doctorpete Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hey guys, I'm after buying a bass from someone in USA on eBay. We're talking about £1800 at the mo to get it sent to the UK. I have bought instruments from New Zealand on a few occasions and had to pay the Queen her bit on those when they got here but that's a while ago and not sure of the rules these days. Any ideas how much duty is gonna be on top if I go for it? Cheers folks. DrP Ps, if anyone is interested, its a Spector, euro 6 lx in black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Assume 25% on top of the final price [i][b]plus[/b][/i] the cost of shipping it to the UK. Basically you pay 20% VAT and approximately 4% import duty plus a clearance fee to the carrier at the UK of the delivery chain. There are ways of working it out more accurately, but since HMRC will use their own exchange rate calculators and the calculation for working out import duty and commodity codes are somewhat convoluted, it's simplest to use the 25% rule. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorpete Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Cheers pal, I knew I'd end up owing a fair bit to someone. Nothing's ever straight forward eh! Lol, thanks for the advice though. Will see what I can do. DrP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 That's about the size of it and if you're prepared and it's still a fair deal factoring that in then go for it. Just don't get talked into, or let the seller undervalue to try to save money. HMRC are not fools & have people who know the value of things. If you try it & something goes wrong you're screwed on insurance claims and at the very worst could have the bass confiscated by HMRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Rough rule of thumb when importing yank cars - I own a stingray at the moment - what you pay in dollars is what you pay in pound notes once everthing been paid for, should be the same for guitars. Customs are no idiots, takes a few seconds to Google values! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorpete Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Yeah I get where you guys are coming from. Cheers fellas; My wallet is still in my pocket on this one... Will keep you posted. :-/ Thanks DrP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leen2112 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) Beware, I bought a warwick from the states on ebay a few years ago and the feckin customs read It incoming as BRASS and charged me a fortune. They make It so difficult to claim back or even understand the paperwork involved (or at least it was for me) [size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]Obviously [/font][/color][/size][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"][color="#000000"]this[/color][/size][/font] doesnt or I'd hope not happen often. Edited February 3, 2013 by Leen2112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassection Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) Last thing I bought from the states was my Warwick Corvette $$ It was being sold at $950 (Little over £600) but by the time I actually received it I ended up paying around £800 because of fees. As somebody who often buys from Japan and Korea I should have known better, but I didn't even think at the time. Edited February 3, 2013 by Bassection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 [color=#222222]Slightly off topic but another thing to be careful of when buying from ebay is to be sure that the bass comes from where it says it claims it does on the listing.[/color] [color=#222222][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"] [/size][/font][/color] [color=#222222]A few years ago I bought a MM Sterling, supposedly from the UK, but when it was delivered (in a massively oversized carton that you would not assume contained a bass guitar) it had a 'value less than $50' sticker and had obviously been shipped over from the US![/color] [color=#222222][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"] [/size][/font][/color] [color=#222222]Could have cost me quite a bit more than I had counted on if it had been picked up by US customs...[/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Was actually in the same boat as you a few days back. Lovely red Spector Euro LX5 on there at the mo' but it's about £1300 and with 25% that makes it an extra £325+... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 The days of buying basses from the US to save a few quid are pretty much over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1359957934' post='1962454'] The days of buying basses from the US to save a few quid are pretty much over... [/quote] For those old enough to remember him; "Diary Of A Rock n Roll Star" by Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople) is full of tales of a US tour, which it's the diary of, searching out old guitar shops & asking to see inside a dusty old case at the bottom of a pile of gear to reveal a mint Fender/Gibson whatever. Even then (1975 IIRC) he warned that Customs officials were getting wise & the days were numbered of cheap guitars from the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1359957934' post='1962454'] The days of buying basses from the US to save a few quid are pretty much over... [/quote] I've bought a lot of guitars and basses from the US and Japan. However they were all instruments that were pretty much impossible to buy in this country. That IMO is what buying from abroad is for. Getting something that you can't buy any other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pobrien_ie Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1359957934' post='1962454'] The days of buying basses from the US to save a few quid are pretty much over... [/quote] For the vast majority of basses I think you're right, but if I can give two example of exceptions...... About a year ago I was looking to buy the bass in your avatar (well at least the reissue '62 AVRI). It cost approx €2,200 on Thoman, which is generally a lot cheaper than Irish prices. In fact when I went to my local authorised Fender dealer they told me they could only order MIM Fender gear ...Anyway, so I spotted the in the US (Sweetwater). The total cost to my door including all fees would have be approx €1,350. I didn't go with in the end for some stupid reason. More recently I actually bought a bass from the US, a Fender Roadworn Precision. I got an ex demo model (in as new condition) from a shop with a deluxe soft case and the other bits and it still worked out a good bit cheaper than the couple of used ones that were for sale on BC at the time. I know these are probably exceptions, but I think it should always be considered as an option. Just be sure to do the maths before you make the commitment or you could get badly stung. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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