Shipping (New) Electronics to the UK

Not sure this goes here or on "Moving" or something..  but since the question is mostly about electronics, maybe I can get some insight here....

Say you buy electronics from the USA to ship to the UK.  (Like on Amazon.com instead of Amazon.co.uk if that is even possible, otherwise ignore this example )

In addition to higher shipping charges, are there other charges we will incur, like customs, taxes, etc?   
One example I  can think  of is, I wanted to buy a (desktop) computer soon.  I could buy it before moving but then I have to ship it with my stuff (how safe is that?), or I could wait and assuming the seller ships to the UK, the pay the extra shipping.  I know there's the option of buying a computer in the UK, but that's likely more expensive (no?), and at least in the case of the computer I want, it is not sold over there    

Basically, any of you buy online from US, and what add'l costs does this mean?

I am mystified. What sort of computer is it that is so specialist that you perceive it might not be available in the UK? Or might be more expensive here in the UK?

Especially since the recession started, the UK computer market is extremely competitive and there are lots of bargains around.

If you do get a computer sent from US to UK, suspect there will be some Custom Duty to pay, and certainly 15% VAT. And of course the cost of carriage. Taking all that into account, forget it .... easier to get your computer in the UK.

thank you for helping JohnL...

I guess you mean I better buy the computer before moving and sending it with my things

I perceive the computer I want to buy to be not available in the UK because I searched and haven't found it, but maybe someone can shed some light...
The company/computer I was thinking about is not Psystar, but a pretty similar one.  They sell Mac clones, or whatever you call it.  I would love to find a place in the UK where to buy them

But I guess your answer helped, as I'll be paying 15% VAT, plus customs duty, plus extra shipping, etc...  so, either buy it not, or buy it for xmas on the trip to the US or something like that?

For all other electronics, buying from US still doesnt seem far fetched.  A point-and-shoot camera for example, is say, $350 in the US and 350BGP in the UK (Amazon vs Amazon.UK),  if customs, vat, and shipping dont go over 40%-50% ( US/GBP, you could still break even?)  or am I missing something?

As someone who has never touched a Mac computer in their life, and knows nothing about them, or their clones (and who doesn't even have any Microsoft software, or any paid-for software, on their computer) I am not the best person to discuss Mac Clones. But clearly a rather specialist sector of the marketplace, and maybe less competitive than other sectors.

I'm not a Mac person either, so I'm afraid I can't help on that specific point.

As far as the duty is concerned, once you go over the threshold at which charging starts (which you will on any new computer), you'll be hit for import duty as well as VAT.  The last time I had chargeable computer equipment shipped from the U.S. was a few years ago, and the rate was around 5% if I recall correctly, but the tariffs are subject to frequent revision so that figure could be quite different by now.

Be warned that when calculating the tax they add the duty, then apply the 15% VAT to the total, so you are paying VAT on the import tax.  To add insult to injury they also include the shipping costs when calculating the VAT!   

For all other electronics, buying from US still doesnt seem far fetched.  A point-and-shoot camera for example, is say, $350 in the US and 350BGP in the UK (Amazon vs Amazon.UK),  if customs, vat, and shipping dont go over 40%-50% ( US/GBP, you could still break even?)  or am I missing something?

I think that even if it does work out cheaper, you might run into trouble with actually shipping the products from the US to the UK - many US websites will not ship outside the US (e.g. store websites like Old Navy, Gap, Walmart, Target etc.) and others will only ship certain items (usually not electronics!).

For example, sellers on Amazon Marketplace are not allowed to ship electronic items outside of the US and regular Amazon generally does not ship electronics internationally. Some electronic items may be able to be shipped by courier if purchased from Amazon itself, but they will charge $30 plus $5.99 per lb for shipping (although I haven't found any electronics on there that can be shipped outside the US yet).

In general, the price differences of electronics items in the US and UK are not as different as they used to be. For example, a Dell Inspiron 15 laptop is £369 ($526) on the UK site and $449 on the US site... when you factor in shipping, VAT and customs costs - it actually works out cheaper to buy in the UK (US Dell will not ship internationally, so then there's the problem of getting it delivered to a US address and then paying up to a few hundred dollars to have it shipped to the UK).

Hi Nystacey,

Just saw this post from you!

What kind of spec and computer are you interested in over there which is prompting you to purchase there and ship here?! it's got to be something special I think !

I know of a few specialist PC manufacturers here, maybe if you provide the detail/spec of what your looking at there I can see if they do something to match
As you've put in the title 'NEW' electronics - the posts so far are correct, you will get taxed - I suggest you dont ship it as 'New',  Once you 'open a box' the product is then considered second hand or in this case personal effects. If you then put on your claims form it's a personal used PC (which technically it would be!) I don't think you'd pay the import tax and possibly the VAT as well. You need to look into that. It's for this reason personal sized electronics are never taxed when going throu the airport, so long of course you not abusing that by taking 10 ipods and 15 laptops through customs!

So even if it ends up you do buy your super computer over there, if you use it, stick some programs on it and some personal digital files - images, documents etc, then it really is a personal effects item and will 'probably' be exempt from tax.

As for warranty's - yep, some suppliers have a domestic warranty only, in which case if it did go t*ts up here, you'd probably have to ship it back at your expense to get any warranty service. However, as many PC parts are available here, you'd probably end up biting the bullet and getting a replacement part etc from here anyway.

If the pricing differential with this so called 'super duper' PC (i'm realy interested in what it is now!!!) over in the USA is so good, then by all means consider sending it here !

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

DtM - thanks very much for your insight

Yes, I think I'm buying a computer before moving    I'm selling my used laptop and desktop and getting a new of each...  That's because a new laptop is ~$500, and the desktop I'm looking at is ~$1000.   I'm guessing the laptop is much cheaper here, and will be on my carry on anyway, and the desktop, not sure how to ship or carry it, but it's nothing special, sorry to disappoint it's not a super computer
The only thing that does is that it is a PC that runs Mac OS X...  there's a few small/tiny companies here that are doing that, and although Apple is fighting it they seem to be able to sell them, for the moment.  There's another company doing the same out of Germany, but their prices are super expensive, so I'm not sure what is the point

As for warranty, I'm guessing it's ok to wing it... I think it's almost always easier and better to get a new part than to have it serviced/repaired... that is if you know which part is the one with the problem, otherwise it can be tricky

I'm guessing if I buy/use them for a month or so before leaving, and like you said, they'll have all my files and stuff... they wont be new anymore.

But do I need to scratch them a little bit first?

I think maybe you should read this Guardian article about Psystar...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/apr/15/soexactlywhoorwhatispsys

you mean this one: ?
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/09/psystar-wins-battle-legal-war-just-getting-started/

I'm guessing if I buy/use them for a month or so before leaving, and like you said, they'll have all my files and stuff... they wont be new anymore.

But do I need to scratch them a little bit first?

Our movers were explicit on the shipment of electronics -- that we needed to have owned the item for more than 6 months to avoid paying import tax.  It didn't matter the condition an item was in.

Won't there be power issues with a desktop? Laptops usually have dual voltage capability, but I would have thought that you'd need a massive power adaptor for a desktop.

most (I think all?) desktops have a voltage switch on the back, so switching from 120v to 240v shouldn't be an issue.

Hi NyStacey,

So all you want is a MAC that can run Windows? or a Windows machine that can run MAC OSX?

For a PC to run MAC OSX which is certainly possible, all you need is Apple's very own Parallels software (I think that's what it's called) - so basically any decent specced Desktop machine here will be able to do that.

I'm not familiar with the other way around - I do know that an Apple can be 'made' to run windows natively (I think)  - but looks like the same Parallels software should allow you to run Windows inside MAC OSX. I don't think Apple really have any say - as you can buy their operating system nowadays off the shelf - i 'think' you're allowed to do with it what you please - if that means you want to run it on a PC architecture machine then you can.

I think the 6 months electronics thing is true now that it's been mentioned and jogged me memory a bit, they'll probably ask for a receipt - but if you just say you bought it from a relative or friend over 6 months ago and *cough* have them write a reciept for you!!

Saying that, overall, I don't think you really need to buy a desktop over there at all and ship it here, prices here for a PC of decent enough spec to run virtual other operating systems are pretty much the same if not just 10-20% max more expensive here anyway. Might as well get one when you get here.

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Won't there be power issues with a desktop? Laptops usually have dual voltage capability, but I would have thought that you'd need a massive power adaptor for a desktop.

most (I think all?) desktops have a voltage switch on the back, so switching from 120v to 240v shouldn't be an issue.

Just about all desktop PCs (not sure about Macs) have dual-voltage power supplies, either by way of a 120/240V selector switch on the rear or on newer units by the use of a design of power supply which adjusts automatically.

Peripherals are often more a problem.  Many newer monitors use switched-mode power supplies which will work on 120 or 240V input with no adjustment, but some are still single-voltage only, as are many slightly older units.   Printers, speaker/amplifier units, and the "wall wart" power supplies used with many accessories are also often single-voltage.

But unless you are running something more than a pretty standard PC with the typical selection of home peripherals, a transformer of a few hundred VA rating will be quite sufficient to run the whole lot.  A laser printer would be the major exception.