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Buying Direct from Japan

albany

albany

pfm Member
Has any one got experience of buying HiFi directly from Japan. I am thinking of buying a plug-in option for my Pre-amp from a Japanese based Ebay seller.
I guess import tax and UK vat will be payable ?? Value of unit I have in mind is around £2K.
Worth doing or too risky ?? Advice welcome. thanks
 
Bought a YES sacd boxset from Japan. All went well - just do usual e**y due diligence. I believe vat would be payable but no expert.

Nige
 
Private seller? Same risk as anywhere, just a bigger pain if things go wrong.
Business seller - look for ratings.
Maybe consider one of the companies like FromJapan or Zenmarket. (I can recommend the latter).

Some things get missed by Customs, but there will be shipping, VAT and duty to pay, so another 50% on top of purchase price, that sort of ball park.
 
If you are planning to do it I’d do it pretty fast as it looks like VAT is going to hell in a handcart as part of the ongoing Brexit catastrophe (link) and I suspect a lot of foreign sellers will just stop shipping to the UK to avoid the registration, paperwork etc.
 
'If you are planning to do it I’d do it pretty fast as it looks like VAT is going to hell in a handcart as part of the ongoing Brexit catastrophe (link) and I suspect a lot of foreign sellers will just stop shipping to the UK to avoid the registration, paperwork etc.'

This is being done because the UK has nowhere near enough infrastructure to do it ourselves and because under WTO rules we have to treat all countries the same which is why VAT free sales from UK shopping centres to tourists are being stopped.
 
Thanks for all the info chaps. I calculate a potential saving of £1k after estimating duty, vat etc, but I have never bought from overseas before so I'm somewhat wary of the risks. Going through eBay should ameliorate the risks shouldn't it ??
 
Tony L said:
If you are planning to do it I’d do it pretty fast as it looks like VAT is going to hell in a handcart as part of the ongoing Brexit catastrophe (link) and I suspect a lot of foreign sellers will just stop shipping to the UK to avoid the registration, paperwork etc.
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Oh dear. Very annoying. What a silly idea, this whole thing. How people bought it I wonder.
 
I’ve bought loads of stuff from china through Ali Express with utterly no problem. I also did a group buy of r- core transformers direct with an Indian manufacturer - again no problem. We’re in a connected world now - for good or bad
 
timH said:
I’ve bought loads of stuff from china through Ali Express with utterly no problem. I also did a group buy of r- core transformers direct with an Indian manufacturer - again no problem.
Click to expand...

That was then, we are talking now, now.

timH said:
We’re in a connected world now - for good or bad
Click to expand...

We were in a connected Europe, we are headed into a disjointed world in all probability. See, for instance, Tony's comments on VAT.
 
Tony L said:
it looks like VAT is going to hell in a handcart as part of the ongoing Brexit catastrophe
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Where it used to be so simple.

Under UK law, VAT on cakes and biscuits is set at 0%. ... “The significance of the borderline between cakes and biscuits is that a cake is zero-rated even if it is covered in chocolate, whereas a biscuit is standard-rated if wholly or partly covered in chocolate or some product similar in taste and appearance.”
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Marks and Spencer fared better when their thirteen year battle with the taxman lead to a reimbursement of over £3.5million in VAT. HMRC had wrongly declared teacakes as a biscuit instead of cake.
Click to expand...
 
According to the news last night, the deal is essentially identical to the one that Japan/EU have, so the UK is in the same position as previously. Overall it is irrelevant as the trade value is relative peanuts, BUT, MAYBE the VAT hassle will be avoided?????
 
chartz said:
Oh dear. Very annoying. What a silly idea, this whole thing. How people bought it I wonder.
Click to expand...

No-one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the British public, as Mencken (almost said). He also defined 'democracy' as 'The belief that the common people know what's good for them, and deserve to get it, good and hard'.

Not so long ago, the idea that Brexit was a good idea was confined to nutters on the extreme right of the Tory Party and the extreme left of the Labour Party. It became 'mainstream' because of a) various newspapers and other media outlets advocating it, b) the opportunism of some prominent Tory politicians and c) the uselessness of politicians who were unable to put together a coherent case for Remain, thus allowing the Brexiteers to get away with all sorts of lies about how 'easy' Brexit would be.
 
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