Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: MrBump on March 31, 2008, 03:30:25 PM
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Does anyone (from the UK) ever buy stuff in dollars i.e. from the states? How does that work? Do you need to pay added tax or anything?
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I buy stuff from the States all the time. If you pay by PayPal it even tells you the exchange rate as you make the payment.
There's no additional (US) tax to pay. But if you're importing something worth more than £18 (and it says the real value on the Customs declaration), you'll have to pay VAT and possibly import duty.
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I've bought tons of stuff from America, mainly because it's cheaper - as above, there's no extra tax on smaller things (some pedals, pickups, etc...) but if you order heavier items (large pedals like wahs, pedalboards, guitars, amps...) then you'll have import duty to pay too and that's dependent on the weight so heavier item = eeeeeek!
I very often find that even when buying from America + shipping + import duty can still work out cheaper than buying here.
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Hmm. I don't suppose you would know how much tax, etc. is added? So you can't really know if it's cheaper before actually buying it?
EDIT: Oh, nevermind. Found a thing on HMRC.
Another EDIT: Which didn't really help seeing as I can hardly understand what they're saying.
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Theres VAT (17.5%)
UK duty. not sure how much this is, but you want to add an extra 25% for all customs charges, shipping fee is also taxed
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Jonny, the amount of tax etc when importing into the UK goes like this:
VAT 17.5%
Import Duty 3%
............. = 20.5%
In addition you'll need to factor in shipping, which can vary greatly between $100 - $200.
Also you may have to pay broker fees of about £10, for storing the item.
So, take a guitar costing $1,000 that you have seen in the US.
The total you could end up paying can be broken down like this:
$1000 - VAT 17.5%
= $1,175
$1,175 - Customs Duty 3%
= $1210.25
Shipping - $150 (for example)
= $1360.25
Broker fee - $20
Total - $1,380.25
Your guitar has went from $1,000 to $1,380, which although quite a bit more may still be worth doing.
Hope that helps.
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Machinehead, you're the best! :D
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Machinehead, you're the best! :D
If only that were true .... :wink:
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Machinehead, you're the best! :D
If only that were true .... :wink:
Well you have to start somewhere. :P
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watch out for admin charges as well - these vary quite a bit
Royal mail and parcel force = £8, but it gets bumped up to £13.50 if you get the parcel with an express service
DHL's is £10 (or 2%) for businesses and £1.25 (or 2%) for individuals
not sure about all the others but if you are purchasing small value items with express delivery its worth getting it sent DHL rather than USPS express (which willend up with parcel force). Not only that but DHL will deliver first and invoice at the end of the month, bad if you dont know its coming but actually quite usefull as they concentrate on delivering the parcel. Parcel force will attempt one delivery, if you miss it they will send you the bill to pay before delivering the parcel - or even letting you know they tried to deliver the parcel.
These are the charges delivery companies add on to the price of postage for delivering your parcel . DHL's £1.25 seems fair for the little extra admin they have to do but i am not sure how parcelforce justify their £13.50???
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i got a dvd from the states which cost £22, royal mail helpfully charged me another £12! it's weird though, sometimes they charge you, sometimes they don't. the strangest was a guitar, i was expecting a fairly substantial bill but got charged nothing!
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Whoa, very informative!
Thanks, chaps.
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Jonny, the amount of tax etc when importing into the UK goes like this:
VAT 17.5%
Import Duty 3%
............. = 20.5%
In addition you'll need to factor in shipping, which can vary greatly between $100 - $200.
Also you may have to pay broker fees of about £10, for storing the item.
So, take a guitar costing $1,000 that you have seen in the US.
The total you could end up paying can be broken down like this:
$1000 - VAT 17.5%
= $1,175
$1,175 - Customs Duty 3%
= $1210.25
Shipping - $150 (for example)
= $1360.25
Broker fee - $20
Total - $1,380.25
Your guitar has went from $1,000 to $1,380, which although quite a bit more may still be worth doing.
Hope that helps.
Sorry but that's not right.
VAT is added on at the end after all the freight and duty charges. Makes it easier and more fruitful for the tax man.
Additionally import duty is not based on weight as in a previous post. Some items which are very light have a very high duty tariff. Import duty is based on the item. Everything which is imported has a different level of import duty levied upon it. These duty rates are found in a massive book also on-line which is known as the customs duty tariff.
Hope this helps
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Sorry but that's not right.
VAT is added on at the end after all the freight and duty charges. Makes it easier and more fruitful for the tax man.
Additionally import duty is not based on weight as in a previous post. Some items which are very light have a very high duty tariff. Import duty is based on the item. Everything which is imported has a different level of import duty levied upon it. These duty rates are found in a massive book also on-line which is known as the customs duty tariff.
Hope this helps
You are completely correct in saying import duty isn't based on weight, and that duty rates can vary (although a decent rough guide is VAT at 17.5% plus import duty of around 9%).
However, in my experience of having stuff shipped from the USA, I've only ever paid import tax and VAT on the value of the item - I've never been taxed for the shipping. Package sizes have varied from DVDs right up to a guitar body and neck from Warmoth.
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The only thing that I got nailed on was some spare parts from my gas BBQ - cost me as much as the BBQ did in the first place!! I've bought loads of guitar parts and never been charged a penny.
I'm looking at a guitar on EVIL BAY from the USA at the moment - shipping is being quoted at a tad over $100 - let's call it £60 and then I am assuming the 3% duty plus the 17.5% VAT on the landed cost (price plus shipping) - we'll see - got to win the bid first!
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Just to clear up any confusion, the customs duty for a guitar import is given as between 3.2 and 3.7%. Slightly higher than the 3% I gave earlier - soz :oops:
A full list of item custom duties is contained in this link.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_PROD_009989&propertyType=document
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thanks for that.
I can assure you all that VAT is added right at the very end, let's just say you'll have to trust me on that one.
If you want a rule of thumb which is worst case, generally and NOT in every case, you should use 25% as a total adder it's not usually far out to get a guitar in from the USA.
EG
Guitar cost in US £1000 ( $2000 roughly converted in GBP)
add 25% and you woun't be a million miles out at your landed cost. In this case it would be close to £1250 in your hand, nothing more to pay.
hope this helps
The thing with the US is the greater choice of things.
Japan was great as a target to import things when the yen was at 240 earlier in the year but now it's got a lot stronger the edge has come off, its below 200 at the mo
all the best
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sorry forgot this bit which is the part which explains that VAT is added to goods and SERVICES eg freight,
got to make a living some how! To pay for all the guitars
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thanks for that.
I can assure you all that VAT is added right at the very end, let's just say you'll have to trust me on that one.
If you want a rule of thumb which is worst case, generally and NOT in every case, you should use 25% as a total adder it's not usually far out to get a guitar in from the USA.
EG
Guitar cost in US £1000 ( $2000 roughly converted in GBP)
add 25% and you woun't be a million miles out at your landed cost. In this case it would be close to £1250 in your hand, nothing more to pay.
hope this helps
The thing with the US is the greater choice of things.
Japan was great as a target to import things when the yen was at 240 earlier in the year but now it's got a lot stronger the edge has come off, its below 200 at the mo
all the best
My sums don't get that figure. Mine is a fair bit more and I'm hoping you can show me where I'm going wrong.
Seriously, this isn't a 'your wrong - I'm right' post at all. I want it to be the lower figure you have.
Anyway, my calculations go like this;
Guitar - $1,000
+ shipping - $150 (average price for US to UK)
= $1,150
Add customs duty (take the highest given rate of 3.7%)
$1,150 x 3.7%
= $1,184.50
Then add VAT (17.5%) to the total, as you describe
$1,184.50 x 17.5%
= $1,391.78
Add in any broker fees and storage and the final figure will be just over $1,400.
That comes to about 40% over the original price of the guitar. Obviously the variables are the shipping cost and the actual amount of customs duty.
Even with a lower shipping cost of $100 and the lowest customs duty of 3.2%, I still make it around $1,345 in total for a $1,000 guitar (34.5%).
Please tell me I'm talking out of my backside here :D
If it's the figure you've worked out, I'll seriously consider buying a few guitars from the US.
Again .. this is not a flame post.
Cheers
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With that it seems that even with the exchange rate at 2:1, you pay £700 for a £1000 guitar.
Worth it to some extent, but I'd rather pass :x
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My sums don't get that figure. Mine is a fair bit more and I'm hoping you can show me where I'm going wrong.
£1000 including shipping I presume
and they way things have gone with me, shipping is taxed
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thanks for that.
I can assure you all that VAT is added right at the very end, let's just say you'll have to trust me on that one.
If you want a rule of thumb which is worst case, generally and NOT in every case, you should use 25% as a total adder it's not usually far out to get a guitar in from the USA.
EG
Guitar cost in US £1000 ( $2000 roughly converted in GBP)
add 25% and you woun't be a million miles out at your landed cost. In this case it would be close to £1250 in your hand, nothing more to pay.
hope this helps
The thing with the US is the greater choice of things.
Japan was great as a target to import things when the yen was at 240 earlier in the year but now it's got a lot stronger the edge has come off, its below 200 at the mo
all the best
My sums don't get that figure. Mine is a fair bit more and I'm hoping you can show me where I'm going wrong.
Seriously, this isn't a 'your wrong - I'm right' post at all. I want it to be the lower figure you have.
Anyway, my calculations go like this;
Guitar - $1,000
+ shipping - $150 (average price for US to UK)
= $1,150
Add customs duty (take the highest given rate of 3.7%)
$1,150 x 3.7%
= $1,184.50
Then add VAT (17.5%) to the total, as you describe
$1,184.50 x 17.5%
= $1,391.78
Add in any broker fees and storage and the final figure will be just over $1,400.
That comes to about 40% over the original price of the guitar. Obviously the variables are the shipping cost and the actual amount of customs duty.
Even with a lower shipping cost of $100 and the lowest customs duty of 3.2%, I still make it around $1,345 in total for a $1,000 guitar (34.5%).
Please tell me I'm talking out of my backside here :D
If it's the figure you've worked out, I'll seriously consider buying a few guitars from the US.
Again .. this is not a flame post.
Cheers
Oh now you've blown my theory to the wife I'm in big trouble.
You are of course smack on, By the way this is healthy discussion. I was away with the fairies this pm, the figure is 40%
Many apologies for my misleading post
Yours Humbly
:oops:
better get myself back to Lesbania
Sorry meant to add I didn't think it was a flame , taken in good heart
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So from the first post of this page. To the one above me. My hopes have been shattered to a billion pieces into the Atlantic Ocean.
It's can be illustrated thusly:
:? :o :D :o :cry:
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Hi Jonny,
Don't give up there are still savings to be had and a much better choice of guitars, have a look at someone like Marks Guitar loft if you're ever after a great Gibson Historic, he always has some real nice ones, gives great honest descriptions and can be trusted, he packs then really well as well
good hunting, sorry I have put a smile in there and driven it to a frown!
many apologies :oops:
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I dunno Jonny.
Now that I know exactly how much more a guitar from the States can cost, it makes me more confident on bidding on US auctions that have 'bargain' status.
Plus, there's always the chance that Customs will miss your guitar .... :wink:
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I am still watching one.... will let you all know how it goes! Or doesn't!
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Plus, there's always the chance that Customs will miss your guitar .... :wink:
Doesn't happen often... a set of tuners or a couple of pickups will frequently sneak through, but guitars rarely avoid the inspectors' "eagle" eyes. :(
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Phil - as one Taff to another you could at least maintain an air of optimism until HMRC nail me! (Or whatever they are called these days)
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Mike, I apologise, fingers crossed for you. :wink:
(And we never did mention that Six Nations, did we...?)
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Phil..
Well - first part of the plan worked - I have just to flog the Yam SG500B that I bought last week now - here is the object of my affection - well, this week anyway
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330223406983
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I got an MI Audio Crunch Box from america for about £50 if I remember correctly. Had to pay £25 for parcelforce to deliver it which I thought was a bit much but still a fairly good price for a great pedal so it was worth it in the end.
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Well - first part of the plan worked - I have just to flog the Yam SG500B that I bought last week now - here is the object of my affection - well, this week anyway
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330223406983
I don't know much about Ibanez guitars, but it certainly looks nice! :D
At that price, I reckon your import charges are only going to be about £75 - not too bad, especially if you get a decent amount for the Yamaha?
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We will see!! - Take some photos this weekend and get it on eBay asap!
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Well - first part of the plan worked - I have just to flog the Yam SG500B that I bought last week now - here is the object of my affection - well, this week anyway
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330223406983
I don't know much about Ibanez guitars, but it certainly looks nice! :D
At that price, I reckon your import charges are only going to be about £75 - not too bad, especially if you get a decent amount for the Yamaha?
It looks gorgeous!!!
And the neck isn't a wizard - I wonder if its actually playable :O
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I hope so - but my name is not Harry Potter, so the wizard thing might not be as important..... :lol: