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Ordering from America

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
How feasible is it to find somewhere where you can get items sent to in America (i.e. for ordering) and then get them to send them to you as a 'gift' hence you dont (shouldnt have to anyway) pay duty on the items.

For example, an intel core 2 duo processor e6300 costs £120 ish in the uk. From america, £100! If I ordered a lot of bits it would soon mount up to a lot of savings, albeit more hassle too...

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Gifts only don't pay duty up to a certain amount, as far as I know, you'd probably need somewhere that would send something as if it was just a parcel to a friend - my name?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's only under about £30. I think some companies will mark it as a gift (I know Play.com have a little tick box on their packages) so you'll have to ask. But hearing from people who do it, it's a bit of a gamble as to whether you'll get hit for VAT and import tax. You should assume you have to pay it, and then treat it as a bonus if you don't. But tbh for £20, considering the extra hassle if something is wrong with it, I'd say it's not worth it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    how much is delivery from america? Would u still be making a saving after p&p charges?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Also loads of american websites don't accept UK credit cards - they only accept US ones - and most won't ship outside of the US and even then they will only ship to registered US delivery addresses - my friend has a house in FL but we cant' get stuff shipped to it as she doesnt' live there all the time and my dad has previously tried to get things shipped to his office without any luck either.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Is there even a difference between UK and US credit cards? I'm quite sure a UK visa = US visa=Canadian Visa...I never had a problem or even noticed a difference in credit cards when I was out of coutnry, or known anybody to have a problem with it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If you have ever tried to use your UK visa card in a telephone in the US then you will know there is a difference - for ages i had no idea why but then randomly I talked to someone who worked for AT&T at a social function and he was so confused as to why it wouldn't work he called up someone who explained AT&T only accepted US Visa cards because they had had lots of fraud problems with the other ones.

    Also that was the same reason why my dad couldn't get stuff delivered to his office as he obv lives in the UK even though he works part of the time in Texas.

    I think all UK ones start 4929 or something.

    Thankfully us europeans are all lovely and seem to accept everyones money except for AMEX.

    (you have no idea how much of a trauma it is looking at the william sonoma website and not being able to order any of it).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh I had no idea! Thanks for the info :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote:
    Also loads of american websites don't accept UK credit cards - they only accept US ones - and most won't ship outside of the US and even then they will only ship to registered US delivery addresses - my friend has a house in FL but we cant' get stuff shipped to it as she doesnt' live there all the time and my dad has previously tried to get things shipped to his office without any luck either.
    There is a service called something like shop America online that will let you have things delivered to them in the US and they send it on to you abroad. I can't imagine you'd save money doing this but at least it's there for things you can only buy in the US. My sister used this service to buy M&M sweets from the fatory with her and her fiancees names on them for their wedding later this year (instead of sugared almonds).

    I've bought from Amazon in the states but that's about it.

    Some sellers on E-Bay mark things as a gift instead of merchandise but they aren't really meant to.

    When I send things abroad (or to the UK from abroad) I usually put the lowest possible price on the airway bill that the items could viably be worth. I hate having to declare the value of gifts though as the person receiving it sees it and the desciption before they even unwrap the parcel.

    ETA: It was this website: www.shopthestates.com but it appears to have closed. But there are some similar websites, if you go on the above website there are some links to follow.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So its not really worht it then?

    With the exchange rate we've got at the moment the government or rather the import / export dudes are really being mean :grump:

    £1 = $1.88!!!

    I don't know if I've ever seen it so strong in my life!!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    £1 = $1.88!!!

    I don't know if I've ever seen it so strong in my life!!


    I'm sure it was £1 - $1.92 for a while a couple of years ago.

    Anyway, it isn't worth it for a £20 saving. And you have to pay duty on a gift if it's marked as worth more than $55. You can lie about the value, but that isn't entirely legal.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote:
    Thankfully us europeans are all lovely and seem to accept everyones money except for AMEX.
    Oh yeah, those bastard scum at AMEX, charging you a fucking fortune for processing costs. No wonder no-one takes them.

    But I've used my VISA from the UK to buy something off and American website, to be delivered to my sister in Canada with no problem (well actually, there was a slight issue with the US Postal service, but that wasn't the company's fault).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh yeah, those bastard scum at AMEX, charging you a fucking fortune for processing costs. No wonder no-one takes them.

    Decent places take AMEX. They might charge a bit but they give AMEX users a good deal on Airmiles I think. Just a shame I don't earn enough to get one.
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