bassatnight Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Folks, I am considering purchasing a lovely Japanese Jazz from a guy in Japan, the bass is currently £500 with a buy it now about the same price, but I am worried about being ripped off or possible extra charges by way of Import Tax etc. I have mailed the guy as the price he quoted for shipping was just £20 to the UK and when I questioned it he said the actual price for shipping is £89 but he will only charge me £20 of that? Seems to good to be true? I took the liberty of mailing a person from the UK who had previously bought from him and he said the guy is kosher but also questioned the shipping cost to me as it seems very low. Anyone on here bought from Japan before and has an idea of possible pitfalls in terms of extra costs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Why is he willing to take a £70 hit on the shipping? Could it be that he thinks the bass is over priced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 [quote name='bassatnight' post='1011739' date='Nov 4 2010, 09:55 AM']Folks, I am considering purchasing a lovely Japanese Jazz from a guy in Japan, the bass is currently £500 with a buy it now about the same price, but I am worried about being ripped off or possible extra charges by way of Import Tax etc. I have mailed the guy as the price he quoted for shipping was just £20 to the UK and when I questioned it he said the actual price for shipping is £89 but he will only charge me £20 of that? Seems to good to be true? I took the liberty of mailing a person from the UK who had previously bought from him and he said the guy is kosher but also questioned the shipping cost to me as it seems very low. Anyone on here bought from Japan before and has an idea of possible pitfalls in terms of extra costs?[/quote]I bought a bass from Japan about 3 years ago, £69 shipping, didn't have to pay any tax this end, arrived in 3 days. Is this an ebay seller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Bought a number of instruments from Japan. If it's shipped through a courier like FedEx, etc, they will charge you VAT and Import Duty and a surcharge for processing this on your behalf. You will not receive the instrument unless you pay the money. I've never had somethign come in through a courier like that which didn't get taxed. If it goes through EMS, the Japanese state mail company, it will end up with Royal Mail on your end and, sometimes, they don't apply the customs charges (mistakenly, it must be said) they should. Everything coming in from outside the EU should have VAT and Import Duty (over here it's 4.3%) applied to it, some do slip though the net though. Do the maths before you commit to buying and be prepared to pay. You might get lucky, you might not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 [quote name='steve-soar' post='1011765' date='Nov 4 2010, 10:15 AM']I bought a bass from Japan about 3 years ago, £69 shipping, didn't have to pay any tax this end, arrived in 3 days. Is this an ebay seller?[/quote] if you didnt pay tax you were very very lucky, the system is set up to make sure the government gets its pound of flesh You should budget for about 22% on top of cost plus the shipping price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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