carlsim Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Anyone done it?? Bad experience?? It concerns me in terms of costs on top of the purchase price (import etc.) - anyone know exact costs?? I'm after an Xotic and have seen an as new xjpro vintage for good money... But if it costs me £1k sterling, what outlay am I looking at? I really want one in a cool colour... I know BD have a burst one, but I really like their surf green one... But that's £2K+...😮 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Never used TB for a purchase so no view, some USA members are on BC. Have imported guitar parts and experienced the duty & VAT effect once. Try this https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnR Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 I recently bought a bass from Canada. It arrived in just under two weeks but would have been quicker without the impact of Covid. Upon import they asses the value of the bass, this can be the full retail value at worst case, add on the cost of shipping, add on import duty and then tax on the grand total. It is a lottery I think. In the interest of transparence I paid £1,400 for my bass, express shipping using UPS was $300 CAD, and the total import charges were £277 which I think was reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 I think you should figure to add 20-25% to the shipped price you pay, to account for import duty and VAT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 It'll be up to 30% total cost, sometimes more as you pay duty/tax (I forget which) on the courier fee also. So, if you want the bass insured you'll pay the insurance plus the extra duty/tax on that insurance! Given this, the main risks are 1: If the bass needs to go back you will really struggle to recoup your expenses re duties/taxes 2. In the USA local state laws govern online transaction so occasionally you can find yourself in a bad position if the deal results in any issues. I've bought two basses from the USA, one, a Wal, went well, one a Modulus, didn't (and I was basically told by the seller that as the result of 2. above, there was nothing I could do, and he was right!). I won't import from the USA again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Vat is applied to the item AND the shipping. AFAIK the only escape is if the item has already been into the UK / EU and VAT has already been collected on it. So an item bought new in the UK, vat has been paid, then sold used to someone in the USA and then just coming back. Good luck finding the paperwork that HMRC would accept! No sense of humour that lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Done it a few times. Hardest part is getting sellers prepared to ship outside the USA. If you find one willing,be prepared to talk them through booking a courier. Sometimes they'll say the parcel will be too big for posting. I had one say he intended taking the neck off to reduce the package size. told him "Fine ,just wrap it securely in the hard case I've paid for "🤣 Asking for bank details so you can transfer funds scares the pants of them too. I agree with @Beedster. Lousy exchange rates,very little come protection in case of problems and high shipping costs buying from the US isn't worth it. Next month USPS leave the UPU and I know goods shipping from Europe will increase 40-50%, imagine it'll rise for goods from the US. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) I've bought basses (and guitars) plenty of times from the US, but never from TalkBass, as none of the sellers of basses I was interested in were prepared to go to the trouble of shipping outside of the States. If you do find someone who is prepared to ship it to you be prepared to pay an extra 25% (as a rough rule of thumb) in VAT, import duty, and handling fees on top of the DECLARED value of the bass combined with the shipping/insurance cost. So if the bass costs £1000, the shipping and insurance £300 expect to pay another 25% on top of £1300 which works out at £1625. Don't ask the seller to under-declare the value of the bass, should anything go wrong in transit it won't be insured for enough, similarly don't let them over-declare either, because this is the value that the VAT and import duty will be calculated on. Also when working out the exchange rates use the worst rate that you can find, so that you don't have any nasty surprises. Edited June 19, 2020 by BigRedX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsim Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 Cheers guys... Just need to decide if it is worth the risk! I'm thinking no at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 I am not sure where CITIES is at at the moment, but factor it in. Having customs tell me they might destroy the bass I was sending was not a great moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 6 hours ago, owen said: I am not sure where CITIES is at at the moment, but factor it in. That's a very good point, as is 'at the moment', as apparently the backlog of imports is extraordinary. I'm still waiting on a package that Parcelforce say was imported to the UK on 25th April. I assume that lockdown/social distancing have messed up what was already a pretty slow service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 CITES was dropped in September last year so that is no issue. I have bought bass, pedals, pick ups etc from the US and Talkbass. No problems, each time I did upon calculating correctly it was less than what I would pay over this side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 To avoid the nightmare of transatlantic shipping, @Happy Jack and I had Gollihur send a bass to our family in Pasadena and then we literally flew to the US to collect it. (Yes we also got a holiday out of it!). It was less painful - but a bit long-winded - to take the bass on the plane, have it inspected and pay import duty, than risk international shipping, even with an excellent store like Gollihur. Even getting small, low value items shipped in the cheapest possible way from the US to here is a frigging nightmare. Avoid at all costs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 39 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said: Even getting small, low value items shipped in the cheapest possible way from the US to here is a frigging nightmare. Avoid at all costs. If the last time you did this was pre-Trump, then you're in for a nasty surprise. Trump has gone so far out of his way to spark off tariff disputes that anything going into or out of the States now comes under WAY tougher scrutiny than used to be the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 1 minute ago, Happy Jack said: If the last time you did this was pre-Trump, then you're in for a nasty surprise. Trump has gone so far out of his way to spark off tariff disputes that anything going into or out of the States now comes under WAY tougher scrutiny than used to be the case. From next month USPS will no longer be part of the UPU. That's expected to jump prices 40 to 50%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 1 minute ago, kodiakblair said: From next month USPS will no longer be part of the UPU. That's expected to jump prices 40 to 50%. Translation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Will it come with a tub of Buttah & a few bags of Carrots? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Happy Jack said: Translation? Of course. One is definitely needed 🙂 The Universal Postal Union is part of the UN but for post carriers. All members agree to make international post easy and to have standard flat fees. From July the American post service will set it's own rates. Edited June 20, 2020 by kodiakblair 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsim Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 All seems to be a bit of a minefield... I think it's better left alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 But the days when there was a decent exchange rate!!!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 I’ve bought from the US a few times (not from Talkbass though) , but not for a few years now. Normally worked out about 25% extra, maybe a bit more. The one disaster was the first, which was lost in transit and never turned up. Took me a full year to get the insurance money and by the time I did the exchange rate had changed so much I lost £200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) UK Customs and Theft have always made me spit because they're blatantly a right bunch of Dik Turpins. Edited June 20, 2020 by fleabag 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 57 minutes ago, fleabag said: UK Customs and Theft have always made spit because they're blatantly a right bunch of Dik Turpins. £40 for 4 Schaller machineheads inc delivery from America. £8 for VAT, still an OK deal. £8 fee to assess the £8 VAT !! Chancers 🤬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Yep, but its when you buy the big toys and its then the highway robbers stick a musket in your face and rob you in broad daylight 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 I've bought items in the past through TalkBass and there was no problem at all from TalkBass itself and their member as long as you pay through PayPal. Don't ask an American his bank data with IBAN and BIC/SWIFT codes. 😱 The problem was simply importing from the USA. Living in Belgium, I've always had to add 50% to the total amount including the shipping fee and insurance, because over here in Belgium, customs and couriers like to add loads of taxes... These days, even if CITES has been "abandoned" for musical instruments, the Brazilian rosewood is still forbidden and the customs have a tendency to see Brazilian rosewood everywhere... That said, as we still are in the Trump days, I don't buy anything from the USA anymore. Even CD's bought in the land of "freedom" are taxed by the customs... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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