Im thinking of buying a rear shock from Canada and wondered if anybody had done something similar and what to expect the duty will be should it be discovered?
Am i correct in thinking its VAT and an £8 handling fee?
The price is $250 Canadian Dollars

Cheers

I’m sure someone will give you a better answer….but importing stuff is a bit of a lottery as to whether you get hit for VAT and DUTY etc.
As a guestimate I would factor in +20% of the sale and shipping price added together.
But you might get lucky….I have known people to import frames and not get hit.

The handling fee depends on what company delivers it. I think it about £8 for Royal Mail, other couriers might be more (£13 or so for Parcelforce I think).

everytime i’ve been stung for import duty its been around %20 of total price of item and shipping. Ask them to ship it as a gift.

Gift only works if the value is marked as under £30

Get them to mark it “warranty replacement”

Works everytime – had LOADS of stuff this way import duty free.

Thanks for that guys, good idea “warranty replacement”, will see what the folk im buying from have to say.

i recently bought a fox fork from the USA for about £312 and was charged £13.20 for import duty, VAT was £55.53 and the parcelforce clearance fee was £8

17.5% VAT………!

Works everytime – had LOADS of stuff this way import duty free.

Got any tips on benefit fraud too? 😛

My brother in law bought a $70 bearing kit for his Turner DHR direct from Turner. The $70 included postage. He has just had a £15 bill for import duty that was paid by the courier on his behalf.
Based on that, you could pay as much as 20% on import duty so factor that in Vs buying in Britain.

I imported my frame, i’d done all the calculations using HRH website and even if i got taxed to high heaven i’d still get the frame cheaper than here. There are grounds for appeal though if you are over taxed.

I was taxed and charged appropriately but the “handling fee” (thanks parcel force) seems a complete lottery. I think the key as far as customs is concerned is if it is a full bike then you are charged more than if it’s bike parts.

But to be honest, if we are wanting to boost the economy… then maybe its best to spend in the UK?