Anyone bought anything from USA eBay lately?

[fredrussell]

I’m just wondering what a £100 (including postage) second hand boaty item will cost once VAT, customs etc are added? Anyone know?

 

[davidej]

Almost all US companies insist on using DHlL or FedEx whose minimum transAtlantic charge seems to be in excess of £50

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Last time I bought from eBay US, more than 12 months ago, I seem to remember that the quoted price included import duties and taxes charged at the international buyer's location, Ireland in my case. I have not bought from anywhere except the Euro-zone lately, due to the effects of Brexit

 

[harvey38]

I've given up buying from abroad, what starts out as a bargain soon loses it's appeal once you get hit for not only shipping fees, often there are Carrier/Customs clearance fees that arrives on your doorstep two weeks after you have taking delivery.

I bought some DJ lighting fixtures directly from a Chinese Manufacturer some years ago that were damaged on arrival. I never did get a satisfactory
resolution, made little financial gain and caused me a great deal of grief.

Lesson learnt for me!

 

[fredrussell]

Hmm, food for thought. It’s not a desperately needed item, I may just wait until one appears on eBay uk.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Unless it's unavailable in the UK (in which case there's a fair chance they won't ship to the UK) it's rarely worth buying from the USA. Besides the obvious carriage, import duties, VAT and handling charges, there are wide categories of equipment that may not meet UK standards and would therefore be illegal to put to use. Anything with an RF side is an obvious example, but RF interference standards might catch almost anything electrical.

This doesn't mean that the kit is in any way worse that the UK/EU equivalent, but the standards are different - for example, US WiFi equipment may allow a higher output power than is legal this side of the pond, because of greater separation between properties.

The only way of buying "cheap" from the USA is to either buy on a visit, or get a friend in the USA to buy it and forward it as a "gift".

 

[fredrussell]

Thanks AP. It’s actually a gps antenna/puck for an old Furuno plotter. The plotter will take gps via NMEA 0183 - that maybe the easier way to go.

Furuno GP-320B GPS WAAS Receiver Antenna. Tested/Warranty | eBay

 

[Bran]

Last item from eBay USA was in December 2020, Metz manta antenna, new,cost £72.00 delivered.
Breakdown of costs, antenna $56, postage $16, import charges $19. This was still a lot cheaper than purchasing in the UK.

 

[Daydream believer]

I have not bought from anywhere except the Euro-zone lately, due to the effects of Brexit

Errmm. Somehow I think the idea of Brexit may have passed over your head. Or is not working for you as one might wish.

 

[russ]

I recently enquired for a full door to door price of a £150 steering oil cooler from the US. Less than a kg and about 280mm long. Over £500 in total.
Just not worth it.

 

[fredrussell]

Just out of interest, does it make a difference if item is new or used?

 

[russ]

I guess it depends on what the declared value is for the purposes of payable taxes & shipping costs.

 

[Hoist]

Some ebay items from Ebay.com (US) can be purschased using the Global Shipping Program.

Its usually a weird shipping price like £56.87 and that is customs charges and shipping all rolled into one payment. You won't pay anymore.

If its not allready on there you can ask the seller to relist with that option ticked, it makes no difference to them as ebay do all the international shipping stuff.

As for your GPS puck, if it's NMEA 0183 if you just need to find out the baud rate and just buy the generic chinese one from ebay UK. I have been using them for years without issue