In message , Malcolm Stewart
writes
"Wally" wrote in message
o.uk...
Interesting. How much do these deals work out to by the time the thing
arrives in the UK?
snip
Wally
www.artbywally.com/FiatPandaRally/index.htm
www.wally.myby.co.uk
Here's a real sample of 1 item (headphone amplifier) bought last month from
New Jersey. ( I know it's not photographic, but I can use it on my
camcorder!)
Order was placed over the internet, charged to my VISA account, and I had to
email images of both sides of my card, as Barclarcard VISA isn't validated
internationally, it seems.
Prices etc. were as follows:
Cost of headphone amplifier $99
Small belt clip for same $7 (It's worth all of £1, but have yet to find
anything similar in the UK)
Fed Express (International) Packing & Postage $37.94 OUCH!!
(Didn't seem to be any choice once I'd entered UK on the address field)
Hit to my Visa card inc fee (on US total of $143.94) £79.27 (included fee
of £2.12)
Duty (?), VAT & handling fee in the UK £18.66 (included fee of ~£4) .This
was collected by FedEx about 2 weeks later.
So in the end my "cheap" $99 (~ £56) amplifier cost me £97.93 - and that's
at the recently good £ : $ exchange rate.
With this particular example, and slightly worse £ : $ rates, it's easy to
see why the 1£ = 1$ parity is so difficult to shift. The service was
superb, with the courier trying to deliver the item the next day after my
order was processed in New Jersey - pity I was out!
What isn't clear from my example is how the fees, which are quite
significant in this example, would work out on larger orders.
The trick is to ask the vendor/seller to underprice the value, complete
a Customs Declaration (if they haven't got one, then a visit to your
local VAT office (that's also C&E) for a declaration), scan it and
attach to e-mail (first convert to 2-colour GIF which keeps the filesize
down), and get the vendor/seller to declare it as "Used (second-hand").
Make sure that the declaration is attached on the outside of the package
in a clear plastic bag. Oh yes, make sure that the value is clearly
marked as in "US Dollars", numbers alone may be interpreted as being in
pounds Sterling.
--
Tony Morgan
http://www.rhylonline.com