buying from the states

[slemishwoodcrafts]

Hi,

I know this comes up from time to time, but I was wondering about buying some products from the states and was wondering if anyone had any advice about what sites to use etc?

I was looking at rockler and was wondering how shipping and customs etc worked out.

Regards

Michael

 

[BMac]

Hi Michael,

I've bought woodturning stuff from USA and I've been very satisfied with service and the speed of delivery (5-6 days) but...you need to be careful. Whenever the customs declaration is done you will pay VAT on the value of the goods if more than a certain amount (I think it's $40 but maybe someone can help here please) and a handling charge from the carrier. Now, if the value of the package is, say, $100 you will pay VAT on £100, NOT the Sterling equivalent plus the handling charge from the carrier which can be £20 just to take the money off you when you go to pick up the package so that can make things expensive.

Some people suggest asking the vendor to undervalue the goods but most are unwilling to do this because it is illegal and if the package is opened and the goods are seen to be of greater value it can cause legal problems for the vendor.

Sometimes it's worth paying the extra to get something that's not available here, as in the times I've bought from USA, but if the same item can be got here it will usually be cheaper to buy here in the end.

Brendan

 

[Dibs-h]

Now, if the value of the package is, say, $100 you will pay VAT on £100, NOT the Sterling equivalent ...
Brendan

I'm not a lawyer or anything - but I would think that's illegal. Now if the exchange rate went the other way say below parity and $90 = £100, I can't see them charging you duty on £90, they'd want duty on the sterling conversion.

Having said that - I'm still of the firm belief that duty must (or is that should) be paid on the sterling equivalent.

But then again we already pay VAT on Fuel Duty - so must just be another - "drop your pants and bend over Sir."

 

[patl]

I've used rockler in the past and been very happy, mainly because they're willing to ship via the normal USPS rather than priority or courier. For some reason, USPS seems less likely to be hit by duty than the couriers as it ends up coming in via royal mail. But then again, although I'm more than happy to pay duty if necessary, I do always resent the disproportionately large fee the courier companies seem to charge for collecting it.

 

[Krysstel]

Eagle America were very helpful and prompt when I ordered some stuff from them a couple of months ago.

 

[Terry Smart]

I do always resent the disproportionately large fee the courier companies seem to charge for collecting it.

Whilst I agree with what you're saying here, it does seem hard to justify, but just to give a fuller picture...

As you say, this money is 'collected' for HMRC and isn't a perk or charge made by the carrier - they are acting as taxmen for HMRC as is everyone who charges VAT and they don't keep any of it.
The duty rate has to be looked up and calculated; different types of items have different rates of duty. If your parcel has more than one type of item different rates can apply to each item - for example brushes, smocks, chisels and timber which could all come from one supplier in one parcel could all have different duty rates - and you'd be surprised how precise some of the descriptions used are. The rates can also vary depending on country of origin.
Then, all of this information has to be entered and submitted to HMRC on a regular basis.

It might still be difficult to justify some of the charges made, but there is a fair amount of work going on behind the scenes to relieve you of your money!

 

[FogggyTown]

Now, if the value of the package is, say, $100 you will pay VAT on £100, NOT the Sterling equivalent ...
Brendan

I'm not a lawyer or anything - but I would think that's illegal. Now if the exchange rate went the other way say below parity and $90 = £100, I can't see them charging you duty on £90, they'd want duty on the sterling conversion.

Having said that - I'm still of the firm belief that duty must (or is that should) be paid on the sterling equivalent.

But then again we already pay VAT on Fuel Duty - so must just be another - "drop your pants and bend over Sir."

IIRC the VAT is based on what the item would sell for in the UK - even if it isn't available here! If you do a lot of comparisons between US and UK prices for identical items, you will not that GENERALLY what sells for, say, $100 in the States will sell for £100 (+/- a bit) in the UK.

 

[Terry Smart]

Ok, well, just for the hell of it I've checked with someone who knows (they do most of our customs clearances) and assuming the proper procedures are being followed...

value of the package is, say, $100 you will pay VAT on £100, NOT the Sterling equivalent

Sorry, this isn't the case. Can you imagine importing something from Japan where £100 is equivalent to 15,325 yen???
The duty rate is worked out on the sterling value, although customs have their own set of rates. I'd assume these follow standard rates quite closely but they might not change as regularly.

the VAT is based on what the item would sell for in the UK

This would be far too complicated to administer; the customs duty is calculated from the invoice value only, and does not take into account any prompt payment discounts or the like.

I hope that settles a few points

 

[miles_hot]

I really want to buy a router boss however the shipping costs are $200 which is rather off putting. That's before I've sorted the duty, VAT etc. God I wish they had a uk stockist so that I didn't have to worry about that sort of thing!

 

[Gary M]

Ok Things are becoming a bit foggy here.

You will pay Import duty on the value of your purchase IIRC around 3% for tools.

You will pay VAT on the Total cost Including shipping costs and Import duty

You will pay a handling fee to the courier or Royal mail (Royal mail being around £10 + VAT, they are the cheapest )

So if your item costs $100 and $50 to ship,
you will pay Import duty of around 3% on the sterling equivalent of $100.
Vat on the sterling equivalent of $150 + the Import duty
and the handling charge to the company who deliver it to your door.
As has been stated, customs have their own rates of exchange.

You may be lucky and have your item delivered to your door with no charge.
HTH

 

[BMac]

Terry,

Thank you for clearing that up. My recent experiences of paying VAT on packages from US has been that the duty charged reflected an assessment based on the Dollar value stated but it seems more likely now that the assessment of the value of the goods in UK mirrored the Dollar value which ties in with what Fogggytown was saying.

That is actually a relief because I was feeling a bit 'ripped off'.

Brendan

 

[Grinding One]

Sure glad I live here

 

[wizer]

Sure glad I live here

someone's got to be....

 

[Mooeee]

The handling fee charged by the post office/Parcel Force for imported goods is not to cover the time they take or to collect and deliver your parcel, but the fact that they have already paid the customs charges on your parcel before you get it (ITS AN ADMIN FEE TO COVER THE FACT THEY HAVE PAID YOUR DUTY), if they did not do that customs would not have released the parcel, which would make it difficult to get your bits and pieces delivered.

As for the duty charged they work on a £/$ conversion maybe not quite what you would get if you changed up your money, but they do not take what the current value of any goods at what it would cost you over here.

You have to bear in mind that with any orders that we get shipped as private customers we pay only about 3% import duty but companies have to pay a lot more in import duty and thus charge us more for the goods.

Any body buying from the States or any other country for that matter must make sure that they use a credit card with no interest charges on foreign transactions which can be as much as 3 % on the value of the goods and the shipping costs, but do also bear in mind that the credit card companies use the business rate for foreign transactions and not the rate you would get in a travel agent.

I have had loads of tools and machines shipped from the states and have never paid duty equivalent to £100.00 to a $100.00 conversion.

I have even had orders sent and arrived straight to my door from Lie-Nielsen valued at over $2000.00 with no import duty/Vat to pay.

If you can get a Router Boss shipped for only $200.00 shipping then I would jump at it and take the Import duty/vat on the chin as even if they had a dealer/supplier for the router boss here it would still cost three times as much to buy it and that would be with free delivery.