Importing (Expensive) Bits from the USA

[WD Pro]

I know similar questions have been asked before ... but how much can I expect to get stung for on a total spend (including postage) of around £300 ?

Examples of actual spend v actual charges would be really appreciated rather than "it will cost you sh1t loads ..."

Cheers,

WD

 

[Simonside resident]

I just recently paid VAT at 19%, no import tax and no duty on an item labelled "Bicycle accessory" that was valued at 100 USD. And a £13 handling charge



Truth was it was a £300 set of forks. The sender did it of his own accord, un asked, nice chap!

 

[kase1983]

I bought a hei hei frame.

Marked down the value to $150 and marked it a gift. got charged £24. ( they kept it 3 weeks thou )

same with some forks,

bought some king hubs from aspire valued at $200 marked as full value goods and payed £23.00

depends if new/used/gift etc.

if its relatively small and marked less than $40 usually sales throu but risky if it gets lost or damaged.

 

[Tad]

It really depends on how you send it. I used to import stuff from Japan for business. I always declared the full value on my packages as I wasn't out to defraud anyone. If I sent the equivalent of Parcelforce (traceable and insured) then 9 times out of 10 it would get stopped at customs and get charged duty and the handling fee. I found that sending as a packet and declaring the same full value less than 1 in 10 got stopped and charged.

I quickly changed to sending everything as a packet (therefore untraced and uninsured). Remember, tax evasion is illegal and tax avoidance isn't. If the Post office were too lazy to check my carefuly declared values then that was their fault not mine.

 

[DM]

Try here:
http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-tax-calculation/

The UK seems to permit a form of piracy, where the courier that you have already paid handsomely to ship your item takes it upon themselves to complete the import paperwork and then effectively holds your item to ransom until you pay their inflated "processing fee" or whatever the **** they call it.

I have to go to the tax office whenever I import anything, but at least I just pay what is due & don't get scammed by UPS etc. for the 30 seconds that it take complete my own import documents and show the lady my PayPal valuation/ receipt.

 

[WD Pro]

Thanks for the input so far

It's new stuff, from a shop, in a large box so I don't think I have much chance of incorrect marking or it not getting any attention :-(

So worst case senario so far is 19% and a handling charge - anything else they can sting me with ? :?

Cheers,

WD

 

[WD Pro]

That link is good thanks (and wasn't there when I started my last post )

On the calcs it works out OK ...

The service is USPS priority - are they known for excessive additional fees ?

WD

 

[matthew71]

duty

just imported a gt titanium this week. the cost of the frame was £ 414, but only paid £ 24 duty

 

[DM]

Not sure of the UK situation, but it COULD be something like this:

A: Pay full U.S. retail price;

B: Plus international shipping;

C: Plus X% import "bicycle" import duty (4%? 6%?). on the retail cost of the item (before shipping);

B: Then they ADD the shipping cost - On the basis that the item MUST be "worth" that amount (item cost + shipping) to the buyer; otherwise, why you be prepared to pay it?

C: Then VAT is charged on that total.

D: If you're unlucky, your friendly courier will complete the paperwork before the item even reaches you. Then either KEEP the item until you pay their fees, or deliver it and then surprise you with a tax demand 2 weeks later.

Easy to see why European retail prices appear to be so high compared to the U.S.

After all, you pay the FULL U.S. retail customer price; add international shipping; add import duty; pay VAT on the item cost PLUS shipping - And it can STILL be cheaper (and faster) than buying the same thing in a European shop.

Still, there's more to life than rampant consumerism, huh?
(Universal healthcare, for example )

 

[northerndave]

Imported a Serotta frame last year from the US. Total value including postage was £330. Paid £125 import duty, VAT and handling. So about 40%! Disputed the calculation and got £6.49 back.