Buying from America

[Luigi]

Why does no-one buy from america.. i just watched tonigh on the topic of this, and after searching around, you can save generally around 15% on everything.

Obviously for small orders its not worth it, but geez, why does no-one do it?

 

[PP Mguire]

Because places like Newegg dont ship worldwide and the majority of people on these forums are from UK or Ausi.

 

[Luigi]

Thats my point, find a UK retailer and buy from there, were being ripped off!

Although, looking at water gear, theres only pennies in it, so it seems were getting a good deal there, thanks aqua-pcs and WCUK.

 

[kendo]

RMA to the USA? no ta, delay alone is a put off. Plus I think Customs may slap TAX (VAT) on it, via the delivery agent, e.g. Post Office.

 

[llwyd]

because of RMA hassle, import tax and shipping make it cheaper to buy from the UK

 

[equk]

I know there are people who buy GPUs etc from japan and china and then sell them on ebay.

Aren't most warranties valid worldwide?

Wouldn't be worth ordering tho I guess as you could get stung for import tax etc.

I have bought stuff from America tho and got someone to send it to me with present marked on it so I didn't pay import tax. Saved £150 on one product and got extended international warranty for free.

I guess it depends on the product. I think GPUs are a good example tho as they can be really expensive on release. Maybe ES CPUs aswell?

Didn't some members of OC3D get Fragtek to send them over Vista from america as it was cheaper aswell?

 

[Luigi]

Import duty is just 17.5% VAT, even after that its still 15% cheaper...

And cant you deal the RMA direct with the manufacturer anyway?

 

[Mr. Smith]

Frag used to do it, he hooked me up, and Jim, and Matt... Like PP said most don't post worldwide, and unless you know the poster and get them to mark it up as a gift or w/e you get stung for tax and then it's pointless...

RMA direct to manuf. so no real problem.

 

[Luigi]

the tax is just VAT, and in my calculations even if you got stung every time it was around 15% cheaper...

 

[Pseudonym]

One of my course mates has a house over there and brings stuff back with him every few months.

If you know any US soldiers stationed over here you can get it posted straight here and i think they might not tax it.

 

[Ares210]

If your price it out and it's cheaper to send over from over here then I'm sure a few of us would do it for you with little to no fee, but it seems like a big hassle for a lot of things.

 

[Rastalovich]

Your best bet, if your building a whole rig, is to price it in the UK, then price it in the US. With the difference book a holiday to the US. (and include the savings you make for living for 2 weeks over there too)

Retail stores are almost as cheap, and they have specials.

 

[AdamR79]

Import duty is just 17.5% VAT, even after that its still 15% cheaper...

And cant you deal the RMA direct with the manufacturer anyway?

Import duty is seperate to VAT.

You first pay duty on the goods, normally around 20%, although I think electircal items are around 30-35%. You then pay VAT on that AND shipping, you then nearly always get collared with parcel forces admin fee (regardless of who is delivering in the UK, parcelforce deal with all custom clearances).

Once you calculate all of it properly, it sometimes doesnt work out very well, with minimal savings. UK retailers obviously buy in bulk to get shipping and unit costs down, but they too have to pay duty and tax, they cant say its a present

I've bought loads from USA and Japan, and *if* you can get away with no duty/tax, there's a big saving, but if you get collared, sometimes it can cost more than it would in the UK...

 

[PP Mguire]

Any kind of international shipping charge FTL honestly. Or i wouldnt mind buying alot for you people and sending it over.

 

[Luigi]

ooh, yeah that would be cool, its only really worth it if your buying a whole pc for 1k+