baja-king Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 i dont know if this has come up before or not but i cant find it any how here we go i was reading (aj's) build up of the crawler and he got some bits from usa but never paid importing tax not on the motor esc but only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maesterio Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 It may seem cheaper at first, but after you get customs charges, handling fees etc. it comes quite close to the prices you get in UK. It might still be a bit cheaper, but you have to weigh the positives & negative e.g. I ordered an engine, it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Generally YES. You must do your homework and work out just how much it will cost you. Another factor is the typical 10-25 day delay - can you wait that long? Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeybadger Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 And don't forget the possibility of more hassle and longer waiting times if you have a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baja-king Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 thanks for the help it seems that for small stuff it may be worth it but buying say a full kit maybe the price might be worse off and end up paying out more damm i hate the uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
53HRA Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Despite being caught with customs fines i've always found it to be cheaper from out the country If you buy from a well known shop/seller ive also found it to be less likely to be caught because of the value they mark down on the parcel - Try rcboyz,they are normally my main supply from the states,never a single issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee3022 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Having the same dilemma, want a castle motor and esc, roughly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitroholic Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 You pay your money ... you take your chance.Pros:You can save a load of money if customs don't pick it up.Cons:If it breaks, you will have fun sending it back. If you do get caught, the fees can wipe out the benefits.Forget the myth about 'marking items down'. Customs are not stupid. They are fully aware that this happens, and do not judge items by what is written on the outside. They x-ray the stuff....Gift thresholds are so low, it's easy to spot high value goods marked as 'gift'. A lot of US sellers will not do it now, as it is actually illegal, and can get them into serious trouble as they are deliberately defrauding HMRC. There is also the fun when it comes to an insurance claim from a carrier if the item is damaged. They get a claim for '$500' and are then told the package was marked as $30.....and that's all they get. "ah but it's worth $500 and I can prove it" they cry...."oh" says the carrier's claims department, "so you deliberately falsified a customs declaration....."The Chinese companies still try it, but then they are sending via uninsured services and minimising costs, so as long as teh losses don;t preclude a healthy profit, they will carry on doing it.The items that get through are just not inspected, as customs cannot check everything properly. What they do choose to inspect...they will decide on value and charge accordingly.In practice, I work out what the goods would cost me if they get stopped and I get charged. If...with shipping...there is still a good saving for me, then I buy overseas. If it's much the same, I will buy from the UK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baja-king Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Nitroholic Thanks for the help so its a 50/50 really hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott34 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 i was going to order a kit from the U.S bud, and on a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1tchy Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I have bought parts from the USA, usually upgrade stuff that is difficult if not impossible to get. I usually use RC planet as they offer a dhl option for delivery. This can sometimes only take 4 or 5 days to arrive and dhl only charge a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baja-king Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 yeah i can really understand what you guys are saying but id feel better sending my money to the states then here were it just goes to wast when its out of my hands i am a government hater...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jari Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 yeah i can really understand what you guys are saying but id feel better sending my money to the states then here were it just goes to wast when its out of my hands i am a government hater...... hmmm. you really need to think that one through. Give it to the US because you don't like *our* government? ha. and their government is better because... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baja-king Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 i need to think it through.... who are you voting for this year ? 100% its not David Cameron.... do you pay vat over there or do you pay for what you get... thats 1 reason to buy over there i can list overs a lot more infact but this is a rc forum not a green room Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jony nitro Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I buy from the states have done for years. I do buy UK sometimes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atom3624 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I buy loads of stuff from USA. I do a lot of hunting and comparing of prices, and also latterly particularly the postage - be careful with that. Generally speaking they'll be hop-up parts not available in UK, or spares that are, but roughly half the price and below the 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defblade Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I think and research carefully about each and every purchase. Approx 1.6 dollars to the pound at the moment, so I divide by that (including shipping) to see the GBP cost, then times by 1.2 for import duty (which is levied on the shipping as well, the gits) and add Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jari Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) i need to think it through.... who are you voting for this year ? 100% its not David Cameron.... do you pay vat over there or do you pay for what you get... thats 1 reason to buy over there i can list overs a lot more infact but this is a rc forum not a green room Who am i voting for this year? erm, nobody. Next general election is 2015. And whoever I vote for is irrelevant - the civil service bureaucracy carries on with elected politicians tinkering around the edges. Or as the old saying goes "doesn't matter who you vote for, the government still gets in"! Same as the US - buy from there and the sale funds that particular US business, paying their employee salaries, paying tax to their government, etc... Spend your money with a UK company and that same money goes into our economy. So yes, it does make a difference. If you want to make a real difference of course.. don't use the likes of Amazon. In the US you can pay sales tax and various state taxes... so not as simple as comparing against our VAT. Not sure how that applies to web based business though. Anyway... just saying that hating government should have no bearing on where you buy from. Ideally buy from the manufacturer in some cases, buy for service in others? so that might mean buying from the US, Korea, Japan, China, etc. e.g. buy alloy rear hub carriers for my Hyper 10TT from rc-willpower and get shipped from south korea. Can't find them in the UK even if i wanted to buy them here. Buy an Xerun 150a esc from Modelsport if you want warranty and service, from hong kong if you want it cheap cheap. I guess we're all saying the choice is not clear cut - you have to weight price against customer service, against risk of failure Edited January 29, 2014 by jari 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.