Anyone do this regularly? I want to buy a chain which would cost me double from a UK seller, so is there anything l need to watch out for? I have been on the customs duty calculator website which says l would have to pay £5 duty on a £25 chain, but that is without insurance. Should l be paying insurance on such an item? And will l get stung for anything else? Just want to make sure its worth the while.

Thanks,

Crapknees

Don’t forget VAT too – add another 20% for that.

I bought a KMC x10 sl from taiwan a couple of months ago. Was £26, came in a week, no duty, correct weight. Bargain.

Currently looking at some 2013 SRAM Red Shifters for £240. A lot cheaper than the 390 they are here. Thou more risk of duty on a higher valued item like this.

I bought a KMC x10 sl from taiwan a couple of months ago. Was £26, came in a week, no duty, correct weight. Bargain.

same here.

Same for me very happy

Thanks everyone – just placed an order for a KMC chain. We’ll see…

IIRC there is a minimum value before you have to pay import duty and VAT, bit like the personal allowance you get from duty free. Think it used to be ~£200 (I lived in the US in the nineties and used to ship cheap bike bits back to my brother).

More recently from far east ebayers Ive had NOS Fox shock (£60!) and wellgo mag pedals (~£50), never been charged any form of duty.

Recently purchased some HT pedals from Taiwan via eBay, quick delivery, well packaged, no tax or import duty.
Never get hit for duty on stuff from the Far East,Japan, but anything from the USA get you every time, however the D3 I ordered from Jenson still worked out £30 cheaper than CRC (full price not sale prices) at the time.

Couldn’t resist (and my 6 year old Force ones are mullered). Ordered some 2013 Red Shifters last night! Already got a dispatch email.

I’ve had x3 chains kmc gold , from the Far East, great service and v cheap, even paid £4 extra for 48hour tracked delivery with no problems

Same good experiences here. £24.99 gets you a KMC X-10SL in gold or silver from certian sellers in Taiwan including postage. Every link is stamped correctly, they weigh the right amount, function perfectly (several hundred km of use) and it arrived within a week! I am yet to be hit with extra charges ordering from the far east (touch wood!)

Red Shifters arrived in about 1 week. Picked them up from Parcelforce on Saturday as I had to pay £20 VAT (they declared the package as $50 i think).

Look legit, are the correct weight, come with all the cables etc, just without a retail box. About £260 all in (vs £390 at wiggle). Gonna fit them tonight!

Seller link, damit?

Bicycle_life like this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Sram-New-Red-2×10-Speed-Shifters-Brake-Levers-/190880301509?

They don’t seem to have any at the moment thou.

Ta, worth an add as a favourite seller.

I’ve ordered several X10SLs from Taiwanese sellers and have done the same checks about their legitimacy, seem perfect!

Never paid duty or owt either.

Sometimes takes a while for stuff to arrive but I’ve had mainly positive experiences. Still waiting for my current order to arrive though, got a nasty feeling ill be stung for duty.

I have had plenty of stuff from the far east the only thing I ever got hit on (Customs & taxes) was a watch which was a good few hundred quid(and marked as such on the customs form) but as they are not available over here it was factored in when I bought it.