What to Buy From America?

ERICS_MUM

dogstarheaven wrote: »

will customs not charge any taxes on this then? i'm sure my daughter's bf's family (whom she's going with) don't do this with the designer stuff they bring back tho'...



i thought of setting up an Amazon.com account, that way i can pay in dollars as a way of not paying too much in sterling - is this a good idea? i thought that the customer service levels in the US is so good that they'll bend over backwards to help you, so the hotel wouldn't mind accepting parcels. if this is a prob. then i'll use my daughter's friend's address then.

Everyone has a personal tax-free allowance of £390, and any purchases brought into the UK worth upto that amount are duty/VAT free. If your total shopping exceeds that amount then duty/VAT are payable on the amount in excess of £390. Single items costing more than £390 will be charged duty/VAT on the whole value.

Re Amazon.com, if you already have an account with Amazon.co.uk then you don't need to open another - Amazon.com will use that one. All prices are charged to your credit card in $$$ and converted to £££ at the daily exchange rate used by the credit card company.

You need to change the default delivery address to your US hotel before you order, otherwise you get a "warning" when you try to put things in your basket. Don't forget to change back to your UK address when you get home!.:D

The hotel that I stay at in Florida charges $5 for each parcel they take in for me.

If you are a crafter it's really worth having a good search on Amazon.com for bargains - last year I bought a Cricut papercraft machine for $115 which at the time equalled £84. The UK price was £199 :eek::eek:

I love shopping in the US :T:T

Linda xx

scottishminnie

I've never hidden the seeds in my checked luggage, just kept them in my hand luggage. I figured that way if I was told it wasn't acceptable it wouldn't look like I was trying to pull a fast one.

I'm not as brave as my late grandmother who brought home 6 Maple tree saplings from Canada. She wrapped the stems in soaking wet cotton wool balls and paper tissues and squirreled them in her case. They made it home in one piece although only one sapling took root. That was 12 years ago though and my mum has a beautiful Canadian maple in her garden. I couldn't believe she pulled it off but I guess when you are in your late 80's you'll try anything:D

The gold bond cream is amazing. I have an aunt who has asked for supplies on my next visit as she swears it has helped a skin condition she has. It's this particular version of the Gold Bond cream although the others are great too.

I've found the Crest toothpaste to be better than any UK versions. I've also bought Crest Whitestrips on many occasions for myself and numerous friends and family. I've had lots of comments on my nice white teeth so I guess it must work:)
(I also bring home Crest or Scope whitenning mouthwash but that's heavy in your luggage!)

The onion mix can be used to coat chicken breasts, used to make fab dips, also in home made burgers and pasta dishes. It's the Lipton brand I buy. I've also brought dried mixes for pasta sauces, lots for dips etc. I just tend to pick up several in the supermarket and try them out. they are ususally beside the spices.

The other thing I bought was a recipe book called 99 uses for condensed soup and it has been well used - I picked it up in a Cracker Barrel store but the Campbells Soup website has lots of good recipes.

dogstarheaven

scottishminnie wrote: »

I'm not as brave as my late grandmother who brought home 6 Maple tree saplings from Canada. She wrapped the stems in soaking wet cotton wool balls and paper tissues and squirreled them in her case. They made it home in one piece although only one sapling took root. That was 12 years ago though and my mum has a beautiful Canadian maple in her garden. I couldn't believe she pulled it off but I guess when you are in your late 80's you'll try anything:D
.

your grandmother was v. brave. i don't think i'll have the guts to do anything like. having seen one programmes too many on No Borders, an Aussie programme on Sky, it's awful to watch how some ppl get treated. yes, i know the immigration officers have a job to do, but it's horrible to see these poor ppl get penalised. the UK Borders is worse to watch as they're so rude and horrid to them when they do the raids in take-away shops..

thanks for the sugg. on the onion soup mix and the Crest toothpaste. i shall pass this on to my DD and ask her to check out the other dried food mixes. Don't most of them contain dairy tho' as that is listed as not being allowed?

i'm really keen on a spice grinder (you can use a coffee grinder as an alt.) has anyone got a brand i could go for?

petecarter

dogstarheaven wrote: »

your grandmother was v. brave. i don't think i'll have the guts to do anything like. having seen one programmes too many on No Borders, an Aussie programme on Sky, it's awful to watch how some ppl get treated.

You mean treated for breaking the law? Isnt there a reason you cant bring living things from one country to another without telling someone.

dogstarheaven

there are better ways of treating ppl than they do on the prog. not someone who treats them like dirt/disrespect. thank goodness i don't own a tv anymore, there are far better things to do than watch stuff like this!

anyway, DD came back last w/e and didn't buy the grinder as US appliances are on a different wattage to ours, so got myself a couple packets of marinades, v. expensive gardening mags (the seed catalogs didn't arrive in time sadly) and v cheap Abercrombie & Fitch clothes (bought from clearances for about $10!!). thanks for all your help... the other requests didn't get a look-in as she was too busy buying clothes!