RANT

[neilll]

my bank fortunately only charges £7 for a direct european transfer (natwest - there is another way ).

WOW :shock: if First Direct weren't so good at everything else I might change just for that.....it gets expensive when all the good swag is in Germany :roll:

 

[jonrock]

I never paid any taxes all last year! Or this year so far...
Box clever...know what the 'gift' and non 'gift' values are.
Communicate with the seller before bidding asking about the 'gift' thing..
(But word it carefully)
Or send everything around Christmas/New Year..they're so flooded that they let 1 frame/forks and a whole bike through for me!

BTW with lloyds if you go into the branch and transfer to Deutchland its only £10
J

 

[Elev12k]

Andy,

You can safely buy stuff from fellow EU countries

By importing from US, Japan, Africa or even Switzerland you run the risk of being charged duties and VAT. There are techniques to avoid this, for example by having a very low amount specced on the box or having it specced as 'Sample'. I am sure the customs/tax website will explain this more into detail.

Parts are charged a lower percentage duties than a complete bike.

 

[Carsten]

By importing from US, Japan, Africa or even Switzerland you run the risk of being charged duties and VAT. There are techniques to avoid this, for example by having a very low amount specced on the box or having it specced as 'Sample'.

may or may not work. the customs guys have the right to demand a proof of payment if they dont believe the declared value. otherwise they will just estimate the value based on e.g. ebay auctions. they are not dumb.

and only the declared value can be insured so if you want full insurance the full value needs to be declared.

Carsten

 

[Tallpaul]

While we're on this subject (again ) can anyone confirm the import duty for bike parts? I think it's 8%, in which case worst-case charges for import are:

Royal Mail Handling fee - £8
VAT @ 17.5%
Import Duty @ 8%

And the % is caculated on the total declared amount, which can include the shipping costs themselves...

 

[ededwards]

And the % is caculated on the total declared amount, which can include the shipping costs themselves...

This is the bit that peeves me most - why on earth should I pay a percentage of shipping paid by someone else in another country? A complete farce!

It's been noted above that it is a complete lottery and there really are no guarantees to avoid the tax (even having parcels marked 'gift' or 'sample' does not always work) so, as above, factor in the import duty and VAT and then if you don't pay it it's a real bonus. I almost bought a complete bike from the US recently, $1,000 plus shipping which was a really good. However when I worked out that shipping and import duty/VAT would likely add at least another $500 and possibly more I decided against (although it would still have been a reasonable total price).

The dollar exchange rate is also in our favour at present but if that changes I can't really see buying from the US being such a good deal.

 

[Elev12k]

and only the declared value can be insured so if you want full insurance the full value needs to be declared.

Another option is paying with such as AmEx. Proofed to be very helpfull when the USPS lost my Miyata Alfrex frame set :evil: