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America advice


bigd1
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[quote name='skywalker' post='34547' date='Jul 20 2007, 11:51 AM']Might be an idea to ask the shop for a receipt for a lower value. Must shops will be happy to do that.[/quote]
Just remember that the customs guys know, or can check, what a particular make and model is worth. They may want to know how you got such a massive discount -- and will accuse you of using a bogus receipt to avoid paying duty (which could amount to fraud).

They will keep you sitting in an interview room until they're happy -- four hours, in my case. They could even keep all your stuff and release you on bail while they investigate. Would you fancy another return trip to Heathrow from your home in Aberdeen, or wherever, to collect it all?

The best suggestion previously on this thread is to go through the red channel, prepared to pay up. There is very often nobody there -- a, er, friend of mine has twice walked through unmolested :)

Cheers

Mark

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Just like to add..

Make sure you are well insured, insurers and airlines may have a fineprint clause that assumes your luggage is "clothing".
Make sure the bass is in a proper serious flight case, not a plywood normal case that you might carry to a gig.
DO NOT ever put "fragile" on it.
Take some pictures of it before you fly (so you can prove it's condition afterwards if anything does go wrong)
Do not ever trust what airline staff say about it being safe, unless it's very well protected you may be sorry later.
Ask the check-in staff if the flight is full, if it is half empty, try to pursuade tham to put the flight case in the hold and keep your bass in a softbag with you on the flight, not much chance, but worth asking I think.

Question then...

If you buy a bass on ebay, you don't pay VAT on it do you? If you buy a used bass in the USA I don't think VAT applies. Not sure about duty. Maybe that only works if you buy from an individual and not from a shop. Not sure.

Richard

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How are you flying, which route.

I bought an Accugroove 112 cab back from New York in January, we flew via Paris CDG.

Consequently our return flight to Birmingham was from CDG, I didn't get stopped, I just walked through and out, they obviously just presumed that whatever I had in the large box had been bought from Paris.

We booked our flights with expedia, and flew with AirFrance which worked out cheaper than flying direct with another airline.

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[
If you buy a bass on ebay, you don't pay VAT on it do you? If you buy a used bass in the USA I don't think VAT applies. Not sure about duty. Maybe that only works if you buy from an individual and not from a shop. Not sure.

Richard
[/quote]

As there is no VAT anyway in the US, their rules doin't apply here. If you bring in a new or nearly new Bass you are likely to have to pay it here.

Steve

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