import taxes?

[philbillbass]

If i want to buy something from canada or the USA whether it be off ebay or not, what sort of fees will i have to pay?
I am thinking of buying the sadowsky bass di pedal thing and there is no cheap places to buy it in the uk it seems to be around £200 whereas in america it is about £120 ish not including postage and whatever fees i have to pay!!
any info welcomed!
thanks
phil

Edited June 26, 2007 by philbillbass

[beerdragon]

This thread may help. not sure about ebay though. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=139"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=139[/url]

[Happy Jack]

In my experience, whether or not it's eBay doesn't matter, it's the 'visibility' of the item bought that counts.

Buy a bass from the US and there's virtually no chance of avoiding import duty and VAT (not the same thing). The carriers - UPS, DHL, etc. - know that it's not in their interest to fall foul of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, so they effectively police the system for Gordon Brown. They simply won't let you have the bass until all the paperwork is sorted.

Buy an effects pedal, and it's small enough that no one will pay much attention ... so long as the Customs Declaration doesn't say "Value = £120" or whatever.

I've done both, more than once. I got lucky on one bass and I won't be chancing it again.

[mhuk]

Allow for 25% and plus £10 for the privilege. If it's small and fits in a UPS priority envelope it stands a better chance of getting through from the USA (and it helps if the sender declares it's value as less than $38 USD). Once it goes above £18 [i]they [/i] (Customs) also include the delivery cost in the "value" of the item.

In my experience you'll receive the item OK and then 2 weeks later you get a nice letter from DHL asking for a fat cheque.

[guitarnbass]

On a bass I got for 305 from Japan, I paid 91.00 custom fees, but then, a bass is big. I got a computer part shipped but it was well sealed and inside covered in gift wrap, marked as $14 on the parcel and so I didn't have to pay anything. I didn't know it was coming from the US until after the guy sent it, but he's been sending thousands of parts using the same method, and hasn't yet been caught out, so I guess if you can convince the people sending it to do that, you won't have to pay.

Actually, now that I think about it, I've bought my EMG's from the states from a guy who just marks the parcel down so I didn't have to pay, I got guitar pickups from him too a few times, all stuff I wouldn't have been able to get if I were to pay the stupid prices the stuff is here.

[quote]They simply won't let you have the bass until all the paperwork is sorted.[/quote]
Not always.. I got a conklin from the states, got the bass first, then the parcelforce bill, which I never paid, and that was like a year ago. Was lucky, but it happens.

Edited June 26, 2007 by guitarnbass

[john_the_bass]

I bought one bass from the US which was marked up in such a way that I paid no customs charges and got no letters, etc (no idea how!!!) and another that I paid the full whack on.

I also had a smallish package delivered with 6 sets of bass strings, a strap and a t shirt which came to about 70 quid with the correct declared value and I didn't have to pay anything on that.

I suppose sometimes you get lucky, but yeah - budget for about 25% + a tenner. On a 200 quid bass, it might be cheaper to buy one here - especially if you can negotiate a discount with folding.

[99ster]

[quote name='philbillbass' post='23683' date='Jun 26 2007, 07:34 PM']If i want to buy something from canada or the USA whether it be off ebay or not, what sort of fees will i have to pay?
I am thinking of buying the sadowsky bass di pedal thing and there is no cheap places to buy it in the uk it seems to be around £200 whereas in america it is about £120 ish not including postage and whatever fees i have to pay!!
any info welcomed!
thanks
phil[/quote]


I was just about to put a Sadowsky DI box up for sale if you're interested?

[philbillbass]

yes i sure would be! what price are we talkin about and what postage costs do ya reckon

[kneal6]

I've had 5 or 6 small packages from the US (pickup/pedal size), all off ebay, and I've only had to pay duties on 1.

Edited June 28, 2007 by kneal6

[99ster]

[quote name='philbillbass' post='23982' date='Jun 27 2007, 01:03 PM']yes i sure would be! what price are we talkin about and what postage costs do ya reckon[/quote]

Replied to your PM Phil...

[odub]

It's a lotto,

I imported a box full of electronics, fully marked up with all proper documents on the outside, and didn't pay anything.

[jay249]

I bought a set of bartolini's and a few odds n ends from guitarpartsresource, a scratchplate straplocks etc and had to pay import tax, can't remember how much but i recall it stinging at the time, writing a check first thing in the morning so that i could finish my diy jazz bass!