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Buying from Abroad Buying from abroad is a good idea, isn't it? You see a complete fountain on the internet, say America, its "not a bad price" will it be worth it? There are several problems, the first is that in America their electricity is 120v ac 60 hz ours is 230v ac 50 hz so the pump in this feature wont work over here, (not to mention any lights) although you could go to the additional expense of buying a suitable transformer Suppose its not a fountain, say an ordinary household light, it will be made to American standards, that means the wiring will be the "wrong colours", the cable may not be rated for our 230v (so that means the expense / hassle of rewiring it, or at least trying to) Also it will not carry the CE mark. Americans favour screw in lamps, the screw thread they use is imperial, ours are metric, so that means you will have to change the lamp holders too. (The cost is going up) Also any warranty will now be Void Then there is shipping costs (from America to the UK) Direct importing (large items) You also may not be aware that as you are buying something form abroad you are now an importer, this means that you will have to pay import duty, V.A.T as well as shipping Also if the item is large it may have to go into a bonded warehouse while any queries are sorted, and another expense will be storage, charged by the owner of the bonded warehouse. So what you thought was cheep now isn't Post (small items) Suppose something you have ordered is small and can be delivered by the postman that wont incur import and VAT will it? It depends on the value of what it is. When posted from abroad it must have a form filled in stating what it is and its value etc The post man may ask you to collect it from the sorting office as you have to pay import duty before you can have it, also a "administration fee" may be charged by the post office, so again what you thought was cheep now isn't Other courier Say your package is medium size and delivered to you by any "big well known courier" They deliver it to you, its yours, no import or VAT right? Wrong, the courier company will probably send you an invoice AFTER delivery for the amount of import duty and VAT So how do the big major companies get away with it then? Simple, they don't, its just they already know they have import duty and VAT to pay, because they do it all the time, you being a small one off importer didn't know that, but you do now In some cases couriers / shippers will sort all this out for you, but do be warned not all will. You should also note this article is not a legal guide line, just a voice of experience. If it is within the EU circumstances are different, the main one is it depends on was any duty paid when you brought it Don't Believe us? click here
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