Buying Expensive goods via ebay From the USA

rpmn12

Hi all, Looking for opinions and advice!

I want to buy some electronic equipment from America to help start a small business. The two units I want to buy are BIN and come to $3600 - About £2250 (Including shipping and insurance with Fedex.)

Now this is a major spend for me and I'am looking for the best possible protection against anything going wrong (ie I've got my savings on the line)

If I buy with paypal am I protected in the same way as I am for a UK sale? is there a limit to the amount of cover?

I've got a verified paypal account and usually use paypal with my debit card / bank account. Is it worth setting up with a credit card to make the payment? and if so does this incur additional fees?

The seller has offered the option of wire transfer? can this be done with a credit card rather than a bank account.

I'm aware that I'll likely incur additional import charge 2.9% Import duty plus a FedEx handling fee, but I'm not sure how much it will be total which is a bit of a worry.

Any thoughts on the best way to go about doing things would be appreciated!

f1re_cr4cker

you will get charged tax also remember at 15% of the total cost so you will get stung quite bad plus the handling fee from the courier.
yes you are covered by paypal for US transactions. If you pay through paypal using ur cc ur do not get charged a fee.

amcluesent

Isn't your birthday coming up and a friend in America wants to send a 'gift'?

f1re_cr4cker

even if the seller marks it as a gift they will still get charged - id say for a rough estimation expect a mark up of 20-25%

cyberbob

amcluesent wrote: »

Isn't your birthday coming up and a friend in America wants to send a 'gift'?

I think you will only be tax exempt for £30 if it is marked as a gift. Also if you get found out they will sting you

Hermia

You will definitely get hit with a lot of fees with fedex. I once bought some cross stitch kits for a friend's birthday and they cost more than allowed import amount (but not a lot) and I had to pay about £25 which was the custom's charge + the fedex admin fee. It was a very expensive birthday present!

Enterprise_1701C

How much would you be saving as against buying the items in the UK or in Europe?

rpmn12

Thanks for all the comments so far! I've decided that declaring it a gift is impractical, and could create problems with vat further down the line when I claim them as a tax expence. These items would be shipped in a packing crate and are unlikely to escape the curiosity of the customs man!

Jane_Blackford wrote: »

How much would you be saving as against buying the items in the UK or in Europe?

The items in question are made in America and as they are specialist photographic equipment there is no uk retailer and no direct European equivalent. Two identical units in a similar condition sold last week for £4000 So I'll be happy if I get them for under £3000 tbh.

pody

Check the customs website, in there somewhere it lists different percentages for different goods. I bought a projector on us ebay, got a huge bill for tax and import dutys, got well over half removed after checking that projectors for business had no import tax just vat.

soolin

Is this an ebay sale as paypal protection does not cover non ebay sales fully.

Personally I would be looking to pay by credit card, a good retailer should have some sort of merchant account.

martindow

It is essential that you do this by the book. As you will be reclaiming the VAT there is no temptation to avoid it and it is your responsibility to ensure that it is correct. The VAT people are likely to have a good look at items like this if and when they do an inspection.

I would call the commodity code help line on 01702 366077 to get the correct code for the goods you are importing. They will also be able to give you the rate of duty for it. I get the shipper to put this code clearly on the invoices or shipping paperwork to smooth its journey through customs when it arrives.

You should then be able to calculate accurately your bill which will also have a clearance fee charge of 15 pounds or so to pay. This money has to be paid upfront but of course you will be able to reclaim most of it.

Good luck with your new business.