[OXO cube]

it is very confusing
and the government web site is , as usual , as clear as mud 
the way i understand it , is as follows :- 
the web site clearly states £135 is the 'no tax ' limit , but that ( i think ) is only if the company/seller you have bought from have included the VAT in the price you paid
often this is not the case , and that is the sneaky part , although i think it can also depend on who processes your package at customs 
but anything less than £39 is tax free , the web site does say for gifts , but as a rule it has and still seems to work for everything 
recently some proxy cars incurred a charge because the sender valued them at £100 

the loop hole ( if that's what it is ) is the £39 limit , then i have found there tends to be no problem 
so to summarize , £135 is a bit of a lottery ,  IMO £39 is the real 100% no tax limit 

i understand this doesn't help in retrospect but worth baring in mind for the future 

Kev