So can someone tell me what sort of VAT/import duty i could expect to pay on one of these ebay frames?

Stim

The modulus of the fibre doesnt necessarily have anything to do with strength, it means the fibre reaches its yield point at a lower strain. Yes resin to fibre ratio is important, but if the product is made from several autoclaved sections it probably has a reasonable fibre content. Going from the factory photos ive seen some of these frames are constructed in this way. QC, well thats all speculation, do your own, do a massive drop on your frame and see if it breaks!

Chinese stuff is usually sold in MOQ of 100s, check out alibaba. They probably sell small orders because there so mnuch mark up on bikes in the uk and there is a demand for it. I have bought sample quantities of bike parts from taiwan, the MOQ on most parts was 100.

As for import duty. it depends on how savvy the seller is. If they dont declare the value honestly then none. If they decalre it (and your item is insured forn that) then assume 20% plus £15 for parcelforce handling fee.

Also, another thing on VAT/import duty. I recently imported a cyclocross frameset from china, I asked him to declare a reasonable value. If you decalre a too low value customs may pick up on it and quiz the seller, or seize the item, or stamp on what duty they think is fair. I heard of one guy importing a frame and customs decided it was a complete bike and charged 30% import duty on it.

If there is a small margin between buying it in the Europe and from china, i would get it from Europe and not take the risk.

I am looking at a cyclo cross frame as well , disc only .

would it be worth doing a group order to see if we can get a better deal ?

So can someone tell me what sort of VAT/import duty i could expect to pay on one of these ebay frames?

I didn’t pay a penny on my MTB frame.

Has a comparison with brand name frames been done?

Any owners seem to say”I got one and it’s been fine” which tells you pretty much **** all.

If you are looking at bulk order then, ill be at the national trophy series with the disc frame ive bought. If someone is there with a dirty disco a comparison could be done, as i think it is the same frame.

also in reply to some comments about quality. Photos can be useful. I read a comment from someone who works in high quality carbon manufacture, who noted from photos, that the the way in which the cloth had been laid wasnt particularly careful.