UK Customs

[WorcsWuss]

I'm getting quite excited now... I ordered a Tanaka TCS3301PFS top handled saw from the States and it's nearly here!

It's currently residing about 10 minutes from my mother in law's house at the UK customs hub in Coventry awaiting clearance....

Parcel Force tell me it will be in their depot overnight tonight....

 

Just for those who don't know, I bought it on eBay.com but what they didn't state, and I didn't realise, is that the paying out doesn't stop there....

 

There is a good explanation of it here...

HM Revenue & Customs

 

But, in a nutshell, you get charged VAT @ 20% on everything, including postage & packaging [which seems a bit of a stunt to me...]

Also, you might get charged customs duty, which is something I cannot fathom...

Finally, if they need to inspect the contents, your get charged a packing fee by Parcel Force / Royal Mail, who handle the package once it gets into this country.

 

Parcel Force / Royal Mail pay the fees and they then deliver a card to you with what you have to pay on it, in my case this will be about 45 quid, plus another £12 because I want them to do a next day delivery for me on Saturday...

I can expedite this process [ie cut out the card delivery & couple of days wait] by keeping an eye on the Parcel Force tracking site and as soon as it says 'in depot' or 'cleared customs' I can phone them up and pay the charges, it will then go out for delivery.

 

So even though those extra fees came as a bit of a disappointing surprise to me... it hasn't taken the shine off completely...!

[treequip]

Caveat emptor

 

There is a reason why dealers have a mark up

[Mozza]

Was the saw still worth getting from that states?

[WorcsWuss]

Was the saw still worth getting from that states?

 

I think so, yes. I haven't found that exact saw for sale in this country but the re-badged version, available here through a very reputable supplier, is about £270 ex VAT / £325 inc.

With all the charges this comes out at about £185 ex / £220 with, so yes, it's saved me a hundred quid.

 

HOWEVER, there is the whole grey import / warranty thing to be aware of.. if it packs up I guess I'm on my own. As a light user I don't see this being a major issue though...

[Mozza]

Worth doing then, nice one :-)

[WorcsWuss]

Worth doing then, nice one :-)

 

Might turn up as a box of bits yet!!!

 

Ordinarily I wouldn't grey import, it doesn't help our floundering economy... but in this instance I can't justify the cost of buying one over here.

The used saws in my price bracket look like they've had a bit of a hammering, the new ones seem a bit cheap and nasty. I used to have an MS200T which I sold when I left the trade. Given the choice I'd have had another one of them without question, but sadly I can't capitalise it over a work period.

 

I'll let you know how the little Tanaka goes though!

Edited November 24, 2011 by WorcsWuss