weak dollar and chandlery from US

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asj1

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I have just purchased a piece of (non-marine) equipment from a supplier in the US and I was very impressed by the speed of delivery - ordered online on Thursday evening and delivered Tuesday morning, without VAT being charged - perhaps it should have been. The only downside was the delivery charge $50 dollars on equipemt costing $350.
With the weakening dollar my thougts turned to chandlery items, but I have been unable to locate a stockist carrying alarge range of different makes who is prepared to ship to the UK -- anyone had any success, and who would they recommend?
I did some research ayear ago and found that many of the more expensive items such as winches and hatches were actually more expensive in the US
 
I should be careful ordering stuff from the US.
1 It may be illegal to use some radio items in Europe.
2 Only items under 18GBP are exempt from duty and VAT unless they are brought in personally.
3 VAT is at 17.5%
4 Duty can be between 2% and 20% depending on the item.
5 Often suppliers will insist on carrirers like Fedex to deliver - ther charges to Europe are high compared to the value of the item. If you can get the supplier to use US Post then the charges are more reasonable.
6 Warranties could be a problem.

I don't think it's worth the hassle but I am sure there will be many who will disagree with me!
 
I agree. I used the two stores I listed above for items that I couldn't find for sale in the UK or Europe (some LED deck lights and a Navman accessory)

I am looking to buy a Raymarine Scanner, best price in the UK £700 inc VAT. Best price in the US $899.00. So that is £461.02 + VAT + Delivery (about $100.00 or £51.28) plus import duty possibly. All in about £593 if I escape import tax. not worth it on this item IMHO.
 
A PS to my last post!
I have bought Harken and other stuff from the US on eBay.
This was OK as the items were "secondhand" (note the inverted commas!) and the seller was always happy to use US Post. I have never been asked to pay duty or VAT on anything bought this way.
 
Aren't there potential warranty problems with "grey imports" ? I have heard stories about bona fide outlets in the UK refusing to have anything to do with customers who try to get repairs done on imported equipment.
 
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Aren't there potential warranty problems with "grey imports" ? I have heard stories about bona fide outlets in the UK refusing to have anything to do with customers who try to get repairs done on imported equipment.

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Yes, this is very true.
Most will not touch warranty work on a US purchased product or if they do they will charge for the repair.
You would have to ship it back to the US for "free" warranty work.

There are issues relating to radio equipment too.
Most if not all US radio's are not approved for UK/EU use.
Channels missing, wrong class of DSC etc.

Best regards
 
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Be prepared to pay import duty and VAT, though

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That is the big problem. I would like to buy various chandlery items from the US, not because they are cheaper but because there are some things you can't get here, but you can never forecast what it's going to cost. There are shipping charges and possibly customs dues and the carriers charge a fee for getting your goods cleared.
 
Good guess...

Although you can't necessarily forecast the exact cost, you can make a good guess at the maximum likely cost. In many cases, you'll get away with paying less. If you can, always try to get stuff shipped by US Post - in my experience this doesn't always get caught for duty/VAT. On the other hand, FedEx (although a brilliant service) will always charge the duty/VAT/handling, although I've successfully challenged the estimated shipping costs they've used in the past.

I bought £53 worth of stuff the other day from US, it can by US Post, and Royal Mail charged £11 duty/VAT/handling before they'd let me have it.
 
Re: Good guess...

It can be done. Here is a link for info on importing goods, look up the TARIC section. They have a how to use it section and a direct link to it.

import duty link

I used West Marine when in the Caribbean and they were excellent, masses of stuff and very fast delivery. They advertise in the British yachting press that they now ship to the UK.
 
Re: Good guess...

We priced a Pure 80E watermaker in the UK last year - £2,400 plus 17.5% VAT and we would still have to have paid shipment to Balearics.
Same unit via eBay from Westmarine cost US$2,000 plus UPS plus VAT.
Worked out £800 cheaper from Westmarin - and delivered direct to Balearics inside 15 days.
No brainer.
JOHN
 
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