Your Own US Address

[Mike.C]

Has anyone come across this sort of company before? http://www.mailforwarding.biz/

Could having a US address to send your purchase too, have any real benifit?

One small way that we might benifit is with American Woodworking magazines. I don't know if you have noticed, but quite often these mag's offer a 'Pay For 12 Months Get The Second 12 Months Free', if you take out a subscription with them. But you then find out that this offer is only for US and Canadian Citizens, so the US address could help you here. On the other hand after you paid their fee's, would it be worth it?

Then there could be some pitfalls such as:
Some American states, if not all, charge taxes (a bit like our VAT), and that normally if we buy something over the net, from say Lee Valley, and have it sent directly to the UK, we do not pay any of these US taxes, but if we had it sent direct to a US address, would'nt we have to pay their taxes and then our own 17 1/2% when it landed at our shores?

In the cold light of day, are there any real benifits?

Cheers

Mike

Modedit: Moved to General Chat

 

[SketchUp Guru]

I wish I'd thought of setting up a service like that.

Mike, there are a few states which don't charge sales tax. In those that do, residents who make mail order or internet purchases are supposed to report that and pay sales tax however at this point it doesn't happen very often. It is currently difficult if not impossible to enforce. I have heard rumblings that states are realizing the huge loss in sales tax dollars due to Internet sales and they are trying to figure out how they can collect.

I expect in the next few years we'll see the online retailers being required to collect state sales tax from all sales and then pay the states. At this point the only time a retailer seems to collect sales tax is if the shipping or billing address (I'm not sure which it is if they are different) is located in the same state as the seller.

I think in the long run having a US address would end up costing you more money. I expect it would be a bit like those cheque cashing places around here. They'll cash it but exact a percentage of the amount--maybe 15 or 20 percent for the service. Those who do not have a bank account tend to use these services since banks won't do it unless you have an account with funds in it with them.

Now as far as magazines go--suppose someone--I'm not saying who--was to split the subscription cost with someone in the US and the magazines were sent to the US address first, read and then forwarded on to the UK? Would the UK resident get charged VAT for a used magazine?

 

[devonwoody]

We can get stuff in under £18 (around $30) after that its £13 plus charge and then 17 1/2% vat,
So one magazine at a time sounds feasible.

 

[Nick W]

Dave,

Second-hand magazines :!: You'll be buying used tools next :wink:

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Nick, that'll work out fine if I don't have to forward them on until I'm finished using them.

 

[MikeW]

I know Woodworking magazines like print versions, but other publishers like programming journals have successfully converted part of their subscribers to PDF format. That would be my suggestion for them. Make a downloadable PDF subscription available.

But that may be moot, at least for PopWood. Seems many international subscribers got theirs this issue before I got mine--it arrived yesterday.

Depending on how their fulfillment centers were instructed to distribute the magazines would go a long way to alleviate the problem for international subscribers.

As for other goods, I can't imagine there would really be a savings using a US-based address unless one was purchasing very regularly. As well, there seems there would be an extra lag-time between initial purchase, the US mail forwarding business' processing and forwarding it along.

Oregon, the US state I live in, doesn't have sales tax. If there is a mail forwarding business here that at least would get around the additional sales tax.

Take care, Mike

 

[Mike.C]

Dave, Mike W, i do not know if all companies are the same, but i just found out below, that Rockler will only take sales tax on orders going to Minnesota, and not any other state. So as the address you are given is in California, we will not have to pay any of their taxes. http://www.rockler.com/faq_ordering.cfm#SalesTax

Cheers

Mike

 

[RogerS]

Couple of other wrinkles to consider..

Some sites (OK - s/w sites as far as I can remember) now flag up and charge VAT for downloads if you are EU resident. Not sure if any other online stores are sufficiently clued up in this direction.

I have had some instances when orders have been refused as the computer system reakises that I am charging with a UK credit card and this overrides any delivery address...so no order accepted.

I do like the concept however

 

[Mike.C]

So this is where it has gone, Cheers mods.

Mike