Marky L Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Hey all. First off, I have had a look at other threads here, but I'm just fishing for some up to date advice/guides. I've agreed to buy a bass from a private seller in the US and I'm looking at shipping back to the UK, but it doesn't seem as easy as I had hoped. Interparcel online only gives me one quote for FedEx and nothing else. Has anyone recently arranged shipping and can point me in the right direction to a courier that has come through for them? I don't necessarily want cheap and cheerful! Oh and yes.. I am fully aware that I'm going to get the red hot poker up the jacksey otherwise known as import duty etc!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noisyjon Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Can you not get the seller to organize shipping and you transfer the money to cover it? It does seem unusual that you are having to sort out shipping from here in the UK... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 And if you can pay upfront for the import duty, you will avoid an extra admin charge from the UK end of the courier chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 He is happy to ship but originally as a domestic US sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I've just recently had a new amp shipped from the US. The sender used the US Postal Service (which turned out to be cheaper than any other courier quote I'd been given). Once the package was with UK Customs they sent me a nice letter asking for the duty due and once it was paid I got a spanking new amp for about 60% of the same one over here. When I had tried to get a quote from the usual couriers I use over here, the general response was they might agree to do imports but it would cost a lot more to do this from the UK end. To give you some idea shipping quotes I got for the same item : to arrange and ship from the US end = $110 (£60), to arrange and ship from the UK end = £170. It seems the general rule is its easier to ship OUT of a country than IN. Anyway, more importantly....whats the bass?. Wheres the pics? New? Pre-loved? Good for metal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Yes, get the seller to arrange. After all, organising a courier is organising a courier, the only real difference is typing the name of the country at the end of the rest of the address. I bought a new Precision from the US earlier this year. Even factoring in shipping and duty costs, it still worked out a lot cheaper - about £900 if I recall correctly, as oppose to the £1100/£1200 we pay here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 Yes I would much prefer if he arranged the shipping. I'll try again but he wasn't keen previously and isn't the most chatty in our emails! I'd love to show some pics but the deal is not finalised yet and I don't want to jinx it. I've lost out before y'see. All I can say is it's very black with some sexy chrome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobVbass Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) last time I did it the seller just used the US mail as others have mentioned - really good and half the price of FedEx - came through Parcel Force this end Edited August 2, 2013 by bob_pickard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 IME it's unless you have access to a business account that sees plenty of international use, it's simply not possible to arrange shipping from the US to the UK from the UK as cheaply as it would if it was organised and sent from the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marky L Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1375446241' post='2161485'] IME it's unless you have access to a business account that sees plenty of international use, it's simply not possible to arrange shipping from the US to the UK from the UK as cheaply as it would if it was organised and sent from the US. [/quote] I'm certainly getting this impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Coffee Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 At what the cost of import tax is set at i try to avoid US purchases. As if petrol, cigarettes, diesel, PAYE tax and all the rest arent enuf. Bass from across the pond is taxed too. If i moved to usa it would be cheaper. . . . . . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 I'm researching buying and importing a bass too, and can pretty much confirm what others are saying. I got shipping quotes from FedEx, UPS etc and they were all at least £160. The US Postal Service will charge $72 (£46) for a 5-day service which, considering the distance involved, seems remarkably cheap to me. Obviously I'll then need to add on VAT, Import Duty and handling charge but that still gets me a really nice bass that I just cannot find this side of the pond. I'll pay the seller by PayPal so we both have some protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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