Import from USA

[Damonjames]

Has anyone bought small items off eBay in the USA and had them shipped? I've only recently moved from Australia and the import laws are very different so just wondering what to and what not to do.
Looking at getting a set of pickups.

Cheers

[Horizontalste]

I bought a pickup a few years ago from basspartsrecourse.com with no problems. Think you just take a chance with import duty.

[Damonjames]

Anyone know off hand what import duty rate is?

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1368043354' post='2072550']
Anyone know off hand what import duty rate is?
[/quote]

[url="http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm"]HMRC[/url] knows a lot about this, funnily enough.

[Musky]

Just plug your details into [url="http://www.dutycalculator.com/online-customs-tools/"]this[/url]. It's not painful, I promise.

[Gust0o]

I looked at that Musky, but it states I have no free calculations left - which is sad, as I don't recall every receiving the free calculations

[Damonjames]

Thanks for the link it worked fine. This may sound stupid but is buying through Tomann online subject to the same duty/vat?

[Damonjames]

Just note sure about buying stuff from within EU

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1368045673' post='2072592']
Just note sure about buying stuff from within EU
[/quote]

Did you[url="http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/buying.htm"] read [/url]the HMRC page?

[Damonjames]

All right cranky pants 😉 I HAVE read it now, I read the calculator page and got bored, tax law isn't a passion of mine. But thanks for the nudge, I should have read it before posting. Thanks for the info guys, when all is said and done, think ill just get it from Thomann, it will be less hassle and probably get here faster.

[Gust0o]

No worries, it's my total pleasure to help people out and get called names

The trick with the EU is the line from the HMRC site: [i]"It's just like shopping in the UK"[/i] - so it's as hassle free (well, apart from delivery/return and order times) as shopping on the highstreet here.

And, as far as Thomann go, they're an established operator - they ship regularly to the UK.

The US will, likely, occur import duties for something as expensive as a bass. I'm sure, if you search the forums here, you'll find plenty of people talking about their experiences.

[Damonjames]

Yeah I did atleast TRY and do a search before I posted, but most of what I found was to do with importing bigger ticket items like complete basses, not just components. Thanks for the help though!

[Lozz196]

If ordering small sized items from US it`s pot-luck as to whether you`ll get hit with the duty - I`ve ordered pickups, bridges etc, sometimes have been hit, others not. From Thomann you won`t be.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1368048935' post='2072644']
If ordering small sized items from US it`s pot-luck as to whether you`ll get hit with the duty - I`ve ordered pickups, bridges etc, sometimes have been hit, others not. From Thomann you won`t be.
[/quote]

Agree - they have to make a call as to whether the goods are worth more than £135, which isn't always clear if they're not labelled up; also, if the amount of duty, once calculated, is under £9 they will waive it. It's a lot more certain with the big ticket items.

[neepheid]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1368049395' post='2072658']
Agree - they have to make a call as to whether the goods are worth more than £135, which isn't always clear if they're not labelled up; also, if the amount of duty, once calculated, is under £9 they will waive it. It's a lot more certain with the big ticket items.
[/quote]

+1, they can't inspect everything. In general the smaller the item, the more likely it will pass through undetected.

Import duty is one thing, but remember that if your item gets intercepted you can rarely dodge the VAT, the allowances are quite paltry (£18 for commercial goods and £36 for gifts if memory serves).

[molan]

Standard cost from USA is 23%'on value of purchase plus shipping. There's also a handling charge. Safe bet is to allow 25% to cover everything.

No duties on any imports from within EU (but be careful about exactly which countries are full EU members).

On current Euro exchange rates you may well find a UK dealer will be cheaper than Peoplemlike Thomann and Musik Produktiv. The UK dealer prices may be higher but some will negotiate a little on prices.

The last 3-4 thi GS I checked vs Thomann actually showed UK dealers with lower list prices

[WalMan]

+20% for VAT if it's total price is over £18
+ variable Import duty, but probably around 3% - nothing if the duty is less than £9
+ handling charge of £8 by Parcelfarce

It might come through with nothing, or you might find it held up on the tracking to pay Customs duties, like I did for the Mbrace guitar holder recently which added £18>70 in total (which I had anticipated and allowed for) to a $65 item.

Don't try to get cute by getting the seller to ship it with a reduced value or falsely declare to save money. Customs know what they are looking at and you could end up with the item confiscated, so no gear, AND no money laid out. It could also screw with an insurance claim if that were necessary.

Otherwise, as above, factor in another 25% on the shipped price and if it's still worth it and you can live with the possible hassle of getting warranty repairs for on a grey import (which many manufacturers can be awkward about as they willl have messed with their own dealer network) then go for it.

[yorks5stringer]

I recently posted about some Rotosound strings I ordered from the USA in haste/error. They were £4 cheaper than the other UK sellers until I paid a total of £13 in extras to HMRC and Royal Mail. Equally I've had a set of vintage Fender Tuners sent from the USA which cost me £65 and they got in free! Also an ebony fingerboard arrived from China marked "sample" and at a value of $15 ( cost me £75) came in unmolested too.

[Musky]

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1368051897' post='2072695']
+20% for VAT if it's total price is over £18[/quote]

They charge VAT on anything over £15 now.

It's was bad enough that the £18 limit hadn't increased since at least the nineties, without them actually reducing it.

[4 Strings]

Does all this apply on second hand goods? The import on a $750 bass is £19, but the VAT £110.

Do we pay VAT on importing 2nd hand things?

[neepheid]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1368220785' post='2074724']
Does all this apply on second hand goods? The import on a $750 bass is £19, but the VAT £110.

Do we pay VAT on importing 2nd hand things?
[/quote]

Yes

[kevin_lindsay]

Yup, regwrdless of whether your purchase is a new, or used item, it'll still be considered fot the horrible import duty and VAT

[TheGreek]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1368049395' post='2072658']
Agree - they have to make a call as to whether the goods are worth more than £135, which isn't always clear if they're not labelled up; also, if the amount of duty, once calculated, is under £9 they will waive it. It's a lot more certain with the big ticket items.
[/quote]

Thanks...I didn't realise this...just ordered a really nice strap from the States and was hoping that HMRC would let it in without charge..now I'm even more hopeful

[PauBass]

As an example today I received a parcel from the States, v[size=4]alued at $49.[/size]
Total to pay was £8 Royal Mail handling fee and £6.45 VAT
Now the funny thing is that I wasn't home yesterday when the postman arrived so I got the card, it didn't say anything about paying any money so I went today to collect it. The man at the desk scanned the parcel and when he was handing it to me said, there's a charge of £14.65, I was about to reach for my wallet when the guy said "nevermind" [size=4] [/size]

[gjones]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1368220785' post='2074724']
Does all this apply on second hand goods? The import on a $750 bass is £19, but the VAT £110.

Do we pay VAT on importing 2nd hand things?
[/quote]

Yes the bastards even tax us on stuff that's been taxed already!