Are things cheaper over there tan in the US? UK i'm talking about

[funnyjake2011]

I was thinking if stuff from there can ship to hear at a lower price than buying here, because everything is expensive here :( unfortunately, and you guys are good people.

[pastafreak]

Are you asking if things are cheaper in the UK than the US?......heck-no!
People here travel to the US for bargains-we always pay more here.

[MASS1961]

Think you'll find with the exchange rate etc 'things' are going to be cheaper where you are. Everything is going up in price here!
Try posting at a different time for a better response, it's after 1 in the morning now.

[Buenchico]

In general, US prices for things like electronic goods tend to be around 20% LOWER than in the UK. So if anyone is thinking of importing from one country to the other it ought to be us Brits!

In practice though, carriage charges, import duties and taxes (together with the charges for imposing those duties!) tend to make things no cheaper if we import them from a non-EU country. (We don't pay taxes and duties on imports from any of the other 26 countries within the EU but we do pay them when importing from elsewhere. In the USA you've got a similar, but more limited arrangement, about free trade with Canada and Mexico under NAFTA).

If you want to check on UK prices, search on Google UK:
http://www.google.co.uk/
using the 'Pages from the UK' option which appears to the left of the results.

Or look on specific UK websites, such as Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/

To work out the price in US dollars, use this website:
http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html

But remember to add on international shipping rates, and to check upon what duties or taxes you'll have to pay for imports from outside of the NAFTA area.

Chris

[MASS1961]

example of price difference, how much do you pay for car fuel? I paid today £1.42 per litre for diesel. I think that's about 2.2 dollars?

[woofgang]

Yes but you can't just say fuel, you have to look at the whole cost of living against earnings to get a reasonable comparison. @0 years ago, living in New Jersey, it cost the same or a bit more than living in the UK to the same standard, including things like college fees and health insurance.

[woofgang]

lol I meant 20, not @0

[Buenchico]

To help Jake make some sense of the reference to fuel (without having to reach for a calculator!):
'Gas' (which we call 'petrol') is currently over US$8 per (US) gallon here.

[Philtaz]

To digress slightly, I've always been perplexed by import tax.

I promised myself from early teenage years that one day I would own a TAG Heuer watch. I don't 'do' labels as a rule but for some reason always wanted a TAG, as much as an investment/heirloom as much as anything else.

A few years back I recieved some backpay and bought a TAG Heuer SEL Automatic for £500 via eBay. (Third one down but with a gold bezel and crown).
http://forums.watchus...her-strap-230388.html

What I couldn't fathom was upon arrival via DHL I had to pay £97 in import duty. What exactly is import tax and why did I have to pay so much?

Just to add a possible scenario, had I flown to the US on a holiday, bought it and put it on my wrist, how could they (HMRC) dispute that I hadn't taken it with me on my outbound flight?

[shoota]

Unless something is obviously old and used you might have trouble convincing them, friends of mine keep receipts and take them with them for occasions such as this.

[MASS1961]

Maybe i'm just having a go at the overall cost of living here, fuel being a huge expense to me. Generally everyting has increased in price WAY above the increase (or not) in salaries. I used to have disposable income of approx 20% of my salary. Now it's somewhere around 5% or less.

[funnyjake2011]

So you guys are also having a downfall in your economy?

[MASS1961]

That's a very polite way of saying we're almost at rock bottom

[Philtaz]

Downfall? It's lower than whale sh*t! As for the Euro it's so low it could walk under a snake whilst wearing a top hat and not have to duck!

[MASS1961]

Philtaz lol.
You've got to laugh or you'd cry!

[Philtaz]

At the moment MASS1961 the only people laughing are the bankers whom the Government have bailed out. Still earning top wedge but having to suffer the indignity of not receiving a bonus, even though they're in the red.

I'm an ex Serviceman who has worked in the NHS for 19 and a half years. My bonus? 10 years ago all staff were offered one free meal at the end of the financial year, courtesy of the Trust as a result of staying within budget for that year.

Such was our disdain that only 5% took up the offer, and that was only so they could receive the meal then bin it and take advantage of the half hour (we don't receive payment during our half hour) meal break.

The UK is going to hell in a hand cart.

[Buenchico]

For Phil (with apologies to Jake for posting on his thread):

Last bit first:
As far as HMRC and UKBA are concerned, it's YOUR responsibility to show that you've purchased an item (and paid the relevant taxes) here in the UK. (If you can't prove it, they can assume that you're trying to smuggle goods in). If you're travelling outside of the EU, the advice is to always carry your receipts to prove that you've not purchased things like watches while you where abroad.

If you buy something from a UK manufacturer, the Government will benefit through taxing that manufacturer's profits and from the VAT on your purchase. Unsurprisingly, the Chancellor isn't too happy about people buying from overseas unless the Exchequer can similarly benefit. So, just like all other countries, we have import taxes. (However, because the EU is a single tax zone, there's nothing to pay - other than on alcohol and tobacco products - when importing from within the EU, as long as you've paid local taxes on the goods. You only pay on imports from outside of the EU).

The first step in working out what you'll be charged for importing from a non-EU country is to apply the relevant tax rate. That varies depending upon the type of goods. See here:
http://www.google.co....1ZQtJeT1cwgfA&cad=rja

You'll see that watches attract 4.5% Import Tax, so your £500 watch would attract £22.50 in Import Tax.

The next step is to add VAT. That's charged on the price of the goods, on the cost of the carriage and on the Import Tax. (Yes, that really is a tax on a tax!). Let's suppose that you paid £20 carriage. If so, VAT would be charged upon £542.50. At the current 20% rate, that's £108.50. (A lower rate of VAT obviously applied when you imported your watch!).

Lastly (to add insult to injury!) there's a fee to be paid for assessing the taxes to be charged! That's currently £8 for items inspected by Parcelforce Worldwide (who carry out the task on behalf of HMRC).

So, at the current rates, you'd have to pay £22.50 + £108.50 + £8.00 = £139.00. It looks like you got off lightly!

Chris

PS: Some items can get you clobbered for far more tax. For example, although most clothing currently attracts 12% Import Tax, the USA is in breach of World Trade Organisation rules on subsidies to its cotton farmers. In consequence of that, the UK currently adds a further 15% 'ad valorum' tax, making the tax on cotton-based clothing from the USA come to 27%.

[MASS1961]

Philtaz - "The UK is going to hell in a hand cart."
Never at truer word spoken.
Gotta sleep, will wake up tomorrow poorer.
G'night

[Philtaz]

Thanks for the lengthy answer Chris but it doesn't really explain WHY I had to pay such a riduculous amount for a watch i.e. a personal item/gift.

I guess it's just one of those 'that's just the way it is, don't question authority' things.

[LCDMAN]

Philtaz, I think Chris explained WHY perfectly well - you imported said item so;

"If you buy something from a UK manufacturer, the Government will benefit through taxing that manufacturer's profits and from the VAT on your purchase. Unsurprisingly, the Chancellor isn't too happy about people buying from overseas unless the Exchequer can similarly benefit. So, just like all other countries, we have import taxes. "