Question about price

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 15:18

I found a product last night on the bay only sold in the united states and listed in dollars. A 'buy it now' product. I emailed the seller with a couple of questions about it. Haven't heard back just yet. Meanwhile, I noticed the buy it now price has gone up by exactly $15. Is that usual for a buy it now price to suddenly increase? :confused:

mattyprice4004 · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:21

If the seller wants to suddenly increase the price it's their prerogative really, I don't see how this is not obvious?

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:32

mattyprice4004 said:
If the seller wants to suddenly increase the price it's their prerogative really, I don't see how this is not obvious?

I suppose so. I just thought with one day to the end of the listing it seemed odd to me to suddenly increase it, and I also thought buy it now prices might be fixed and not change. I guess not

Ok, so, I emailed him when the price was $15 lower. I told him I'd definitely buy it once I know the answer to a couple of questions (about getting round import charges and if the power supply will work over here). So really, I would have bought it last night at the lower price if it weren't for the questions. Do, or can sellers sometimes still sell at the lower price if they know the prospective buyer had already contacted them while the price was lower? I mean, do you think there might be a chance of that?

Maccy · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:34

If the seller declines then you can either say that you've found it elsewhere for the price originally listed and going to take up 'that offer' or suck it up and pay the extra.

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:43

Maccy said:
If the seller declines then you can either say that you've found it elsewhere for the price originally listed and going to take up 'that offer' or suck it up and pay the extra.

Tbh, I think I'd have to pay the extra, which is only £8 more. But I was already £200 OVER my budget even at the lower price! Now I'd be £208 over budget

Still, even converting that price from $ to £, it's a brand new laptop with a spec that would still cost me a few more arms, legs and a torso if it was sold over here, so it remains a bargain I think. Also, I'd be worried the listing would end before I'd even hear back from him again as I haven't even had a reply yet from my first questions.

mistercrabb · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:46

Merlin5 said:
Tbh, I think I'd have to pay the extra, which is only £8 more. But I was already £200 OVER my budget even at the lower price! Now I'd be £208 over budget
Still, even converting that price from $ to £, it's a brand new laptop with a spec that would still cost me a few more arms, legs and a torso if it was sold over here, so it remains a bargain I think. Also, I'd be worried the listing would end before I'd even hear back from him again as I haven't even had a reply yet from my first questions.

Are you taking into account import duties?

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:52

mistercrabb said:
Are you taking into account import duties?

Well yeah. This is what he wrote on his listing page:

"International customers: Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Contact us and ask us how we can help you with a successful international shipping transaction."

So I emailed him to say I'm very interested and am fine about the price and the shipping costs, but that any import taxes would undoubtedly make the whole process unaffordable. I asked him if there's a way around it, ie, as a gift. Judging by his last sentence, it kind of sounds to me like that's the way he might be able to help me, do you think? If so, does 'gift' mean no extra taxes including no import duties?

Amleto · 15 Sep 2011 at 16:59

Merlin5 said:
If so, does 'gift' mean no extra taxes including no import duties?

no.

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 17:03

Amleto said:
no.

Sorry, just to be clear, 'no' meaning, no I won't have to pay import duties if it says 'gift', or 'no', I'm wrong and I will have to pay?

I bought a 20" diameter cymbal from a cymbal specialist online a few years back in the US and A, cost just under £200. He marked it as a gift and I didn't pay a penny of extra taxes, duties, etc. So it should be possible again right?

memyselfandi · 15 Sep 2011 at 17:38

Merlin5 said:
Sorry, just to be clear, 'no' meaning, no I won't have to pay import duties if it says 'gift', or 'no', I'm wrong and I will have to pay?

I bought a 20" diameter cymbal from a cymbal specialist online a few years back in the US and A, cost just under £200. He marked it as a gift and I didn't pay a penny of extra taxes, duties, etc. So it should be possible again right?

No, as in you are wrong. Gift raises the import allowance (to £36 from £18 IIRC?) but you still have to pay if you go over the higher threshold.

With non-courier shipping things come in and some get through without charges and others are charged ... it's luck of the draw, (with DHL, Fedex etc I tend to generally get charged but EMS/Parcelforce it's more hit and miss).

The only way to avoid charges would be to mark the value of the package to be lower than it was but (a) that could adversely affect any insurance claim and (b) would be fraudulent and there could be trouble if it was caught.

When calculating the costs of something you are importing always assume you will have to pay the relevant vat, duty and fees in your calculations.

mistercrabb · 15 Sep 2011 at 17:44

I wouldn't risk it tbh, especially if you are already over-budget.
I have a feeling electronics get picked on quite a lot by customs, and it's never very cheap.

wez130 · 15 Sep 2011 at 17:48

Maybe a daft suggestion, but could the price have increased due to currency differenciating? It seems that you are paying a lot for it being £200 over budget, therefore $15 on something that is £1000 is only 0.15% fluctuation

I may be well wrong like!

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 17:57

Thanks chaps, food for thought. Looks like I might not be meant to have this laptop. I am disappoint.

wez, we're talking £355 for the item plus £53 for the shipping. I was originally looking second hand around £160.

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 18:08

Listing ended, already sold.

That's why I didn't hear back. Very upset on the one hand, but relieved on the other. For anyone curious, it was a brand new unopened bells and whistles Asus K53TA-BBR6 gaming laptop

AMD quad-core Llano A6-3400M
4GB ram
AMD Crossfire HD 6720G2
with 1GB video memory and HDMI output for connection to an HDTV
500GB hard drive (5400 rpm)
15.6" screen
1 year manufacturers warranty.

For £400, was a steal.

Merlin5 · 15 Sep 2011 at 18:59

memyselfandi said:
When calculating the costs of something you are importing always assume you will have to pay the relevant vat, duty and fees in your calculations.

I found this.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...ent&id=HMCE_PROD_009989&propertyType=document

If you look at the 11th box category down,

'Computers
Laptop and desktop PCs
Palm-held portable (PDA)
PDA with GPS'

it just says VAT is payable. The excise duty box is blank, and standard duty is free. So if I've got the right page, I wouldn't have to pay anything else?
They don't seem to have updated the VAT from 17.5 to 20% though.

memyselfandi · 15 Sep 2011 at 21:51

That looks to be the case but note the following:

- You would have paid VAT on the total item price including the shipping cost.
- You would have had to pay a handling fee to parcelforce/courier of ~£12 (varies dependent on company) as well. This pays for the use of their service where they deal with the package clearance in advance and then bill you afterwards.

Merlin5 · 16 Sep 2011 at 00:08

memyselfandi said:
That looks to be the case but note the following:

- You would have paid VAT on the total item price including the shipping cost.
- You would have had to pay a handling fee to parcelforce/courier of ~£12 (varies dependent on company) as well. This pays for the use of their service where they deal with the package clearance in advance and then bill you afterwards.

Good point.