[Closed] Buying from the states. (again)

650 + shipping/clearing charge = guess 700 at point of import
duty 4% = 728 + vat = 874
assuming you get charged duty at correct rate

There will be some sort of handling charge on top of that £874 too. call it £900.

And then factor in the cost/hassle of any warranty issues.

What brand is it? you will struggle to get dealers to post Santa Cruz and the like to the UK.

Yeah a Superlight 29. Got friends in US. Is there vat if its second hand? My friend will have bought it and flogged it to me.
A £200 saving is not insubstantial.

There's VAT if it's the first time it's being imported.

Open packaging, cover in mud, repackage, put a lower value on the customs declaration.
duty and VAT still apply, but at lower value

I bought an unusual frame from the US a few months ago...the postage was more than £150 + VAT. If it was something I could have bought over here in the UK, I wouldn't have bothered.

Why pay tax at all if your pal is sending it? just have it sent as gift or warranty replacement, or just put a tiny value on it.

Why pay tax at all if your pal is sending it? just have it sent as gift or warranty replacement, or just put a tiny value on it.

Because then, when it gets recognised as actually a high value item and nicked en route, he's lost the lot since there will be no carrier insurance.

Why pay tax at all

If we all went that route, where would that leave us?

Greece

get yourself a budget flight over there, carrying a big box full of your bike bits. Then build up the frame, go riding with your mate and bring it back into the country covered in mud for no additional cost.

Granted the flight will cost a bit, but I'll bet less than the cost of the tax, plus you'll get a holiday out of it. Better than it going in the tax mans pocket IMO.

Send it with a reputable courier and you will fine, FedEx Poo-ps ect, I buy stuff from all over the world and have for years, I have never had a problem.
Greece lol? Not quite the same is it.