a case of paying the total and the item being delivered normally with an additional notification of having cleared customs. Can't remember ever having items held ransom. Thinking about it never had problems even coming from further afield like usa or Australia.

The VOEC systems might work for the UK but not here then I guess.

When odrering stuff from UK before I often got items without paying UK VAT.
Last times though I pay both UK and Norwegian VAT.

If item plus freight was below 300NOK we had no VAT before.
But that has been removed so norwegian companies (the few still left) can sell small items.