View Full Version : Rip Off Britain
I've was in the USA about two weeks ago and was amazed to find that the Leatherman wave was a mere $69.00 about £37.00 and the Super Tool came in at a lightweight $59.00 about £31.00. Over here we are talking about £100.00 for the Wave.
I was amazed at the prices and range of outdoor,fishing and hunting kit available at the equivalent of your local Asda.
Comprehensive survival kits for $12.00
Maglite AA's including holster and two spare krypton bulbs for a miserly $8.49.
Rip off Britain or what! If you guys can source kit form any friends relatives you might have in the US of A I suggest you send a wish list and some dosh and get it shipped while the dolar to pound exchange is still good.
True - there is a lot of stuff available at good prices.
There are still a lot of things that arent available at as good a price over there compared to here though.
A well researched conumer is always the best way to be. :-)
C_Claycomb
10-03-2004, 18:01
Yeah, I have a Gran in Kentucky and we used to get loads of stuff shipped to her, either to pick up, or to have forwarded. Wal-mart and K-mart carry pretty good stuff......but....
If you REALLY want to make yourself feel miserable. Check out:
www.cabelas.com
www.llbean.com
www.basspro.com
They all do free catalogs to the UK. The Cabelas camo is a riot, as are some of the other things they carry, propane fired turkey fryer anyone? :lol:
Man! I have just got to get some camo chairs for my hose :lol:
Or should I brave going to work/out to dinner in a Formal Evening Wear Camo Tie :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
C_Claycomb
10-03-2004, 20:19
How about camo baby cloths and camo bed quilts to match!
"Now you too can lose your child without ever leaving the comfort of your own home." :rolmao:
Never mind the real risk of losing junior when you take him outside!
Joking apart, they do carry some really top notch gear at pretty good prices, and their returns policies are amazing. I had a Dry-plus jacket from Cabelas, used it on and off for 6 years. In the 5th year the membrain fell to bits, dissintergrated into thousands of 1mm wide hexagons. Since my mate's Gore-tex, bought at the same time, was still going strong, I sent the jacket back, just to see if they could tell me what happened to it. Didn't expect any refund, not after 6 years!! They offered me 50% of the value of the jacket without prompting, which isn't bad!!
Yeah, but by doing that they kept you as a customer! That's what matters.
UK stores (no matter what they sell) could learn from out friends across the pond a thing or two about keeping customers.
Didn't expect any refund, not after 6 years!! They offered me 50% of the value of the jacket without prompting, which isn't bad!!
Word of warning chaps - beware the import tax!
Even with import tax on top, the prices can be unbeatable. Add to that the quality of service usually seen and the amazing range ... well, it can be well worth it.
However, always factor in having to cough up import tax ... :-D
C_Claycomb
11-03-2004, 12:05
Import tax can make you a lot less happy when you get your package. I have been lucky getting things forwarded as gifts. The value limit on commercial parcels is £18 I think. Private gifts are £36 (again, that is going on memory). Best bet is to cultivate a barter system with a friendly American bushcrafter :wink:
I've seen Akubra hats for sale over here at £75-£80.
Saw them on an Aussie web site, all in with postage to the UK by airmail (10days delivery) £48.
Do you have to pay import tax on everything from everywhere? And isn't import tax another example of rip off britain?
you don't pay tax on items bought within the EU as long as VAT is paid in the country of origin.
you can buy stuff up to the value of 18 quid tax free ouside the EU.
you can accept gifts from outside the EU of upto to 38 quid.
apart from that you should pay import duty (varies according to products), vat and a handling fee (for the carriers who have to deal with customs on your behalf) on everthing else, and that includes the postage too!
what rip off?
cheers, and.
How are "used" items treated by the tax-barrier system and what makes a knife, for example, "used"?
As far as I understand the rules, the import taxes only apply to new items.
How are "used" items treated by the tax-barrier system and what makes a knife, for example, "used"?
I agree Sargey ... even if you bank on paying the import duty you can still get some super deals that are cheper than anything you get here in the UK. You just need to shop about!
Great Pebble
11-03-2004, 23:08
I should point out that there's a reasonable chance you'll never have to pay the duty, as long as you're not bringing in truck loads. You should budget for having to pay it though, just in case.
Another option is to have someone Stateside do your shopping for you (or act as a proxy in e-bay) and then forward the goods to you. Repackaged as birthday presents, or whatever. A lot less likely to attract customs attention than a franked parcel from a trader. It also allows you to bid on e-bay items which are only available to buyers in CONUS. Which can be very handy at times ;)
Nick in Belfast
I ordered some electronics gear from the US - I had to pay VAT but no import duty. As folks have said, it still works out cheaper.
Never had to pay anything when importing bits and bobs from Brisa in Finland.
I've also never had to pay anything on 2nd hand stuff from the US that I won on ebay, even if over £18.
Lots of wildfowlers round here source their kit fom Cabelas.
I'm feeling real guilty here so stop it. :oops: :wink:
Ahhh now Hoodoo has revealed himself (not in the biblical sense)
We will all be knocking on his door to source kit for us! :yikes:
:shock:
How are "used" items treated by the tax-barrier system and what makes a knife, for example, "used"?
if it doesn't fall into one of the categories above, used or not you ought to pay taxes on it. however used is usually cheaper than brandy spankin' new, so you pay taxes on what ever the value is, you shouldn't get charged taxes on the cost of a new one. an old friend of mine who worked in the states for a while, used to sell kit to a thrift store, then buy it back and keep the reciepts. if he was accosted in customs at the airport, he had proof that what he'd bought wasn't very expensive. i think this sort of behaviour is reprehensible. i really do.
:wink:
Another option is to have someone Stateside do your shopping for you (or act as a proxy in e-bay) and then forward the goods to you. Repackaged as birthday presents, or whatever. A lot less likely to attract customs attention than a franked parcel from a trader. It also allows you to bid on e-bay items which are only available to buyers in CONUS. Which can be very handy at times ;)
i bought a watch for my wife from the states a while ago, they had marked it gift, but the postage was franked with company info. the watch was held by customs demanding invoices and proof of the goods value. even after all the taxes, it was still about 25% cheaper than the highstreet.
as an aside, if the value of your gift is between 45euros and a couple of hundred there is a basic rate, two point something percent, that will be applied if the rate is in your favour. last time i checked, knives were about 8 percent.
cheers, and.
CM Burns
12-03-2004, 15:50
another good example of rip-off Britain....
i wanted a fly fishing vest which retails at $135 in the USA but a typically ridiculous £135 in the UK. I emailed the manufacturer's offices over here and politely suggested that they review their pricing due the the strength of the £ against the $. And it worked too - they reduced the vest to £125 :evil:
Sounds like all you need to have reasonable access to the much lower prices over here is the right chap to buy the item and render it "used" before forwarding it on. A knife might be "used" after cutting up some salad greens.
Scandinavian knives? If you have not done so, check out prices at WWW.ragweedforge.com. Sometimes even lower prices can be found via Google.
Always good to check reputation by using "search" feature at BladeForums.com. More chancy types over here.
should point out that there's a reasonable chance you'll never have to pay the duty, as long as you're not bringing in truck loads. You should budget for having to pay it though, just in case.
Another option is to have someone Stateside do your shopping for you (or act as a proxy in e-bay) and then forward the goods to you. Repackaged as birthday presents, or whatever. A lot less likely to attract customs attention than a franked parcel from a trader. It also allows you to bid on e-bay items which are only available to buyers in CONUS. Which can be very handy at times ;)
Thats actually how I'm getting my Swanni in a month or so time, my dad lives in Oz so will by it, unwrap it and then send as a birthday present.
My noble and generous parents have just come back from a trip to Australia....with a Swanni Ranger for me. Excellent.
Cost 119 Aus dollars in Western Australia - about £48 so not dramatically cheaper than here. No problems at customs.
Something to remember, when importing from the US, all courier services, such as Fed-Ex, are contractually obligated to submit every item for duty & VAT, you also get an additional handling fee for submitting said items for duty & VAT. When it arrives in the UK, someone like Parcelforce take over delivery, for which you get an additional charge. The additional costs can be HUGE. You DO get a tracking service though.
BUT, if you use the United States Postal Service (USPS), then there are no such contractual obligations. It is equivalent to the UK post office. Get your item shipped to you via USPS airmail, and you may or may not have it go for VAT & Duty. When your parcel arrives, the UK post office take over delivery. The downside - no tracking service.
I'm not suggesting you should use USPS as a way of circumventing UK customs charges, just that the overall import costs are usually a lot lower than using couriers in nearly every circumstance.
Good point Martyn ... however, there's always a flip side. many times I've had stuff bought over by courier and then delivered by the courier with a charge on it that they say will be billed later but the bill never appears. FedEx and DHL seem to forget about small charges quite often in my experience. Parcel Force don't, unless the actual postie at the doorstep just can't be bothered (I've had the doorbell ring and be handed a parcel "covered" in charges stickers and not asked to pay it!
You're lucky Adi, every time I've been *forced* to use a courier - ie, it's the only method the retailer would use to ship to the UK, I've been smacked for the lot. In some cases, doubling the cost of the item.
On the other hand, USPS has been good to me every time. Speak to some of the guys on BB about the preferred shipping/importing methods and I'm sure 99/100 will say USPS. :wink:
doubling the price of the item? like being charged fourty bucks to deliver a twenty dollar titanium mug?
yes, usps or nothing for me!
but you will still get a handling charge if you have to pay customs.
cheers, and.
I think that because I live out in the stick (well, OK, not sticks but almost!!!!) and the couriers here use small local firms I think that the customs paperwork gets separated ... hence my good fortune!
I always figure on paying it but if I don't have to ... :-D
You're lucky Adi, every time I've been *forced* to use a courier - ie, it's the only method the retailer would use to ship to the UK, I've been smacked for the lot. In some cases, doubling the cost of the item.
On the other hand, USPS has been good to me every time. Speak to some of the guys on BB about the preferred shipping/importing methods and I'm sure 99/100 will say USPS. :wink:
ditchfield
14-03-2004, 21:51
I get the same thing. Bargain.
but you will still get a handling charge if you have to pay customs.
cheers, and.
You may be right, I've yet to find out though, as I've never yet had a customs charge with USPS. :wink:
yeah, i've had a couple.
had to collect a box from the parcel force depot today, got off scott free! 8-)
cheers, and.