US Chandlery

[Guest]

I have been looking at the prices of some bits that I want to buy, here and on US websites.

One bit of electronics costs £756 + vat against $379 (£239) in the US. I have just got to the point of rather going without than being ripped off.

Has any one imported chandlery stuff? What are the problems? Is there any duty to pay over and above the VAT that might explain some of the differences?

Any sites to recommend?

Geoff

ps If that car dealer thinks I am going to pay him £2K more then Jamjar .....

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[Deleted User YDKXO]

Anything imported into the EC may attract some kind of import duty. I recently bought some motorbike gear from a US company and our lovely Customs and Excise wanted duty equivalent to 40% of the value. Its worth talking to them first to find out what level of duty would be payable. The other problem is what happens if something goes wrong because there will be no consumer legislation to protect you. There seems to be such a discrepancy in the price though that it might be worth getting on a plane and bringing the thing back in a suitcase but I didnt say that really!

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[Dave_Snelson]

Yes, its certainly prudent to bear Mike's points in mind. I have succesfully imported stuff large and small from the US and these items include a GPS and two back-to-back ski boat seats. The seats were the most interesting because over here they were £700 +VAT and without mounting boxes. From the US, they were £289 all in and with the mounting boxes. No contest.

As to warrenties, if you buy using your credit card, then you have have some protection there. With electronics you may find that they have global warranties anyway.

All that aside, I still can't get my head round the difference in prices for the same articles.

<hr width=100% size=1>Madoc Yacht Club
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.madocyachtclub.co.uk>http://www.madocyachtclub.co.uk</A>

 

[Talbot]

I bought my plotter from florida - had to go visit some relatives anyway!!! the price of the plotter and a superwide Cmap was the same in dollars as it was in £s here (approx £1k). I checked on warranties beforehand and Navman were quite happy to honour it. Declared it at customs and was treated nicely (just vat). Have since considered a radar (JRC) - can be had for nearly half the UK price. but the company that deals with the warranty in UK will not touch grey imports - their response was that if I had a problem with it I would have to ship it back to the states. You can bet which of these two companies is likely to get repeat business from me. There was a time when Marconi stood for the best in radar - they have been steadily declining for a long time, and if their treatment of me is anything to go by, I would not consider investment in their company as a good long term prospect!! Though to be fair, I have heard that they are good with their UK clientel.

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[Elessar]

There's an excellent US supplier at www.boatfix.com
Very knowledgable chap there will offer free advice on the phone and their prices are very good. They have a good downloadable catalogue and have technical advice bulletins for download. They are happy to and routinely ship to the UK.
Haven't bought electronics there, can't rememeber the price of those and for some reason I can no longer see the site. Have been in contact with them for a couple of days and they've given me alternative addresses but to no avail.
Aparently people on some ISPs can see this site - I'm on tiscali and can't
So - who can see this site? Last time I saw it I thought it was great!

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