Importing from american site

ash_scotland88 · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:21

I am thinking about importing a special edition from a well known world wide website.
The costs are cheaper than a british website also selling the import but just wondering what sort of import fee/tax I will have to pay?
Is it just tax from the UK price?

The value after is £45 so 20% VAT would mean I would have to pay an extra £9?

After postage it's £49 while the uk based site is selling at £80, bit of saving depending on import duties etc.

Loosecannon · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:28

You wish...

You would pay 20% on the value of the item including postage, plus a handling charge of around £10...

If customs stop it.

tom_e · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:30

If you get caught you will have to pay the duty plus the VAT plus the couriers admin charge. The duty amount depends on what the item is.

[FnG]magnolia · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:32

You need to be careful with this. My wife ordered an US$800 dress as a treat for herself and got slapped silly with a whole slew of charges to import it into NZ and it would have been cheaper - had it been available here - to just buy it here in the first place.

ash_scotland88 · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:32

Balls.

From that rainforest and it's bluray set, so chances are they will stop it! =[

Cosimo · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:35

tom_e said:
If you get caught you will have to pay the duty plus the VAT plus the couriers admin charge. The duty amount depends on what the item is.

It's a lottery with these charges. I've been stung with some low value items and got away with some high value ones.

tom_e · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:36

Well you're looking at £70 minimum if it gets stopped and that's just VAT and admin charge so I'd say it's easier and less hassle just to take the couple of quid hit and buy from the UK.

oli356 · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:54

Isn't there a price though before you pay vat on imported items? I've recently purchased from Aus, being £40, no problems.

ubersonic · 9 Aug 2011 at 11:57

oli356 said:
Isn't there a price though before you pay vat on imported items? I've recently purchased from Aus, being £40, no problems.

£15 iirc, but their working on lowering it.

[FnG]magnolia · 9 Aug 2011 at 12:06

oli356 said:
Isn't there a price though before you pay vat on imported items? I've recently purchased from Aus, being £40, no problems.

What was cheaper in Ozzie to buy than you could get in the UK? Or do you mean Austria and now I feel stupid?

memyselfandi · 9 Aug 2011 at 12:38

oli356 said:
Isn't there a price though before you pay vat on imported items? I've recently purchased from Aus, being £40, no problems.

£18 which rises to £36 for gifts

(I'm currently awaiting a bill for a £130 import myself)

Strife212 · 9 Aug 2011 at 12:46

The more crappy the form of postage the less likely you are to be charged. Likely they don't have the resources to check all the airmail parcels.

ubersonic · 9 Aug 2011 at 13:18

Strife212 said:
The more crappy the form of postage the less likely you are to be charged. Likely they don't have the resources to check all the airmail parcels.

I know I'm going to get flamed for saying this but they shouldn't need the resources, if all the customs slips were filled in legitimately/correctly they could just charge accordingly. Getting out of paying VAT for the things you buy may sound nice but its just wrong, hell its tantamount to stealing.

Mr Joshua · 9 Aug 2011 at 13:34

And I feel terrible about it.

oli356 · 9 Aug 2011 at 14:31

[FnG]magnolia;19784437 said:
What was cheaper in Ozzie to buy than you could get in the UK? Or do you mean Austria and now I feel stupid?

Nop, was Australia, Aussie brand lol
Had multiple orders from them and never trouble..

Even when I imported a monitor from Germany for £130 I never had to pay anything.