Buying from the States

[footman]

If it's marked as a gift, they cant enforce import taxes.

Firstly, these guys arent daft...they know the value of these things. Secondly, if its insured (as my opty 165 was) they will apply tax according to the insured amount.

 

[sgoaty]

oh yeah the 4600+ it is then i thought the 4400+ would be cheaper

 

[matt100]

bythe way.. there won't be a warranty on it unless you return it in the states..

 

[cymatty]

bythe way.. there won't be a warranty on it unless you return it in the states..

Cant you send it back to AMD directly?

From the site i am looking at

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Manchester 2000MHz HT 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail

** This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
In Stock

 

[Lewcifer]

I'm not sure about the UK, but with Ireland, I've ordered numerous things in from the US. Getting the sender to mark them as a gift or replacment allows it to bypass the customs tax.

I always ask if they'll mark it gift/replacement, ever since ordering a box set dvd worth €30, and getting charged €27 import duty!

 

[ob1]

A gift has double the tax free allowance upto 28 pounds but after that its just the same anyway

 

[matt100]

Cant you send it back to AMD directly?

only in the states, companies exist as legal entities on different continents, if you bought it from Germany for example you would have some leg to stand on because there are european laws governing that sort of thing but not for anything bought in the states.

For that it'll have to go back to the states because AMD europe won't want anything to do with it.

 

[Vertigo]

I'm not sure about the UK, but with Ireland, I've ordered numerous things in from the US. Getting the sender to mark them as a gift or replacment allows it to bypass the customs tax.

You can do this but there are two problems.

Firstly customs may decide you're lying about it being a gift and charge you anyway, in which case they can make up whatever value they like for it which may end up being more than it's actually worth.

Unless the sender is very friendly with their local post office or courier, it won't be possible to mark an expensive item as a gift for customs purposes and still have it insured for the real value, as the discrepancy will be obvious. If you want the sender to mark your £200 processor as a gift to escape customs charges then fine but be aware that you may not have any insurance on it and if it goes missing you're screwed.

 

[james32]

aything over £18 is subject to tax (rules changed 2 years ago)
it doesn't matter if its 2nd hand or new or gift it still taxable

also if your item gets stopped at customs, parcelforce then take it
your local depot you have to enter credit card details over phone to pay taxaman and parecelforce also charge you for taking it to your local depot
then you have to pay parcelforce again to deliver to your door.

so beware buying from non E.U you would have to use Pre-payment of import VAT at customs this will allow your item be delivered to your door to miss out parcelforce double delivery charge.

 

[Lewcifer]

Again, this is Ireland (way more backwards than Britain ), I've never actually ordered any computer parts from the states, but I've ordered numerous BMX parts. Got a frame and wheels in without import duty because the company I was buying from knew the deal and marked it as a replacement.
Nice chaps at Empire.

 

[locutus12]

After AMD drops its prices soon, my grandma will be going to America to visit her friend. I am currently looking at getting a X2 4600 shipped to her house for when my grandma arrives, at this point I think they will be around the £160 mark. Are CPU prices much different in the states than over here?

What are the potential drawbacks of buying a CPU from the states? If it breaks, what will the return policy be?

Oh... I'm not worried about customs (I know they don't like 'funny looking chips') as I doubt they'll stop an 80 year old woman

My AMD 3000+ venice came from the USA. damn site cheaper than here too. for the cheapest places to buy products from in America use www.pricewatch.com (no need to remove this link mods, its american stores that only sell to american based customers)

to convert dollars to pounds or vice versa use www.convertit.com

p.s. you wont get an X2 4600 even after the price reductions, for £160. they are currently £287 in America, you can expect them to drop to around £200/£220.

 

[cymatty]

p.s. you wont get an X2 4600 even after the price reductions, for £160. they are currently £287 in America, you can expect them to drop to around £200/£220.

The prices in the link i posted from amd show that the price will drop to $300 which is around £170-180. The current prices in the states are very similar to amd's rrp.

 

[deshepherd]

Any item may get through without having VAT/duty added in the post ... but technically if VAT/duty is payable you as the receiver are, I believe, liable to ensure that that it is paid so technically I think you are committing a criminal offence by not paying it

Also, another thing to note is that depending on which delivery company is used you may find a hefty "handling fee" added for processing the customs/duty (I seem to recall reading that ParcelForce charge something like £10-15 to cover the "costs of handling customs declarations and payments)

 

[cymatty]

Well i should get away with that as it will be posted to an adrees in the USA, and then brought back by hand to the UK.

 

[deshepherd]

aha, failed to notice that it was being delivered in US and you were bringing it back to UK.

Firstly, in US it will be best to order "out of state" (i.e. from retailer in different state from delivery) as that way avoids sales tax being added (though again officially people buying this way are often meant to send the tax in themselves - Calif has a section in its income tax form where your meant to declare outof state purchases IIRC + they very definitely have been going after people buying cigarettes out of state to reclaim tobacco duty!)

Then you just need to walk calmly through the green customs lane and hope you don't get stopped by an overzealous customs person!

 

[cymatty]

Then you just need to walk calmly through the green customs lane and hope you don't get stopped by an overzealous customs person!

I think my near 80 year old granny looks sweet enough not to get stopped fingers crossed.

 

[ob1]

Its always the quiet ones!

 

[kleox64]

If it's marked as a gift, they cant enforce import taxes.

VAT is still added even on secondhand goods, you just have to play about with value.