I was considering buying a unicycle from UDC in the UK and having it shipped here. The quoted shipping price sounds ok, but the part I have no expereince with is the possibility of having to pay “US import duties and charges”. Anyone out there have any expereince ordering from UDC UK and having them ship your item to the US??
UDC UK staff said: “The website will automatically deduct UK sales tax (VAT) but you will be liable for any US import duties or charges.”
Please advise what this might look like and how one goes about paying these charges.
I don’t know the details, but it can get expensive. Is it something you can’t otherwise get here? Perhaps if you give UDC USA a call they can arrange something for you.
I know that the other way round you can get stung alot, the tax and shipping of my Torker giraffe three or four years ago ended up costing more than the giraffe itself, but the total came to about the same as i could get a not so good one from the UK, so I didnt mind too much! I think the tax was almost half the value, if i remember right… As John said, best thing to do is ring them both.
The import charges would be pretty standard, check with your local post office or international courier company (i’m sure it’s on the internet too), giving them an approximate USD value and what the goods are and they should be able to give you an estimated tax cost.
What have UDC UK got that’s not available in the USA apart from correct spelling? John Foss has hit a potential solution although the import duties would have to be paid at some point regardless.
I’ve ordered several times and shipped to the Chicago area without any duty charge. You will get hit with a currency difference (1.76 to 1) and, if using a CC, exchange fee.