>Sorry I did mean Jenson. Is there a way of finding out the tax and charges in advance? <
Sure – contact HMR&C 😉
From memory there’s info on the interweb re various import duty / tarrifs (by category) but it goes something like this:
$cost of goods + $shipping + $shippers handling fees for presenting Customs docs / using their deferment account > convert via HMRC exchange rate to £ then £duty on top of all off the aforementioned (circa 20% iirc) then VAT on top of all of the aforemntioned incl the duty – i.e a further 20%
Not so cheap now huh?
The chances of not getting stung, as you put it, on anything other than an envelope are pretty slim I’d say.
If you’ve got friends or family in the US who are prepared to stash gear in a bag and not declare it (per the example above) then you avoid (evade) all that. Warranty issues are the other factor – dont expect any support from the UK importers if your purchase fails.