Buying from the USA

wickwhistle

wickwhistle

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Lucy
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Now, I get the principles of "you get what you pay for" but I just this second found a US website selling a Canon nifty for £34.50 INCLUDING postage :thinking: This is a well known, well used and well regarded purchasing site so it isn't as if it's gonna be some geek in a shed knocking off kit....

Due to the pound being very strong at the mo this is a freakin steal! They have loads of other stuff too that I wouldn't mind a piece of! :LOL:

Now, as I'm totally green around the gills when it comes to buying photography kit, any advice/thoughts/opinions whether or not to proceed would be very welcome.

Thank you :)
 
Just make sure they send it as a gift and don't send too much at once. There is I believe a 300gbp limit on photography equipment coming through without paying customs (although that was on a plane so I don't know about by post). And just know that if you do end up paying the tax man it will be a fair bit! I surely wish I still made pounds about now with as weak as the dollar is. The Canadians are coming over by the bus load to buy stuff and it used to be the other way around!
 
Hmmm yes good point about the tax, didn't think of that. Thanks!

My hubby is earning in dollars at the moment and it's crippling us :(
 
The valuation limit for items coming in is £ 18.00.

Anything over that and there is the possibility of import duty (at the rate which depends on the contents), VAT at 17.5% and a handling fee.

Marking it as a gift is no guarantee of avoiding duty or tax either. Duty still applies on everything over £ 18 coming into the UK.

You could ask the seller to de-value the item, but that is techincally fraud, and if it gets damaged in transit and you try and claim on any insurance, people may query why you valued a £ 100 item at £ 15.
 
Replace the word 'avoiding' with 'evading' in andrewc's reply above. Even if you don't get charged automatically, it's your legal responsiblity to pay the duty.
 
In practice, if it's not too high a price, (don't ask how high as it varies from sorting office to sorting office) they tend not to bother with duty or VAT.
I have had "stuff" through to a value of £190 or so without charge and have been charged on £26. Pot luck it seems.
As has been said before, marking as a gift seems to help. I think also "yacht spares" may also be exempt.
Back to the 50.... Should get through OK! :LOL:
 
Interesting folks. Thanks.
 
You might find that the postage only applies to the US.
 
It will still probably be cheaper even with the import tax and postage added because, like you said, the strength of the pound at the moment.
I bought a "Lens-Coat" directly from them in the US, and even with the duty added it was still half the price of buying the exact same one from Warehouse Express.
 
IMHO and experience it's about as hit and miss as walking through customs. Some they stop some they don't, though I'd say post was on a higher scale of stoppages.

I have bought many things from the USA, and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. If it's that much of a bargain, it's worth the gamble. If it's not then don't bother.
 
what was the site you were buying from?
 
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