Buying bass pickups from the US

[logicred]

Hi all, I have a '74 Fender Jazz bass which I love the look and feel of, but mostly do slap and have my eye on some EMG JVX active pickups. eBay (from the US) has them for £110 delivered to the UK. Thomann has them for £148 delivered to the UK. I can't seem to find anything about buying from the US and paying VAT and other costs. Would the £110 be the final price I pay or I would I be guarenteed to have to pay VAT at customs somewhere along the line? I think Royal Mail add a slice on too don't they?

Thanks in advance.

[dannybuoy]

Expect to pay 20% plus £8 fee on top, unless you order from a shop that marks the package value down below the threshold so that it escapes all charges.

Unfortunately these shops don't shout about this as it's illegal, so good luck finding one that has those pickups in stock!

[logicred]

Thanks for that. I guess it's just worth ordering the ones from Thomann then which should escape the charges?

[Paul S]

Actually 20% VAT plus around 4-5% import duty plus £8 handling fee, so a bit more.

Any shop worth buying from won't mark down the price as it means if the items goes missing/gets damaged you can't claim.

[dannybuoy]

They will be charge free for certain as they're in the EU. It will still work out cheaper from the US at £140 - also have another look as some eBay auctions now include pre-paid customs fees in the price.

[dannybuoy]

http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

[Marc S]

Some ebay shops list a price for exporting to the UK and EU
If the shop in question doesn't list this price, then expect to pay the VAT charges on top

These can add considerably to the final price you pay
I've been stung once or twice now, so I won't buy unless I can see a final price, incl VAT & shipping

Good luck with your purchase
and let us know how you get on, fitting the pickups, and what you think of them

Cheers
Marc

EDIT: Thanks for linking to that duty calculator dannybuoy - useful

Edited October 22, 2014 by Marc S

[Paul S]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1413972674' post='2584150']
[url="http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/"]http://www.dutycalcu...ax-calculation/[/url]
[/quote]

According to that there is no import duty - I wonder why?

[logicred]

Thanks, the pickups I was looking at were from this link. As someone mentioned, it does show all the import duties etc:

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EMG-JVX-Set-Active-Jazz-Bass-Guitar-Pickups-BLACK-NEW-AUTHORIZED-DEALER-/321558426882?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4ade603502"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EMG-JVX-Set-Active-Jazz-Bass-Guitar-Pickups-BLACK-NEW-AUTHORIZED-DEALER-/321558426882?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4ade603502[/url]

[logicred]

I can't seem to find any equivalent active pickups for a J bass in the UK. If anyone knows of anything please let me know!

[Cat Burrito]

It was great up until 2007 / 2008 because such charges were minimal but now you get customs charges and Royal Mail handling charges so what starts out as a great deal actually becomes easier to order through a shop locally which defeats the whole point. It's worth googling the rules because even small orders over just a few dollars can create a whole load of additional costs. Thomann would get my vote here too.

[Opticaleye]

I ordered some EMG JAX jazz pickups from the US when I couldn't get them in Europe. When they arrived they cost me about half the price that they would have been in the UK (£74-ish). I factored in the possibility of duty etc. but it wasn't picked up on this occasion.

[logicred]

Thanks Opticaleye. If you still remember where you got them from I would appreciate a PM ;-) Thanks.

[Rumple]

I sometimes take the risk of having to pay VAT, duties and handling charges and order from the US as it's a lottery as to whether you will get charged customs etc. or not, if the order slips under the radar you get yourself a bargain.

[inthedoghouse]

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1413980904' post='2584329']
I sometimes take the risk of having to pay VAT, duties and handling charges and order from the US as it's a lottery as to whether you will get charged customs etc. or not, if the order slips under the radar you get yourself a bargain.
[/quote]
Yep, sometimes you get charged, sometimes you don't. I've been stung on a $60 strap but got away with a $1000+ guitar.

If you have a friend in the USA PayPal them the money and ask them to buy the pickups for you and send them to you as a 'gift'. I've done that many times.

[logicred]

Thanks for all your advice people ;-)

[Mr Anthony]

I tend to buy the more expensive packs of strings from the USA since they work out cheaper, and I've never been hit with charges. Never bought anything more expensive. Been eyeing up some hipshot tuners, which mention nothing of charges, but you never know. It's a bit of a risk.

My computer monitor (not a bass, I know) came from South Korea, and on the door they hit me with the import charge. It just depends I guess. But if still works out cheaper, even with the import charges, etc. I say go for it. You may still not have to pay extra.

[molan]

Have you asked a UK dealer to quote on a price for them?

Some people can import individual sets at surprisingly competitive prices. . .

[Musky]

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1413973053' post='2584161']
According to that there is no import duty - I wonder why?
[/quote]
The threshold on import duty is £135, with no charges if the duty amounts to less than £9.
[quote name='inthedoghouse' timestamp='1413984867' post='2584404']
If you have a friend in the USA PayPal them the money and ask them to buy the pickups for you and send them to you as a 'gift'. I've done that many times.
[/quote]
This only works if the gift has a declared value of £36 or less.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Musky

[BigRedX]

The way I work out if buying from outside the EU is going to be good value is to take the price of the item plus shipping, add 25% of this total and then add another £15. If it is still 10% less than I can buy if for in this country then I'll go for it, otherwise IMO it's better to buy in the UK where you'll have a proper guarantee and it will be easier to return the time if there is a problem.

TBH the only I do buy from outside the EU is when it's something that's simply not available in this country. Then the only consideration is whether or not I can actually afford it.

And if you are lucky enough not the get hit for VAT etc. you can look at it as an unexpected discount.

[Paul S]

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1414104382' post='2586048']
The threshold on import duty is £135, with no charges if the duty amounts to less than £9.
[/quote]

Ah! Thanks.

[molan]

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1414104382' post='2586048']

The threshold on import duty is £135, with no charges if the duty amounts to less than £9.

This only works if the gift has a declared value of £36 or less.
[/quote]

I've definitely paid import duties on stuff from the USA with a value of under £135

Edit - Actually it was VAT plus handling charges rather than customs duties. I'm pretty sure I got hit for just under £30 in charges on a purchase of just £80. Something like £20 VAT plus £8 handling.

Edited October 24, 2014 by molan