Buying a high priced item from America through Ebay; customs/VAT charges?

Crazy_Jamie

I am currently considering a bid on an item that finishes tomorrow on Ebay.com. It's on the equivalent of £150 or thereabouts at the moment, and I expect it will end at about £200. The seller is obviously in the US, and confirms in the listing that he will send to the UK (and the costs for doing so).

My question is, will I incur charges through customs for VAT and other charges over and above the auction amount? If so how much typically, and how would I actually pay these?

Any help appreciated. It has only just occurred to me that there may be extra charges, and I thought someone on here might have experience of buying from the US. I also want to make sure that I'm getting good value overall if I do incur charges, obviously.

vuvuzela

Check the HMRC website for the rate of duty payable. Then add on VAT and a Parelforce or other courier handling fee.
Expect to pay around a third extra.

forgotmyname

I think the VAT also applies to the postage costs as well as the items value so you may get a hefty bill.

Always puts me off from buying abroad, I guess for rare items you need to buy from anywhere.

mippy

when I used to buy a lot of t-shirts from the States, a £100 order would cost me between £20-£50 in fees+VAT. It's worth it if it really is significantly cheaper or impossible to find over here, but you need to bear it in mind.

martindow

I would suggest you allow for around 25% extra to pay. The other issue is that it is not straightforward to return items if they are damaged or not as described. It would need to be a really good bargain for me to be tempted.

amcluesent

Get the seller to wrap in nice paper and put in a birthday card. Mark the customs declaration form value as $25

custardy

amcluesent wrote: »

Get the seller to wrap in nice paper and put in a birthday card. Mark the customs declaration form value as $25

why would the seller do that?
if the item goes missing and they have declared it for $25,then what?

to the OP,17.5% VAT for most items(check HMRC for different catagories),perhaps import duty and clearence fee's for whatever carrier

soolin

amcluesent wrote: »

Get the seller to wrap in nice paper and put in a birthday card. Mark the customs declaration form value as $25

Oh dear, I would expect a newbie to show a criminal mind but a regular?

martindow

soolin wrote: »

Oh dear, I would expect a newbie to show a criminal mind but a regular?

Mind you the location is where the drunkards roll. Maybe it can be put down as an error of judgement brought on by post football celebrating.

Crazy_Jamie

Thanks for the assistance all. I expected the 17.5% addition but allowing for 25%-30% of the value is a useful guide. I am hunting down some rare items, but the problem is that most of the charges in getting it over here would simply push it far above the value that I'm prepared to pay, even for investments.

custardy

Crazy_Jamie wrote: »

Thanks for the assistance all. I expected the 17.5% addition but allowing for 25%-30% of the value is a useful guide. I am hunting down some rare items, but the problem is that most of the charges in getting it over here would simply push it far above the value that I'm prepared to pay, even for investments.

the weak £ doesnt help either
last time i bought from the US the £ was strong