Anyone know what would I end paying in total if I bought electronics costing $299 (£216)? ta

jamiep wrote:Anyone know what would I end paying in total if I bought electronics costing $299 (£216)? ta

This link https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad should tell you. From the second page on there, anything over £135 attracts a customs duty of 2.5%, then you add VAT to the new total then there's whatever courier tax gets applied. So using £216 you'd pay £49.68 in duty and VAT plus whatever the courier wants to charge.

Edit: It's not the customs duty that's the problem it's the VAT and courier tax that adds up.

Import fees + vat + ‘handling fee’ basically they bend over, my guess is roughly 25% on top

does this link work (? maybe it won't), the Hammerhead GPS. Or just get a Wahoo...
https://www.hammerhead.io/products/hamm ... 70626a11b5

Have you spotted this on their website?

European Union customers please note that any import fees, duty and VAT are rolled into a single Tax line item at the time of checkout

that is Greek to me, I'm utterly clueless :oops: :???:

edit: the total with taxes is $373.75. Im still unsure if I get bent over at this end tho on delivery #-O

jamiep wrote:that is Greek to me, I'm utterly clueless

What you see on the invoice is:

Goods : 299
Taxes: 299

Rather than:

Goods: 299
Customs duty: 8
VAT: 62
Our charges: 229

thanks a lot for helping an idiot. It's not too clear whats happening imho


Subtotal $299.00 USD
Shipping 0
Taxes $74.75 USD
Total USD $373.75 USD

Ah. What you need to remember is that often US prices, especially those online, don't include sales tax as this varies from state to state or even city to city. It's a bit like seeing prices here that then get VAT added.

...Wahoo Elemnt Bolt it is!! :wink:

jamiep wrote:thanks a lot for helping an idiot. It's not too clear whats happening imho


Subtotal $299.00 USD
Shipping 0
Taxes $74.75 USD
Total USD $373.75 USD

I assume that import duty , and VAT and customs handlng fee would be added to this?
Thinking of buying a frame from USA now that the exchange rate is looking healthier and I also am confused by how much in addition to the original cost I would have to pay.

Jurassic pusher wrote:

jamiep wrote:thanks a lot for helping an idiot. It's not too clear whats happening imho


Subtotal $299.00 USD
Shipping 0
Taxes $74.75 USD
Total USD $373.75 USD

I assume that import duty , and VAT and customs handlng fee would be added to this?
Thinking of buying a frame from USA now that the exchange rate is looking healthier and I also am confused by how much in addition to the original cost I would have to pay.

Sometimes the taxes and fees are included. That looks to be the case here.

If not then budget for what Bob (Whitestone) has said above plus £8 ‘handling fee’.

So £8 plus 2.5% duty and vat on the stated value of goods. If you can find someone who will declare a low value on the paperwork you’ll obviously pay less.

So would 1180 usd end up at around 1070 gbp or is my maths really bad ta

i bought two things from the states recently. one for ~$25 and one for ~$55. both posted via USPS from different companies.

$25 item got stopped by post office and had to pay £5 VAT + £8 handling fee and collect it from sorting office

$55 dollar item got delivered to my door with no question of any fees.

I think it's luck of the draw.

Goods all have different custom duties. I might have the figures slightly wrong but bikes are something like 10%. Bike parts are about 5%. So if you get a bike sent in two boxes (e.g. wheels in one, everything else in a second) you end up paying less custom duties.

Also, electronics were zero rated but cameras were 10% ish. A flash for a camera was considered a camera

firestarter wrote:So would 1180 usd end up at around 1070 gbp or is my maths really bad ta

Assuming that's the total US price including sales tax then:

(value in UKP + duty) + VAT + £8 handling charge

(((1180 * exchange rate) * 1.025) * 1.2) + 8

At current rates

((839.68) * 1.025) * 1.2) 8
(860.67 * 1.2) + 8
1032.80 + 8
= £1040.80

That assumes that whatever you are bringing in attracts the base 2.5% duty as some goods might have a higher rate. Also duty and VAT are charged on goods plus postage, packing and insurance!

All these calculations - it's almost easier to assume that the cost to your door is simply replacing the dollar sign with the pound sign

Cheers Whitestone

It doesn't have to be so complicated, when I've bought race car parts from the USA before all of the taxes/fees etc. were included in the price you saw in the basket before clicking purchase and the total I paid to the supplier was the total. Their courier dealt with paying the import duty etc. to the UK. I don't think all couriers can do this and the supplier I was purchasing from were geared up for this as they export a lot of stuff, right up to complete engines ready to drop in to the car.

The smaller suppliers obviously don't have the turnover for this set-up. I'll be taking my chances on the import duty lottery in the next few weeks when my Borah Gear bivi comes through customs

Ha ha! We've ordered a couple of bivvies from Borah Gear as well so we'll see how the customs lottery plays out in a month or so

As you say, the smaller cottage/one man band type businesses won't be set up for large export volumes. Even companies that we think of as being quite big like Enlightened Equipment who obviously have enough UK custom to show prices in Sterling still note: "International customers are responsible for Import/Duty fees.[/i]".