Having an item sent from US?

id try TNT, i have used them for stuff inside europe and have always been very resonable. I think they go to the us.

Ah, hadn't thought of that... so on something obviously secondhand, and in the absence of a receipt, what would they base duty and VAT on? And isn't there a cut off price below which you don't pay?

Not if you get it sent back as a Warranty return ;D

Its a used part if they open it to check ;D
£50 for shipping doesnt sound that bad, don't be tempted to use USPS or you will get stung handling by our Postal service even if you pay Freight forward (all taxes/handling paid) UPS is better for sure

USPS is basically Royal Mail or Parcelfarce when it gets here. A small chance of getting away without paying the duty.

I paid $90 to UPS red a cam from the USA a couple of years ago. I ordered it about 5:30 on the Tuesday and it was with me 10 am on the Thursday. Top service.

VAT and duty works like this...

Depending on the BTI classification, and there are loads so "camshaft" may fall into something other than usual "car parts" but usually the duty is 4%. Then theres VAT @ 17.5% but thats on the part, shipping and duty. All carriers (even post office) charge a "collection fee" usually a tenner or £15. This is for processing the tax on import for you.

So, for example:

Item = £100
Shipping = £50
duty = £4
VAT = £26.95
collection fee = £15
Total = £195.95

There all kinds of dodges with duty and VAT but basically these are all VAT fraud so if you get caught you can get well screwed. Also marking the item as "gift" does not excempt it from VAT or duty. These are both payable on gifts so ignore anyone who tells you to get it marked "gift". "Warranty Return" is your best option, although you may be required to provider paperwork to prove this, in which case you can be looking at a tax fraud charge again...

AlistairK - I've found it to be the opposite.

I order stuff on a regular basis from the US, and always get my stuff sent USPS. For the larger stuff, I have it sent USPS surface which can take up to 8 weeks. I've done this for many years, and have only been charged import a totoal of three times. When I buy car parts, I get them marked down as 'used car parts' - which they are - and they always seem to get through no problem.

I avoid UPS though as you are almost guaranteed to get hit with import charges with them.

I've had 4 items arrive from the US this week and haven't been charged import on any of the items, and they weren't car parts.

Sometimes I buy stuff off Ebay from people who won't ship to the UK. I get the items sent to a mate in Oregon who sends them on to me marked as a 'gift' with a value of $20 and I've never been charged any import.

USPS can take 3 months. I was sending threatening letters and all sorts over a certain parcel with took 14 weeks to get to me, he had sent it exactly when he said... They wait until the container is full then they load the container on the ship. I've also had a few items damaged USPS or by Royal Mail / Parcelfarce.

On the upside they are usually cheaper. UPS / DHL can sometime be cheaper though on larger items.

It all depends on how crooked you want to be. I've had sellers refuse to mark down the value of an item when asked. I even had one email from a seller "Congratulations on winning my auction, youe shipping to the UK will be $... and don't even think about asking me to lie on the customs ticket". He must get asked that a lot!

The problem is that if you put a value of $20 on a $400 part and that part is damaged the postal insurance will only give you the $20...

As I said, USPS you have the best chance of not getting done for VAT & Duty. About 30% of my stuff gets caught.

Anything under £18 is VAT/duty free anyway.