A Main Hobbies import tax

[ceejay21]

just a quick question. Has anyone ordered anything from here before to the uk and got stung on import duty or is it just pot luck?

it would be about $100 worth but its spares so i would imagine the box isin't going to be massive.

[Vinster]

purely pot luck , biggest rip off is post office charge a fee around £8 to collect the import fees .I found you very rarely escape tax form the USA Hkong is a better bet.

[mikeyscott]

purely pot luck , biggest rip off is post office charge a fee around £8 to collect the import fees .I found you very rarely escape tax form the USA Hkong is a better bet.

Every time from amain with the monkey handling charge. About £1 tax last time then add the chimp handling charge.

Before anyone jumps at me, I used them for parts that I couldn't get in the uk at the time. I.e. aka 1/10th wheels which were super expensive in the end lol.

Thankfully FDL I believe now import aka 1/10th wheels.

Amain are only doing the legally correct thing with stating custom value etc. shame more don't, might help fill the black hole for the taxman...

May I ask what you are seeking?

[ceejay21]

right thanks,

i was just looking for serpent tc bits. some shops have random bits and pieces here but not everything. Somebody said they could get the stuff in for me if i wanted so i might as well use that option if i am going to get raped on postage.

I was just weighing up my options really to see if i could get it cheaper. HK doesn't really have any of the bits either :bored:

[Sportp4ck]

right thanks,

i was just looking for serpent tc bits. some shops have random bits and pieces here but not everything. Somebody said they could get the stuff in for me if i wanted so i might as well use that option if i am going to get raped on postage.

I was just weighing up my options really to see if i could get it cheaper. HK doesn't really have any of the bits either :bored:

Just ask them to put a price on the box of 4.50 to 8.00 pounds I do and don't get charged from HK

[discothesnake]

Yeah it is pot lock. USA and Japan are pretty bad at the moment. I bought a Yokomo kit from Japan a while back it cost me £70 in import tax. Now if order from USA or Japan I keep the orders small (around £30) and it usually comes straight to my door.

[mark christopher]

Try boarder Rc in EU so no duties to pay, used to stock all serpent stuff

[DCM]

Bringing stuff in works like this

Total on invoice +vat = total
Toal + import duty (8%) = total + handling fee

This will apply to most stuff over £18 I believe.

[Callum]

Rc mart are very good never had import tax on anything.
I bought a B4.1 worlds edition from there last month £160 posted!
They also write toy parts on top of the box and a very low value.
Callum

[jaffacake]

I'm pretty sure it's anything over the value of £12 if memory serves me correctly
I used to order quite a bit from Amain & always got stung on import tax, they flatly refuse to mark any value down
But as has been said above the most disgusting charge is the £8 handling charge this end !!

[dale]

I'm pretty sure it's anything over the value of £12 if memory serves me correctly
I used to order quite a bit from Amain & always got stung on import tax, they flatly refuse to mark any value down
But as has been said above the most disgusting charge is the £8 handling charge this end !!


The threshold is now £15 (used to be £18 up until the end of last year). Anything over that value may be subject to import duty and VAT. If it's only a small amount over you may get away with it, but probably not worth chancing it as the £8 handling fee will make a £16 part very expensive...

[steveuk]

I believe it is now £15. Amain won't alter the value at all and I had an argument with them because they include shipping in the total value of the goods. I deliberately keep the order value below £15 and they bumped it over with shipping.

Needless to say I don't order from them anymore.

Steve

[Darren Boyle]

I believe it is now £15. Amain won't alter the value at all and I had an argument with them because they include shipping in the total value of the goods. I deliberately keep the order value below £15 and they bumped it over with shipping.

Needless to say I don't order from them anymore.

Steve

That is only what they are supposed to do by law though....

VAT and Duty etc is added to the whole value which includes shipping (not saying it is right or wrong, but it is what we all have to deal with in the UK, whther it is an individual, shop or distributor)

[lordnikon]

Its also worth noting that if a supplier marks the cost of the package down and it is lost in transit you are only covered insurance wise to the cost - it got stung once when something from HK went missing. :(

[mattr]

Needless to say I don't order from them anymore.wow, just.......wow
You've stopped ordering from someone because you don't understand how import tax/duty works.
The mind boggles.

And I order a fair bit and it's pretty hit and miss, but tbh, even if you get hit it should save you a bit. Just have to pick and choose what you order and make use of whatever discounts/offers you can.

[DCM]

What you got to remember is this, if they score down the value on the invoice, when the parcel goes missing (and if you order regularly, one will), then the parcel handling company will only pay what's on the invoice, careless if the order was £50 or £5000, if it says $20 toy car parts, that's what they will pay out.

[RogerM]

Why not support the UK shops / distributors?

Getting bits a little cheaper from overseas today will be more than offset by the cost of HAVING to get everything overseas as your chosen brand no longer has any UK supply chain or indeed not being able to get something quickly for the same reason.

I've often looked at the prices, especially when I was in a sticky financial position and it always worked out that the UK price was there or there abouts after the charges were added. OK a few quid in it but the people in the industry need to earn a living like anybody else, trust me ... there isn't a lot of mark up at all on RC racing equipment compared to things like clothes / shoes / food etc.

I will admit to buying some items abroad but ONLY if there is no official UK supply chain.

[Frecklychimp]

Why not support the UK shops / distributors?

Getting bits a little cheaper from overseas today will be more than offset by the cost of HAVING to get everything overseas as your chosen brand no longer has any UK supply chain or indeed not being able to get something quickly for the same reason.

I've often looked at the prices, especially when I was in a sticky financial position and it always worked out that the UK price was there or there abouts after the charges were added. OK a few quid in it but the people in the industry need to earn a living like anybody else, trust me ... there isn't a lot of mark up at all on RC racing equipment compared to things like clothes / shoes / food etc.

I will admit to buying some items abroad but ONLY if there is no official UK supply chain.

+1

LHS normally look after their loyal and regular customers with discounts etc and will go the extra mile to help get parts etc asap.

I'm too am guilty of buying abroad, but purely items that are no longer available through distributors here, vintage parts etc, luckily never been stung on duty but i wouldn't be surprised if they are getting more aggressive with it.

On the import duty front, have noticed a lot of American R/C shops on ebay have an import duty calculator under the shipping charge section, so they take the duty charge off you at sale.. worth keeping an eye out for before hitting the Buy It Now button.

[Crazy L]

Why not support the UK shops / distributors?

I will admit to buying some items abroad but ONLY if there is no official UK supply chain.

I try to support the UK distys all day long. I'll only order from abroad if the part I want is not supported over here (I find this happens a lot if I want something that has to do with a monster truck)

As for AMain, I've only ordered small stuff so it doesn't attract the beady eye of the RM or the taxman, and again, only stuff that I can't get over here.

[ceejay21]

wow, this has created a few points of view. I have found out the UK distributor for Serpent now so i think i will let them do the importing for me :thumbsup:

[dale]

That is only what they are supposed to do by law though....

VAT and Duty etc is added to the whole value which includes shipping (not saying it is right or wrong, but it is what we all have to deal with in the UK, whther it is an individual, shop or distributor)

It is added to the total value including shipping, but only if the value EXCLUDING shipping is over the threshold.

If AMain incorrectly mark the value and you get stung, you can protest it with customs and get your fees back (I've done this once before when someone on ebay overstated the value of something, putting it over the threshold).

[rondoolaa]

I ordered between $100 and $200 worth of parts from amain hobbies, can't remember exact ammount, it was about 4 years ago and this end had a sticker on the box that said tax / duty £11 and £8 post office handling fee, luckily enough I'd purchased items that had a reduction of between 50% and 75% so it still worked out good value, but I've only ever purchased items from them since when the have a free postage to uk day, and they are very rare,

[Tobamory]

It does suck I admit, lucky for me I travel to washinton DC a lot so I load up on parts and get them deliver to my hotel.

Spe passion seems to be cheap out there, anybody recommend any other usa parts that we pay a premium for in the uk?

[Candyman]

I had an A main order come through last week for $111, it took 3 weeks to arrive but the "UPS - Post Office" shipping option I used cost me $0.79! yes thats about 50p and the box wasnt small, a few hopups and a body shell for an 8th buggy. I was lucky on this occasion to slip through customs.

A rule of thumb is you will pay about 20% on the value of the goods, shipping fees are not and have never been included so long as you use a standard shipping method. So if you spend $150 on good (£100) you should budget to give another £20 to the people who have your parcel.

Something else worth noting, Tower hobbies dont have the very cheap shipping rates but they do offer very high discounts to international customers (only). These are coupons that can only be used if you are outside the USA, they are always about 20% off your order. They also mark the value of your order AFTER the discount (as that is what you have spent) so this way even if you do have to pay customs charges it ends up at what you would have paid before the discount.