Anyone shipped a frame home from the US?

big_chris-2

Wondering how much shipping costs would be if anyone's done it? I know about the VAT and duty etc payable on entry to the UK, no idea how much the shipping would add though.

Lewis A

There are various websites for calculating duty and VAT, seller should give a quote for shipping...

big_chris-2

The shop I'm buying from doesn't ship outside the US so I'm considering having it sent to a family member over there then arranging shipping myself. I've calculated the duty & VAT, and I'm going to get quotes once I know the size & weight of the box, just wondering if someone has done this before and can give a rough idea of shipping costs in the meantime.

nicklouse

BiG CHRIS wrote:

The shop I'm buying from doesn't ship outside the US so I'm considering having it sent to a family member over there then arranging shipping myself. I've calculated the duty & VAT, and I'm going to get quotes once I know the size & weight of the box, just wondering if someone has done this before and can give a rough idea of shipping costs in the meantime.

You can not have done as the vat and import duty us also payable on a percent of the shipping costs.

The Rookie

Why not ask the seller what the size of the box is? Allow about 4Kg for box on top of the frame weight and you won't be much off, most couriers use weight bands anyway so it will be obvious which you fall in.

BloggingFit

If it's a new frame and you are shipping within US or collecting then you be subject to sales tax as well. If shipping out of US then the sales tax doesn't apply but you'll pay shipping costs and duty which I think 10% of the valve of the goods and then 20% vat charged on that 10% duty valve.

Bare in mind if you plan for family to collect and then ship you are effectively paying double bubble so perhaps look to a shop that can ship direct to UK.

njee20

Actually most shippers will use volumetric weight on a bike/frame box - that it weighs 5kg doesn't matter, it takes up a lot of space, so you pay by volume, and it's a shedload more expensive!

shindig

I've shipped various items from the US. Typically the extra cost comes to about 40% of the purchase plus shipping costs. Also consider the frame warranty may not apply outside the us as most companies only warranty products in one market. If it breaks and you have no warranty, it's not going to be the bargain you thought you'd bought.

big_chris-2

nicklouse wrote:

You can not have done as the vat and import duty us also payable on a percent of the shipping costs.

I've worked it out as far as 4.7% duty and 20% VAT from the UK Customs website - didn't realise they charged you VAT on the shipping etc too though.

The Rookie wrote:

Why not ask the seller what the size of the box is? Allow about 4Kg for box on top of the frame weight and you won't be much off, most couriers use weight bands anyway so it will be obvious which you fall in.

Yep, see previous post... just waiting on the size & weight of the box from the US retailer.

Any idea how much sales tax is? Forgot about that... the plan is to get it sent from the shop in Utah to my cousin's in Texas, then arrange FedEx or similar to bring it to me from there.

It does seem that the costs are mounting, but they're selling the frame at such a hilariously low price ($999 for a Blur TR so about £640) that it'll still end up being a bargain!

Monty Dog

Shipping a boxed frame by air will be based on volume, not weight - last frame I shipped to the US cost in the region of £90, so I'd start there. Go to your LBS and get them to give you a frame box - bash in the dimensions on the FedEx website and it'll calculate the costs. Sales tax depends on state, for some it's zero. Duty and Vat will be added to the cost of the consignment i.e. ((costs of goods + shipping)+ duty)+ vat @ 20% - you'll probably have to pay a customs clearance and handling charge too.

big_chris-2

Monty Dog wrote:

Shipping a boxed frame by air will be based on volume, not weight - last frame I shipped to the US cost in the region of £90, so I'd start there. Go to your LBS and get them to give you a frame box - bash in the dimensions on the FedEx website and it'll calculate the costs. Sales tax depends on state, for some it's zero. Duty and Vat will be added to the cost of the consignment i.e. ((costs of goods + shipping)+ duty)+ vat @ 20% - you'll probably have to pay a customs clearance and handling charge too.

Excellent, thanks Monty. Should be getting an email from the US shop today with box dimensions and I'll ask them about the sales tax.

big_chris-2

Monty Dog wrote:

Shipping a boxed frame by air will be based on volume, not weight - last frame I shipped to the US cost in the region of £90, so I'd start there. Go to your LBS and get them to give you a frame box - bash in the dimensions on the FedEx website and it'll calculate the costs. Sales tax depends on state, for some it's zero. Duty and Vat will be added to the cost of the consignment i.e. ((costs of goods + shipping)+ duty)+ vat @ 20% - you'll probably have to pay a customs clearance and handling charge too.

I've got the box dimensions from the bike shop in the US but the quotes I've had from FedEx and UPS are massive.

Box is 42x23x8 inches, 15lbs. Collection from Texas and delivery to my office in Slough is £250 with FedEx and $550 with UPS! How did you get it down to £90?

cooldad

He didn't. He said he shipped to the US not from.

big_chris-2

cooldad wrote:

He didn't. He said he shipped to the US not from.

My mistake, I misread the post. Would you expect it to be 3 times the price going the other way though?

BloggingFit

TNT typically charge around $350. I would expect around £150 customs charge.

big_chris-2

I've found a 3rd party that uses DHL who will do it for £170. VAT on top of that makes it round £205. VAT on the frame is around £130 and duty at 4.7% is another £30. So £365 in total by my maths, + the frame price of £640 makes approx £1000 give or take for the lot.

Still a bargain since they're £1800 here, but I'll also need a few other bits too as my current frame has a different BB shell, seatpost diameter, brake mount, front mech etc.

BloggingFit

Customs charge will be more than that. I shipped a frame across not long ago and was certainly not 4.7%. You'll find it closer to 10% plus additional charges like admin fees etc. still not mega money.

big_chris-2

I used the info on the UK Customs website to calculate the costs, just used dutycalculator.com which came out as below:

Total customs value (CIF): £790.94 This is the amount that customs values your import at
- Duty: £37.17
- VAT: £165.62
Total import duty & taxes due: £202.79 This is the amount that needs to be paid to customs
Total landed cost: £993.73 This is the total cost of importing, including product, shipping, insurance and import duty & taxes
at exchange rate of 1 GBP = 1.61 USD

big_chris-2

I've decided to knock this idea on the head, too much of a ball-ache and if it falls apart having gone through all this to get it into the UK then I have to go through it all again to get it back to the US under warranty.

Mods you can close this, thanks

The Rookie

How many closed threads you see? Why do you think there aren't many?

rich_e

This was a good few years back now, but I wanted to bring a full DH bike back from Canada. I looked into shipping options at the courier branches in town, they could offer packaging and protection for it, but the actual shipping cost was extremely expensive.

I then discovered that by booking it in advance, I could simply pay £50 I believe it was, to take the bike as an additional item on my British Airways flight home. All in, I probably spent about £60-ish on the fee, plus a cardboard bike box from a LBS and materials to protect the bike. It was pretty simply and far cheaper.

njee20

But did involve defrauding HMRC, which not everyone (including the OP) is entirely comfortable with.

The Rookie

And if you get caught, you'll find the saving suddenly changes into a big on cost!

Much harder to avoid duty when it's couriered anyway. BA ship sports goods free anyway, a mate bought a bike back (well under duty limit) for free.

nicklouse

Rich_E wrote:

This was a good few years back now, but I wanted to bring a full DH bike back from Canada. I looked into shipping options at the courier branches in town, they could offer packaging and protection for it, but the actual shipping cost was extremely expensive.

I then discovered that by booking it in advance, I could simply pay £50 I believe it was, to take the bike as an additional item on my British Airways flight home. All in, I probably spent about £60-ish on the fee, plus a cardboard bike box from a LBS and materials to protect the bike. It was pretty simply and far cheaper.

a rather different issue than has been discussed in this thread.

moving personal goods and importing.