Import Tax Costs from USA to UK

[Digitised]

Well Rsmacker and neilli,

You guys were really unlucky it seems.
From what i know about customs they just dont have the the ability to thoroughly check what comes in, plus on top of that they have to suspect that you are fiddling the system and have some clue about the types of goods you are importing before they crack open the case and start googling for prices.

I can give advice, DONT let the seller mention ebay or any auction on the paperwork, keep the details of the item as unspecific as possible or state the model as a cheaper asian made (without saying its asian of course) then the laymen staff will price check a cheap guitar and see the $300 price tag pop up.

Lets face it trying to find jacksons is pretty tough online as it is, nearly everytime you search for a USA you turn up 50 cheap imports in the mix, especially on ebay.
So just value it as a second hand asian and have them label it as such.

They would have to know their jacksons to see through it, and since most guitar shops dont know their jacksons (it seems) leads me to believe that the chances of being caught are extremely slim, as long as you take care with the above.

Anyway ive got 3 guitars so far, lied to shit about the value and not been flagged.
Im happy ive saved more than whatever fine i would pay, so its all good so far.

[Rsmacker]

I'm telling, ner ner

[neilli]

That can work fine if you're getting the guitars shipped - after all, you can't be responsible for paperwork screwups by the sender can you? However, if you're bringing the guitar back from holiday, it's all you....

[wibble]

Alternately, instead of limiting yourself to the UK only, you could widen your search to Europe. Granted not a huge amount of USA Jacksons in Europe, but if you do find one you want, theres no import/VAT to pay as we`re (unfortunately) a part of the E.U. Just another avenue you could try without the sting.

[Seef]

Wow I'm happy I live in the USA... never have to deal with this

[neilli]

Unless you bring a guitar into the US from outside, but with the state of the economy at the moment, that's not gonna be likely for a while yet...

[eiopago]

when i bought my usa sl-1, shipped from miami, i paid 17.5% of the value on vat and about 7% for the custom fees.
very hight taxes but still cheaper buying from the usa.

[wilkinsi]

7% customs duty? You were ripped off. It should be 3.7% on any electric guitar imported from USA to UK.