Buying on ebay from US

[roslyn251254]

I am interested in buying a watch on ebay from US. Price is approx £200 + £40 postage. Does anyone know what customs duty and VAT I may have to pay for it entering the UK? Obviously if it's too much I can probably buy the watch cheaper in the UK so I need to know before I buy. Thanks for any advice.

[heathfield]

Go to the website below. Click on a left-hand number that describes the watch. On the next page click on an indented number that further describes the watch. Repeat for the next page. On the final page, select USA as the country of origin and click on 'Duty Rates'.
That will show you the EU duty as a percentage. VAT will be charged on the combined value of the cost of the item plus the cost of the postage - it's how Customs calculate what it's worth.
Then it will have to be cleared from Customs and delivered to you by an agent acting on your behalf. Royal Mail will do this for around, (if I remember right), £8.50, while UPS will charge you £11.00, both collectable from you at your door.
Quite a rigmarole, innit?

[heathfield]

Ooops!

http://ec.europa.eu/t...&Indent=0&Action=0#OK

[sara3]

are you sure it's genuine? there are lots of scams and fakes out there..

[society]

Sara is right. Embarrass to say I got scammed with a jade necklace which was suppose to be antique, but it turned out to be junk that could be found in almost all the cheap shops.

[roslyn251254]

Thanks to all of you - after careful consideration I'm going to pay a bit more and get one in England from a reputable jewellers who I know I can trust. It 's not worth all the rigmarole and extra taxes to get it from USA.

[heathfield]

Wait for the sales. On the other hand, VAT goes up 2½% on Jan 1st!