Buying in the US from the UK

[Snapper_uk]

What's the experience that UK people have had buying new gear from the US? What tax and charges did you have to pay?

CameraQuest have some nice deals for new CV gear, especially with the free shipping offer for RFF members, but how 'nice' are those prices compared to UK prices once you've factored in the hidden charges when you import to the UK?

 

[thegman]

You're looking at paying import duty if you declare it (which you'll want to for the insured shipping). A lot of things still work out cheaper though. You'll pay the duty (same as VAT), and probably handling fees from FedEx or whoever you use.

I have found that I don't pay duty on things coming from Hong Kong, Taiwan etc. but your mileage may vary. With the Euro reasonably weak against Sterling, I've see some good deals in the EU, and you don't pay duty within the EU.

Cheers

Garry

 

[paulcurtis]

What's the experience that UK people have had buying new gear from the US? What tax and charges did you have to pay?

CameraQuest have some nice deals for new CV gear, especially with the free shipping offer for RFF members, but how 'nice' are those prices compared to UK prices once you've factored in the hidden charges when you import to the UK?

I've bought a couple of lenses from Stephen @ CameraQuest. First lens through no problem (12mm CV) and no duty/vat

Second lens (50 f1.1) was held up in customs, paid duty and vat (which i can claim back anyway)

In both cases service from Stephen was impeccable. But the duty/vat issue is obviously a bit of luck. Even so i still think it worked out cheaper than a locally sourced lens.

I didn't know about the free shipping though! 🙂

cheers
Paul

 

[d_c]

In my experience, anything you buy from outside the EU is subject to VAT at standard rates, with the carrier e.g. UPS / Royal Mail collecting this money on behalf of HMRC, along with a handling fee for the privelage, before they will release your package to you.

Items which are low value (below £18 I think) and classed as gifts don't attract duty, but retailers aren't generally willing to falsify the customs declarations on your behalf for fear of what customs officials might do to future shipments should this ruse be discovered.

As above, your mileage may vary.

 

[paulcurtis]

I would just add that you're much more likely to incur VAT charges via large courier services such as FedEx / DHL whereas the postal services between various countries are much more pot luck.

cheers
paul

 

[Austerby]

The above is consistent with my experience. It seems to depend on what the retailer puts on the customs declaration - eg "Camera Parts" or "Camera Lens".

I usually buy from the US if it's the right item at a good price, factoring in likely customs charges.

It's a bonus if they don't get charged, but they usually are.

Can recommend Stephen's services highly and his prices are competitive with domestic UK dealers even allowing for the import duties etc.

 

[Sparrow]

As I understand it the courier services UPS, DHL and the like all act as clearing agents, so they collect VAT on behalf of HMRC and add their own clearing charge to the invoice value.

If you lie and invoice at a reduced price then they collect less, but if it's lost in transit you can only claim the reduced price on the insurance

 

[Paul T.]

As I understand it the courier services UPS, DHL and the like all act as clearing agents, so they collect VAT on behalf of HMRC and add their own clearing charge to the invoice value.

If you lie and invoice at a reduced price then they collect less, but if it's lost in transit you can only claim the reduced price on the insurance

Although that's relevant to this discussion, this is not necessarily true. Depending on the Post Office you may declare a different Customs and Insurance value. Which is not unreasonable with, for instance, used items, which you might have found at a good price after months of trawling, but which would cost more to replace in a hurry.

As others have mentioned, most couriers are zealous about charging VAT, perhaps because they can slap an extra collection charge on top. USPS sends items via both Parcelforce and the Regular post office; the former always seem to charge VAT and handling, the latter don't do so quite as regularly.

 

[rxmd]

As others have mentioned, most couriers are zealous about charging VAT, perhaps because they can slap an extra collection charge on top.

No, it's because their zeal is part of their deal with the government that allows them to ship items to you directly, as opposed to having them lie around in a government customs warehouse. They can't really afford to become sloppy, otherwise the government will collect customs itself, which would put the carrier in question at a huge competitive disadvantage regarding delivery times. The collection charge is an extra bonus (but there is actually some work involved in collecting VAT and customs).

If you want to play the VAT gamble and sneak your parcel past customs, your only option is to send it with a national carrier so that the government has to look at it and may fail to do so.

 

[John Lawrence]

I haven't imported anything from the US for a few years, but from my past experience the items I did import ended up working out at pretty much the same price (or more) than the UK equivalent.

I've also noted that a few of the 'long time' UK Ebay sellers who used to buy and import camera gear from the US have stopped doing so over the past few years due to import / clearance charges making it no longer cost effective for them.

If you decide to go ahead, please keep us posted as to how you get on - it would be interesting to see what the current state of affairs is.

John

 

[Paul T.]

No, it's because their zeal is part of their deal with the government that allows them to ship items to you directly, as opposed to having them lie around in a government customs warehouse. They can't really afford to become sloppy, otherwise the government will collect customs itself, which would put the carrier in question at a huge competitive disadvantage regarding delivery times. The collection charge is an extra bonus (but there is actually some work involved in collecting VAT and customs).

It's a question of interpretation, but of course their zeal has commercial reasons. THey want both to whisk the items through quickly and collect their cash. That is why, for instance, they will charge VAT on books being sent to the UK, or for repaired items being returned, neither of which is subject to VAT. Though you can get the VAT back, you won't get the service charge back - unless you're prepared to dispute it and hold up a queue of 20-odd people (which I've now become hardened to).

 

[juno_lau]

I was in Northern Ireland for a while.
Whenever I bought things from US, the handling charge and VAT costed me like 1/5 to 1/4 of the product value...

so even if you get a bargain item from KEH, which will end up to be the same price as buying from Ebay UK 🙁

 

[paulcurtis]

This is all true, assuming the goods are the same basic price in the UK and US.

Quite often there are huge differences in costs though and then it can be worth it.

I saved well over £300 getting my CV 50 from cameraquest compared to locally sourced and that was including paying duty and VAT.

On the other hand my CV 35 f1.4 was pretty much the same here and the US so i got it locally.

There are also consolidation services in the states that will give you a US based address for companies to ship too (that normally wouldn't ship overseas) and the consolidator will ship them internationally. I was considering (still am) for lighting gear (film/video stuff) because the prices of some kit is 40% lower in the US.

cheers
paul