BUY in the USA and SHIP to the UK

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demto

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The price for mics in the USA seem considerably lower than in the UK.

Has anybody in the UK ordered a mike over the internet from the USA and had
it shipped direct to the UK.

If so how did things work out. Any pitfalls ??
 
I live in Norway, not far from ya neighbor :)

I`ve ordered most of mic collection from the US, no problem at all.
all I have to do is pay 25% tax (vat) on it when it arrives.

What kinda mic are you looking for?
 
demto said:
The price for mics in the USA seem considerably lower than in the UK.

Has anybody in the UK ordered a mike over the internet from the USA and had
it shipped direct to the UK.

If so how did things work out. Any pitfalls ??
Click to expand...
Condenser mics are fragile and couriers are rough. Warranties are harder to enforce from the US. Plus Parcelforce Worldwide (the people who deal with incoming foreign mail) are useless ... they lost a firewire interface (one of three I bought in February) and as a result I'm £280 out of pocket ... so much for that great saving.

I'm not saying don't do it, but I would say that my three or four experiences of ordering from abroad have not been positive ones.
 
The UK branch of the manufacturers of the mic I am thinking of say that they will honour the guarantee of a mic bought in the USA and will repair it in the UK, It does not have to be shipped back to the USA for repair.
 
demto said:
The UK branch of the manufacturers of the mic I am thinking of say that they will honour the guarantee of a mic bought in the USA and will repair it in the UK, It does not have to be shipped back to the USA for repair.
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Probably quite safe then.

Remember to factor in import tax ... it added £140 to my last purchase which was just under £600.
 
noisedude said:
Probably quite safe then.

Remember to factor in import tax ... it added £140 to my last purchase which was just under £600.
Click to expand...

that sucks. thats awfully high tax no?
 
Anybody know what the rate of import tax is in the UK, does VAT have to be added to this or is there just one tax, and how do you go about paying it?
 
How much do Chinese mics cost in the UK???????

And why do you think that is?????
 
when i ordered my guitar from america about 2 years ago i got hit with 21% tax but i don't know if the rate is still the same.
 
I,m not thinking of buying a Chinese mic. I have no idea what they cost in the UK as I hav'nt done any research on them.
 
21% tax seems a lot, doubt if the rate has changed. If it has its probably gone up if Gordon Brown's track record is anything to go by.
 
If you limeys need a middle man, I dont pay import since I am a US Soldier.

PM me if you need help.

teddy
 
demto said:
I,m not thinking of buying a Chinese mic. I have no idea what they cost in the UK as I hav'nt done any research on them.
Click to expand...

You missed my point entirely but thanks for playing!
 
demto said:
Anybody know what the rate of import tax is in the UK, does VAT have to be added to this or is there just one tax, and how do you go about paying it?
Click to expand...
Parcelforce Worldwide write to you and tell you they have a parcel they've paid through customs. They charge you the import duty and the VAT and a handling fee of about £8. You post them a cheque and eventually they send it out to you.

Or in my case, they send it straight back to America and refuse to refund the charges :confused:
 
C7sus

You know, I get totally fed up with silly remarks and pointless questions by people
on this site who probably believe they are the life and soul of the party and that
the whole world thinks they are witty and funny. The're not funny, just boring.
 
Noisedude

The idea of importing from the USA to the UK seems to be losing it's sparkle for me as
it seems there can be delays while you send the import tax and vat etc. I would also guess that by the time you have paid all these charges you are no better off than if you had bought from a UK distributor in the first place.
 
I seen a new AMS Neve1073 DPA on ebay in England for $3500 (and some change).
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMS-NEVE-1073-D...ryZ23793QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
A friend of mine got his new,here in the US for around $2700.
http://www.vintageking.com/New-Brands/Neve-AMS/Neve-1073-DPA
(Just using Vintage King as an example)
How the fuck does that happen?Theyre made over there. Even at 21% tax,....its still cheaper here. I always figured you guys could get them for,... I dont know,... about a grand or so a piece. I guess not.
 
phaqu said:
I seen a new AMS Neve1073 DPA on ebay in England for $3500 (and some change).
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMS-NEVE-1073-D...ryZ23793QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
A friend of mine got his new,here in the US for around $2700.
http://www.vintageking.com/New-Brands/Neve-AMS/Neve-1073-DPA
(Just using Vintage King as an example)
How the fuck does that happen?Theyre made over there. Even at 21% tax,....its still cheaper here. I always figured you guys could get them for,... I dont know,... about a grand or so a piece. I guess not.
Click to expand...
Britain's a pretty expensive place all ways round. We get used to it!! :D
 
demto said:
Noisedude

The idea of importing from the USA to the UK seems to be losing it's sparkle for me as
it seems there can be delays while you send the import tax and vat etc. I would also guess that by the time you have paid all these charges you are no better off than if you had bought from a UK distributor in the first place.
Click to expand...
It can work, and microphones aren't a bad thing to try it with at (apart from tube mics) you don't need to source any alternative power supplies or transformers. But the Parcelforce Worldwide system is a complete joke if anything goes wrong - as I say, they lost one of the three Yamaha i88x interfaces that HR member Dogman posted for me and I've not been able to get any compensation from either end (Parcelforce admit it was their fault so the USPS won't pay for it).

I'd say do it if you can afford the risk of having to take the hit if it goes wrong. Chances are you'll still end up with a bargain as long as you're patient.
 
Well here in Germany they do the same thing. If you order out of the country the customs office receives the package and they send you something in the mail. BUT you have to go pick it up and pay the taxes there. At least they SEND it to you guys up there. :p

I have the same problem though. I'm working with american equipment and I need to get a guitar, mics, preamps and other stuff and I have to import it all because of the voltage difference (at least as far as I know). I've never gotten a straight answer about the whole thing. I think I can buy a guitar here and use it without damaging my equipment but I'm not sure... :confused:
 
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