Can’t the customs men check frame numbers to see where they come from

They could…

I don’t work at an airport, but know a couple of people who do, and who see this kind of work going on. When it comes to customs, there are definite tiers of people that they’re interested in.
#1 is people smuggling budgies in their budgie-smugglers (or ocelots, terrapins, you name it)
#2 is people bringing industrial quantities of cigarettes, booze and the like, clearly for resale.
#3 is people bringing near stuff across from other countries, if it’s worth a few bob. A friend of a friend got stopped at Glasgae airport with his golf clubs – the HMRC guy astutely pointed out that these clubs were brand new and had never even touched the turf.
#4 is people with 1l more than they should of alcohol etc.

Common sense applies, really…

If I stopped by customs I’d just tell them I bought it used, for $100 dollars cash, how would they know?

I saw someone in MBA selling new 2009 Glorys, full bike for about $1400 – unreal

If I stopped by customs I’d just tell them I bought it used, for $100 dollars cash, how would they know?

Without evidence, you’ll pay duty on the retail price, and a penalty.

i bought my first mtb in teh states

got all panicky at customs and declared it

nice hmrc lady asked what i was did, said was a student and i spent the summer working with underprivaleged kids on a summer camp….. and she let me off the tax 😀

A friend of mine has done it a couple of times without incident, he normally goes on a riding holiday, pre-orders the new bike so he can pick it up on arrival and flies out with a £50 beater in his bike bag, dumps the beater where it will get pinched and then rides the new bike for a couple of weeks before coming home. He has admitted some moral qualms but the cost saving is enormous on the boutique brands he favours.

Now I think about it , many moons ago I brought a bike I bought in Australia home with no problems.

Some great tips here. Just wondering if anyone has any advice on the best way to go about benefits or insurance fraud as well?

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on the best way to go about benefits or insurance fraud as well?

Yep, absolutely. First of all you have to be a b*st*rd, then you basically steal from the underprivileged and underpaid of society – a lot like buying a bike, really.

Some great tips here. Just wondering if anyone has any advice on the best way to go about benefits or insurance fraud as well?

If you want some advice on straight-up theft to go with it then I’d suggest buying a powerlink from my LBS 🙂

That jersey link is interesting – does vat apply to goods imported from the channel islands then?

How about… Pre-order it, get the guy in the shop to use it in some filth, take some components off and post them then stick on some worn out stuff off your old bike. Tyres etc.

Make sure you buy a last years model bike that’s reduced. Find someone who has got one in the uk and get some photos of you on it and then use that to prove you already owned it. Things like using a well travelled bike bag will help.

Also, how about paying a few bucks to enter an enduro that may be on when your there. You went there to ride then not shop. Oh yeah, don’t fill a second suitcase with Levi’s and Abercrombie to add to the pisstake

ZippyKona

Can’t the customs men check frame numbers to see where they come from?
Or is this HMRC induced paranoia?
They do seem to know a lot. Used to follow Fields Of The Nephilim around Europe. Coming through customs I was stopped and asked how the tour went.
I looked quite normal as well.

I used to work with a guy who played keyboards for them back in the day.

I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if I travelled to the US regularly.

The good old STW holier than thee clan. God bless them. 🙄
Such purity of mind. Oh to be of that hallowed kin.

I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if I travelled to the US regularly.

The good old STW holier than thee clan. God bless them.
Such purity of mind. Oh to be of that hallowed kin.

I’m not remotely holier than though – I just think the massive double standards on this forum are ‘interesting’.

I have no double standards. I believe it is our duty to steal from the government (or the underprivileged masses as some like to call them) at every opportunity. Otherwise they’ll just start taking the piss.

I believe it is our duty to steal from the government

Because the government having no money is doing wonders for our country. If only I’d known that tax avoidance was morally acceptable I’d have avoided paying my bill.

So is blagging on the C2W scheme < smuggling a bike in from the USA in the STW indigence at middle class crime stakes?

Because the government having no money is doing wonders for our country.

Yes, I believe I am far more responsible with money than the government. They can have it back when they’ve shown me they can look after it.

Stepping aside from the arguments, and back to practicalities….. 🙂
Here you go…
Duty Calculator….

Might have been mentioned above but, full bikes attract more import duty than components and the duty + vat you pay is on your total purchase price – including shipping costs, local taxes etc…..

Use it to calculate what you will be declaring and therefore paying to HMRC.

or, use it to calculate what it will cost you (+ arguably a ‘proper bollocking’*) if your ‘below the radar’ consignment gets caught on the radar…..

*I believe this is the official HMRC terminology 😉

Happy shopping..

you of course find a particularly capacious female ‘mule’ and stow a couple of a Parlee frames within her person… let someone else take the risk.

that’s how i would do it.

Might have been mentioned above but, full bikes attract more import duty than components and the duty + vat you pay is on your total purchase price – including shipping costs, local taxes etc….

so buying a bike in ths ates and dismantling it, leaving 1 component so that it’s not a complete bike, and then smuggling back in will help if you get caught by the fuzz.

Anyone know where I can get some apollo decals?

Are you less likely to get customs attention at a regional airport? Mrs Doubleu and I came back from North America after she’d had a year out there with 5 suitcases, a bike I’d bought and a 9 month old iMac in its original packaging and a load of bubble wrap.

I think that time it was a change in Amsterdam, but in the past also changing via Heathrow and not had any interest in a complete new (but used on holiday) snowboard setup.