Buying a LN whilst abroad

[AndyG]

Hi all,

I've managed to wangle a trip to Washington D.C. later this year. Not wanting to make it a work only trip, I was thinking of using the rather good pound to dollar conversion to buy an LN plane.
I was just wondering if anyone had done similar and if they had any problems with import tax, customs etc... etc...

Thanks
Andy

P.S. Not actully researched if there are any suitable outlets there yet though!!

 

[Anonymous]

IIRC, in the recent budget, the 'duty free allowance' for bringing stuff in from places outside the US was increased to a value of £1000, so as long as you're not going to be re-mortgaging your home to buy out the entire L-N stock, you should be ok.

 

[Good Surname or what ?]

... I recently had a trip to the US and got L-N to ship some goodies to my hotel. No US sales tax and no VAT or Duty, as it was inside our allowance. Just $18 for shipping UPS 2 day.

.... and all @ $1.86 to the £.

I only bought a dovetail saw and some blades so was below the duty-free limit (about £150 I think).

Based on $350 being about £185, I would expect any tax on a 5 1/2 to be too small for customs to worry about and personally would declare it. Your call ......

 

[andrewm]

IIRC, in the recent budget, the 'duty free allowance' for bringing stuff in from places outside the US was increased to a value of £1000, so as long as you're not going to be re-mortgaging your home to buy out the entire L-N stock, you should be ok.

Oooh is that true? I brought a Lee Valley medium shoulder plane back with me a couple of weeks ago. Had it delivered to friends where I was staying for a couple of days and just brought it back in checked baggage. Was well below the limit (about £85 iirc) so no problems with customs. Had I known about the change at the time there was plenty in Highland Hardware that I could have made up the difference with. As it was I picked up a Veritas poly-gauge for $10 in their clearance.

Andrew

 

[Anonymous]

OK, this article confirms the increase, but with the caveat (towards the bottom of the article) that it needs to be ratified by the EU, since the limit is set in European law...

[EDIT - and my previous post should, of course, have said 'from outside the EU', not the US!]

 

[Chris Knight]

Andy,

Before you go - post a query on the various USA boards asking for advice on places to visit.

Now we have a couple of LN retailers here in the UK ) Axminster and Tilgear, I would check their prices before you go - you may find there is a deal on and it isn't worth the hassle of purchasing abroad. Personally, I like being able to exchange faulty merchandise without problems (and that can occasionally even apply to LN stuff!) and so if the difference is not large, would rather buy here in the UK.

Also, given the size and weight of planes, consider reserving your shopping time/suitcase space for stuff you simply can't get anywhere here.

 

[AndyBoyd]

You can ask LN to deliver the goods to your hotel - OK this with your hotel first, saves finding what you want at the local supplier.

As stated previously you will have no problems with the customs

Andy

 

[AndyG]

Thanks all for your replies, very helpful.

Espedair Street: The new 'duty free allowance' sounds great, I wonder when it will get ratified though, think I'll check that one out.

waterhead37: A LN plane I bought from Axminster did actually need replacing (a missing lateral adjustment arm button), so I'll definitely keep your point in mind. I was kinda hoping that LN sending out faulty tools was a rarity!! As for the savings, just taking the prices from the LN website, then doing a conversion and comparing with Axminster (usually a bit cheaper than Tilgear) seems to be very much in favour of the buying abroad option.

Large Shoulder Plane $225 (From www.lie-nielsen.com)
£120.00 (using www.xe.com)
Axminster Price: £169.00
That's almost a £50 saving (not including any postage required)

AndyBoyd: That was my plan. I think most hotels will be happy with the arrangement. Although, it would be handy if I could find a keen woodworker amongst the conference organisers who wouldn't mind receiving the parcel, they would at least be able to check before-hand for problems.

So it all comes down to whether the savings is worth the potential hassle!! Well the trip is still a little way off...

 

[Jake]

This isn't going to affect your decision, but the fact that xe.com uses mid-market rates means that it is going to make the dollars look slightly cheaper than they will be for you to buy. Try http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic which offers typical cash or typical credit rates. Only a slight difference in the scheme of things, another fiver or so.