eBay purchase from America.

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Darrell

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As per the title,
I’ve been nosing at some cycle parts on eBay USA where there are some good prices. Question is... do I have to pay some sort of import duty, tax or whatever? Or is a simple case of the seller putting it in a bicycle and sending it off.

Cheers.
 
We’ve bought a fair few things from USA via eBay. What we’ve found is the post office or courier hold the parcel at their base and post a card out to you listing the import tax required. You phone up and pay the fee. The parcel is then delivered next day.
Hope that helps.
 
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We’ve bought a fair few things from USA via eBay. What we’ve found is the post office or courier hold the parcel at their base and post a card out to you listing the import tax required. You phone up and pay the fee. The parcel is then delivered next day.
Hope that helps.
Thanks. How do they work out the import tax and will the tax and postal charge work out the same as if purchased in the UK?
 
We’ve bought a fair few things from USA via eBay. What we’ve found is the post office or courier hold the parcel at their base and post a card out to you listing the import tax required. You phone up and pay the fee. The parcel is then delivered next day.
Hope that helps.
As above.

And you can also pay online.
 
Some eBay items are sold through a "Global Shipping Programme" which includes import duty... I have found that this is very efficient, only taking 2-3 days from the USA.

Otherwise, depending on the carrier used, you may have to pay an administration fee (£10 IIRC) on top of the import duty, and a longer wait can be involved.
 
Thanks. How do they work out the import tax and will the tax and postal charge work out the same as if purchased in the UK?
The kicker is that you pay import duty (and VAT) on both the declared value of the goods and the shipping charges. And then the UK delivery agent will charge you for doing the Customs clearance too.

Generally, this makes it pretty expensive to import low value goods, although sometimes they slip through without any fees.
 
The kicker is that you pay import duty (and VAT) on both the declared value of the goods and the shipping charges. And then the UK delivery agent will charge you for doing the Customs clearance too.

Generally, this makes it pretty expensive to import low value goods, although sometimes they slip through without any fees.
I suppose if it was a chance to save loads of money and get a deal then everybody would be doing it.
 
I’ve bought a number of watches from Singapore, didn’t pay taxes for years but have done on the last few.
I understand that some couriers are less picky than others, is there a cycling forum that might have more experience?
 
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I’ve bought a number of watches from Singapore, didn’t pay taxes for years but have done on the last few.
I understand that some couriers are less picky than others, is there a cycling forum that might have more experience?
Never thought of that. Cheers.
 
As per the title,
I’ve been nosing at some cycle parts on eBay USA where there are some good prices. Question is... do I have to pay some sort of import duty, tax or whatever? Or is a simple case of the seller putting it in a bicycle and sending it off.

Cheers.
It can be hit and miss .

Sometimes sellers will quote a price including shipping and import duties .

Sometimes you are asked to pay ( certain items don’t attract duties , then there can be thresholds below which you don’t pay ) .

Then sometimes HMRC or Post Office just don’t seem to bother .

I’ve only ever had to pay a couple of times out of many things purchased.

Of course, once Brexit takes hold we may find the same with things we currently buy freely from Europe. And shipping from Europe is currently very cheap , unlike shipping from USA which can be extortionate.
 
The kicker is that you pay import duty (and VAT) on both the declared value of the goods and the shipping charges. And then the UK delivery agent will charge you for doing the Customs clearance too.

Generally, this makes it pretty expensive to import low value goods, although sometimes they slip through without any fees.
The other thing is that the USA doesn’t have the consumer protection laws that we enjoy in the EU , so if your 3 year old TV ( or gear set ) from the USA packs in forget it .
 
I have looked into getting cycling bits - even a full bike - when in the US or Canada. It never made financial sense even bringing it back myself. The UK market is so competitive that even though the retail price may be much less in north America the final purchase price is nearly always more.
 
Do you know anyone in the USA that you could get it delivered to who could then bring it over here on their next visit,if so you would avoid the tax.
 
A £15 book from Canada cost the same again in carriage.

There are guys who fill shipping containers to order - usually USA car and motorcycle - complete bikes and parts for both. If you can align yourself with one of them. The custom car scene in the UK will have one they use I'll wager.
 
Of course there is an element of luck but my experience has been that just about anything from the US (even small jiffy bags) has been hit for VAT/duty/handling charge. In contrast stuff I get from China always sails through ... even biggish boxes and higher value items. I suspect a lot is down to the carrier used - companies like DHL and UPS seem quite zealous in getting customs involved ... I guess because they make decent money on the 'handling fee' they charge you for collecting the duty/tax and passing it on to the authorities.
 
Foreign sellers tend to learn what works for their clients, watches from the far East used to be marked as 'measuring equipment' which meant no import tax for some reason although that avenue seems to be closed now.
 
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Just purchased a watch form the good old U.S of A and ended up paying £850 import tax which was a little more than I had calculated it to be. I was charged the on sale price for the watch, not the price I actually paid (I got an extra 10% off the sale price) but it was still a bargain compared to what I could buy the watch for in the U.K.
 
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Just purchased a watch form the good old U.S of A and ended up paying £850 import tax which was a little more than I had calculated it to be. I was charged the on sale price for the watch, not the price I actually paid (I got an extra 10% off the sale price) but it was still a bargain compared to what I could buy the watch for in the U.K.
I could have went to the US and collected it for that much!
 

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