Bassassin Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 (edited) I'm in a curious situation where I might be obtaining a basket-case 70s Japcrap bass from somebody I know from another forum - who happens to live in the western US. I'm not going to go into detail, but basically he was given this bass, has no interest in it, doesn't have a clue if it's playable or if the electrics work, and just wants shot of it. It would be very much a restoration project to me, he wants no financial remuneration, apart from packing materials & shipping - so does anyone have any idea what kind of customs/VAT charges I can expect, on something that is essentially, in its current state, valueless? I'm aware shipping will likely be costly, I just want to try & work out if it's worth my while doing this or if I should just tell him to bung it in a skip! Jon. Edited March 1, 2008 by Bassassin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazm Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 You might get away with it but I doubt it. I think you will still be charged duty and VAT on its actual value - but like you say this is near zero. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 [quote name='Bassassin' post='149580' date='Mar 1 2008, 07:23 PM']I'm aware shipping will likely be costly, I just want to try & work out if it's worth my while doing this or if I should just tell him to bung it in a skip! Jon.[/quote] I think anything that is less than $35 in value doesn't attract any customs or duty charges. (it's something like that, though that might not be the exact value). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 [quote name='pete.young' post='149583' date='Mar 1 2008, 07:28 PM']I think anything that is less than $35 in value doesn't attract any customs or duty charges. (it's something like that, though that might not be the exact value).[/quote] IIRC it's £18. If the bass is a gift, the sender must declare the value. You might want to pay the seller $1 for it and get a receipt. You will pay duty on the shipping if it goes above £18, and if the duty payable exceeds £7 then you pay a bit more duty on top of that. Well, something like that anyway Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 I don't think I'd get away with suggesting a bass was worth as little as £18 - surely they'd immediately assume it was the dumbest attempt at a scam ever - I wondered if declaring the value at something pretty nominal, say, $100, might be the best idea. How much duty are people paying on all these bargain SXes they're importing? J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 [quote name='Bassassin' post='149596' date='Mar 1 2008, 07:54 PM']I don't think I'd get away with suggesting a bass was worth as little as £18 - surely they'd immediately assume it was the dumbest attempt at a scam ever - I wondered if declaring the value at something pretty nominal, say, $100, might be the best idea. How much duty are people paying on all these bargain SXes they're importing? J.[/quote] No, not quite like that - I meant if the shipping goes above £18. If the combined value of the bass and the shipping costs come to over £18 - guessing $36 dollars, then we are into the tax situation as I explained above. Another way is to ask the guy to get it valued by a bass shop, and then declare that estimate as the value. Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywalker Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I would ask him to declare the bass as used with a value of say $ 50, if the courier company then adds the shipping costs you may have a total value of $150 in total, and assume something like 25% of the total in taxes, so $150 = say £75.00, at 25% = £18.75 if my mental arithmetic is correct. You may be lucky and get it in duty/tax free, either way it is not bad for a bass to start a restoration project which with some care and hard work may give you an excellent instrument. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 i often wonder. old basses are obviously worth something. but if you split it up an old neck can be worth pretty much nout, same with a body, and surely it would be easier to pack the two seperatly anyway? just bolt them together in blighty? may not work if its a through neck though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardH Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 As Luke suggests, get it shipped with the neck off (cheaper shipping most likely anyway). Label it as spare parts - which frankly in its current state is absolutely true. Set value as $40 or so and decare as gift - again all correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 If the market value of the bass is more than the allowance for gifts you will have to pay full whack VAT and import duty on the market value, regardless of whether it was a gift or not. This is why HMC&Extortion check things like Ebay auctions so they can keep a handle on what the likely worth of something is. Breaking the instrument into parts isn't going to change its percieved value unless sent separately but even then if the shipments are sent close to one another, someone in HMC&E may latch onto your game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesemt Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 (edited) You get £32 tax free if its a gift...just mark accordingly. Customs opened my SX basses thinking I'd pulled a fast one... there are loads of scams - lower declared value, labelling as a commercial sample, prototype product...not that I've used any of these. I know of people that have bought £300 lenses from Hong Kong and not paid any duty by declaring as a prototype. Edited March 2, 2008 by Jamesemt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 [quote name='Jamesemt' post='149709' date='Mar 2 2008, 08:39 AM']You get £32 tax free if its a gift...just mark accordingly. Customs opened my SX basses thinking I'd pulled a fast one... there are loads of scams - lower declared value, labelling as a commercial sample, prototype product...not that I've used any of these. I know of people that have bought £300 lenses from Hong Kong and not paid any duty by declaring as a prototype.[/quote] You should also (legitimately) declare the wholesale value, not retail. So that's it halved again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 [quote name='Jamesemt' post='149709' date='Mar 2 2008, 08:39 AM']You get £32 tax free if its a gift...just mark accordingly. Customs opened my SX basses thinking I'd pulled a fast one... there are loads of scams - lower declared value, labelling as a commercial sample, prototype product...not that I've used any of these. I know of people that have bought £300 lenses from Hong Kong and not paid any duty by declaring as a prototype.[/quote] I think it's £36 if it's a gift, though I think shipping is included in that amount - so just the p+p would take the bass over that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toasted Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 This is very, very simple. No scaremongering, no customs and excise discerning market value from ebay. You just need the bass to be shipped with a recipt in the package, and also have the seller send you a recpit by seperate cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 [quote name='LukeFRC' post='149683' date='Mar 2 2008, 01:22 AM']i often wonder. old basses are obviously worth something. but if you split it up an old neck can be worth pretty much nout, same with a body, and surely it would be easier to pack the two seperatly anyway? just bolt them together in blighty? may not work if its a through neck though![/quote] Unfortunately it's a fixed neck, otherwise that's exactly what I'd do. Shipping a neck from the US isn't dear, another US based acquaintance sent me a replacement neck for my old Aria RSB Deluxe II (my original's horribly twisted & unplayable) and shipping was $32, with a declared value of $15. As for the value of this bass - how do you define that? In general, JapCrap is utterly subjective, and most people still see it as the throwaway junk it originally was. However - what someone's happy to get £18 for at a car boot can sell for £175 on Ebay, but the same thing might sell for £40 the next week. From my fairly well-informed perspective, it's really hard to say that it actually has a defineable market value. As far as this bass is concerned - I've never seen one on Ebay, and this one certainly isn't going there - I really do think that the guy who has it at the moment would be quite rightly outraged if I attempted to profiteer from his goodwill, so if I get it I'll be keeping it, useable or not. Reading the replies, I still think it's probably best to declare a nominal value, and possibly label it as for repair/restoration. The last thing I want is for some suspicious customs type to open it up & just randomly guess that it must be worth about £500, or something. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Jon, why not just contact your local Customs and ask them? In my experience, these guys only get nasty if they catch you trying something on. If you approach them and ask their advice, they're invariably as helpful as can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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