Can we buy in the US and ship to the UK?

warning_uk

Hi.

Sorry if this has been asked before, but is there a legitimate way to buy online from US shops and get the item posted to the UK? I know that Amazon.com doesn't ship to the UK (which is annoying because the prices are soooo much cheaper), but is this a legal issue or a business issue?

Sick of paying over the odds for consumer electronics...
Dave

leepea

Don't forget that if the item is worth more than £18 and is sent from the US, you will be hit with significant import taxes whcih you'll have to pay if you want to receive your item. I'm no expert so couldn't tell you the exact percentages or whatever, but I'm sure someone will come along and help.

calvinf

last time I checked you could log into amazon.com with your co.uk ID and order what you wanted...unless that changed at some point...?

martindow

Yes you can order from abroad, but the postage cost can be considerable. If the item is more than the equivalent of 18 pounds you are also likely to be charged duties and VAT. Duties vary according to the items but are usually only a few per cent and some things are zero rated and VAT is charged on the cost of the goods and on the carriage charge. There is also usually a handling charge of a few pounds.

As a rule of thumb I would add 25% to the cost and see if it is still a bargain. Sometimes parcels are delivered without the charges being imposed - if that happens it will be even better value!

If you are ordering from the EC there will be no customs charges but you will be charged the local VAT (usually included in the advertised price as it is here).

going2die_rich

You may not only have tax issues for importing but also warranty. What are you going to do if the item turns out faulty or develops a fault later?

Reuben_3

I would be very wary about ordering anything that might involve a Parcelforce delivery, as most US imports do. I've had to wait weeks for things that were sitting in their warehouse.

beadysam

I have nothing but good things to say about buying from the US. Yes you sometimes get caught and charged by customs but even so with the items I am buying, it is still so much cheaper to buy from the US. I factor in about 25% on top of everything I buy (varies a little depending on how much I spend) for customs but its not often I end up with a bill.
I bought a kiln in the US recently. It was built to UK electrical specs, and customised to my needs. In the UK the nearest model would have cost me about £1100 and about £30 shipping. In the US I paid the equivalent of £340 for a bigger, custom built kiln, including shipping, and great phone customer care calls. I had a bill from customs of £74.... Bargain, I'd say!
Obviously thats not always the case and you do have to ask questions, and check details with the customs depts, and also be aware that depending on shipping methods, you may have a long wait. Good luck.

PS: I've also bought from Amazon US loads of times, and from Ebay.com too

squirrelz

Don't forget that there's no duty on books, so you can order books from Amazon.com to your hearts content. I've bought quite a few from there, and they worked out cheaper than buying from Amazon.co.uk even allowing for the shipping costs.

Alternatively, there are mail redirecting services that you can subscribe to, that give you a US shipping address, and can repack the package consolidate packages etc and ship to you in the UK, for websites that don't have international shipping.

600wkm

What US sites does everybody buy from & would reccommend?
I recently tried buying from Fossil & Sketchers.com, but they declined my order as i didn't have a US address.

jockess1

what mail redirecting service do you use? I like the sound of this is it costly?

HankMcSpank

Rent a USA postal address from Parcel2go (£10per year), have your US retailer ship your item to your US address (check with them first to establish that they will!)...once they receive it, Parcel2go will then forward your item on to the UK...when working out whether it's worth it, you need to add about 25% for customs/excise.

To give you an example...a home cinema amp I'm after is £499 in the UK...£150 in the US :eek: , so even with shipping/import/VAT at current US/UK exchange rates it comes top about £275 to my door....

http://www.parcel2go.com/mail-forwarding-service.html