Great 'Buy now from the US' Hunt.

Jetstar_2

Interesting to read of peoples advice for buying items in the USA but do you all realise how much it is to fly there? I am employed in the travel industry with 30 years experience and am appalled and often embarrassed by the current tax charges on airline ticket. Here are some examples. There are many different taxes if departing the UK on a scheduled airline with the biggest single tax being the recent hike in the APD tax - £40 in economy or £80 in business and first class, when the other taxes are added it can take the total to around £200 for one roundtrip ticket! So if you see an airfare advertised from say £300 its actually around £500 when they add the taxes. Apart from the British Govt recently doubling the APD tax the airlines are also at it, they have been adding a fuel surcharge into the tax system on air fares, even if the price of oil has been reduced over the past 12 months they do not reduce their fuel supplements - its amazing what they are doing. So be careful when buying your air tickets - we are approaching high season (from July) and air fares are usually around £600 +taxes in economy, my tip is to fly on the charter/low cost internet bookable carriers as they offer cheaper fares and much less taxes. consider the savings on flying to NYC for a weekend and buying your goods after you have been fleeced in taxes!

lemon_nanny

carrot81 wrote: »

http://www.localcelebrity.com/

I've bought T-shirts off these guys a few times. They retail at about £25 over here (in Urban Outfitters and independant boutiques) but are all around $19.50-$22.50 on their site, PLUS you get shipping for a dollar if you buy 3 and this applies on UK deliveries too-bargain!! They have always ticked the 'gift' box on stuff they've sent me. The tees are funky but they also fit well and feel really nice.

From their site:

Q: HOW MUCH DOES SHIPPING COST?
A: ORDERS BEING DELIVERED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES COST $3.50 FOR 1 T-SHIRT, AND $4.50 FOR 2 T-SHIRTS. WHEN YOU BUY 3 OR MORE T-SHIRTS, IT ONLY COSTS $1.00. **ORDERS BEING SHIPPED INTERNATIONALLY, IT WILL COST BETWINN $13.50-$15.00 RESPECTIVELY**.

Looks like they've realized a dollar is too cheap postage to the UK .

mister_bojangles

I recently returned from a one week stay in New York (18 April), where I stayed with a relative. This saved on hotel charges. I bought two watches, mp3 players for my children, a couple of suits and other accessories. i checked on how much these articles would have cost me in te UK, adn I found that (in spite of the cheap airfare of £230 - which I purchased via ba.com) I still saved over £200. The shopping malls always seem to have offers. With VAT at 7%, this is the time to make purchases in the US.

mister_bojangles

The Baldwins, how easy is it to get UK opticians to fit lenses in frames bought elsewhere?

Caramelapplebetty

I found Boots products in Target and CVS pharmacy - everything cheaper than in the uk - for example the wrinkle cream that is impossible to get hold of here at the moment was $19.99 (£16.99 here) Nationwide credit card gave us $1.96 exchange rate making it less that £11. Also Lego is a good deal there too!

anitha

anybody thought about buying a timeshare out there at this time - a resale as they are cheaper

binna

We recently bought some North Face clothing for £50 which worked out about half price getting it from the US. Shipping costs were approx £8 so we still thought it worked out better. however when it arrived the delivery men said that we were required to pay £32 in import duty, so effectively it didn't work out any cheaper! He said that we could refuse the parcel however he didn't say that we would still be required to pay the duty.

pedro3gb

Just received a fabulous pima cotton polo shirt from Revolve. They have such fabulous clothes I just had to buy this shirt in a great colour. Ok I paid a bit more but nothing like Armani, Boss or similar expensive brans here. However, a shock when I had to pay £14 something which did include a Royal Mail handling fee. The shirt is so soft I will love wearing it. It makes the Lacoste Polo I also recently bought feel like sack cloth.

I always buy my Phillips Sonicare toothbrush heads from USA. Boots charge £25 for 2 but I get 3 for £21 and there is no charge to pay on delivery.

Just a thought - my colleague regularly buys hats from a hat shop in Austen and never has to pay anything. I don't know why.

Ped

heather2209

I have just had some clothing delivered from the us and have had to pay 11gbp handling fee for it. Not a a happy bunny!! Why do we have to do this, I have had things from the us before, and have not been clobbered for extra money, so why now.
Heather

Haroldstotle

pedro3gb wrote: »

Just a thought - my colleague regularly buys hats from a hat shop in Austen and never has to pay anything. I don't know why. Ped

There is a duty threshold of £18. I believe it is £35 for gifts. So the hat may be less than £18.

The charges consist of import duty and VAT, on the purchase price inc postage. There are thousands of categories for VAT, which affect the amount of VAT charged. It may be worth a quick call to the customs/revenue to see what commodity code your item is given, because there are some which are 0%.

Interestingly, I imported a Honda mower once and it was in the same VAT category as a nuclear reactor! :eek: