Shipping from the US

Just go and get it, you'll likely get a flight for £300 or so, you're going to pay that in tax alone if you get it shipped. Plus you get a holiday
 
guitar $3995
+
Shipping $385
= $4380
+ vat 17.5 = 766
5146
+ handling fee of about 2% for UPS (about $102)

You've also then got whatever the duty rate is on it (so that would 4380 x duty %) as a rough idea
 
Guitar: $3995
Cheapest shipping: $375

Total: $4370

This equates to £2,230.62 according to xe.com

Import duty is payable. This is more complex as this is dependent on the item in question. For Guitars, TARIC code 9202903000 is required (Link). Using the country of origin as the US and today's date the actual amount of import duty is 3.20%

3.20% of £2,230.62 is £71.38
VAT will be £390.56

Thefore the total amount due will be £2692.56

Or, in dollars, $5,274.98

This is assuming you pay via bank transfer and not credit card. You might also be liable for a small fee imposed by the courier as they pay the tax then claim it back off you (usually no more than £20 but it can be a % of the total)
 
easyrider said:
The gap between shipping in from the US and getting it from a UK dealer is getting smaller.

Just had this email:

You already know the pricing on the guitar, but the shipping is variable according to the service and insurance coverage you select, also whether you are paying by bank wire (= cash price) or non-US-issued credit card (= cash price plus 5%).

Shipping via UPS or FedEx is the most expensive but allows full insurance coverage:

UPS Worldwide Expedited (4-5 business days) w/full insurance = $385 US
UPS Worldwide Saver (2-3 business days) w/full insurance = $407 US

FedEx Int'l Economy (4-5 business days) w/full insurance = $375 US
FedEx Int'l Priority (2-3 business days) w/full insurance = $395 US


Anyone care to do the math and give me a price in $ of what this will cost me all in to have this guitar in my hands, Including tax etc...?


Guitar = $3995
Shipping = $385
other stuff=?

:)
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Don't bother...

Believe me, I have ordered many items from US and the custom dept have never been so strict! Sometimes it can be a false economy.

VAT is usually 17.5% but with customs duty, excise duty and import VAT, my rule of thumb would be roughly 22.5%. Don't forget courier's clearance fee, £8-£15 but I don't know about the big parcels.

I would go for it if it costs half of what it would cost in UK but the guitar is only cost 2/3 and thats without adding import tax etc.

Good luck
 
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You might get lucky and not have to pay any fees. I didn't with my Schecter. It just appeared at my door one day, with no letters from parcelforce or anything.
 
H2F Scott said:
You might get lucky and not have to pay any fees. I didn't with my Schecter. It just appeared at my door one day, with no letters from parcelforce or anything.
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Same when I imported my ESP :)

You are looking at paying for the guitar, the shipping (which will be more now that they've brought in that stupid volumetric shipping thing.

If you get stung for customs, you are looking at approximately 14% of the price you paid for the item (not shipping obviously) plus whatever admin charges the courier charges.

I pray for you that you don't get parcel force. I was lucky enough to get Fedex all the way.
 
I recently bought a guitar of ebay from a guy in the states and it was so smooth a deal it was unreal.

The guitar cost $900 us dollars about £500 or something? but he declared it at $600 to keep the charges down. I ended up paying £82 charges and overall it was a massive bargain. It would prolly knock me back close to a grand if I could get one in this country.

I reccomend it. Mine was shipped by USPS then Parcel force, I tracked it all the way and got it in a week or so. In the end I went to the depo and picked it up. I can dig out the thread if you want.
 
When I imported my headphones they were 17.5%+£15 "storage charge". Import tax fair enough but £15 to store some headphones for a day? Scam. Still £70 cheaper than buying over here anyway :P
 
Jimbo said:
The guitar cost $900 us dollars about £500 or something? but he declared it at $600 to keep the charges down. I ended up paying £82 charges and overall it was a massive bargain. It would prolly knock me back close to a grand if I could get one in this country.
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Thats ok for a private seller, like the ebay seller to declare a lower amount. Any store or reputable dealer could not afford to do it otherwise they would be in a deep trouble.
 
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I've had loads of Golf club sets imported and never had to pay import tax or anything :D The guy would always list it as 'outdoor sporting goods sample' - not sure if that helped but seemed to work!
I'd say go for it, even if it only saves you a little bit.
 
Clipsey said:
I've had loads of Golf club sets imported and never had to pay import tax or anything :D The guy would always list it as 'outdoor sporting goods sample' - not sure if that helped but seemed to work!
I'd say go for it, even if it only saves you a little bit.
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Same as my guitar, "Working sample"
 
Gaijin said:
the shipping (which will be more now that they've brought in that stupid volumetric shipping thing.
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It's not stupid though....

Imagine most people will be shipping A4 boxes overseas weighing approximately 8kg each at £80 a time (imagining you charge £10 a kilo) You can fit a lot of A4 boxes on an aeroplane and therefore make a decent profit.

Then somebody comes along shipping feathers. In 2 metre cubed boxes. Each one weighs 2kg so you make £20 a time. And not only that, but a few of them take up half the damn aeroplane. So you can't fill it with revenue generating 8kg A4 boxes.

Admittedly, it makes calculating shipping costs harder for the sender and receiver, but it is straightforward revenue protection for the courier.
 
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