any idea on best compaany to ship tripod to UK from seattle?

Well, as one who has shipped things multifarious to other lands, I'd start with the good ol' Postal Service. Box it up -carefully- and measure and weigh it. Figure insurance in, too. I have only used USPS overseas because they are kindred to the systems in place everywhere. Their tracking sucks nails, but they are more straightforward than other carriers. Given the ineptitude of UPS (pronounced OOPS), the incompetance of FedEx, and the death of Airborne, who are you gonna call? DHL?

Whatever you do, be honest about evaluation and description in the customs forms. If you are sending it to somebody overseas, and they say, "hey, man, mark it as a gift worth US $5", then either you have to sacrifice your scruples and commit fraud or else find somebody else to ship it to. You can't be responsible for their tax code. Tell them, "just because you live in a democracy doesn't mean I do." That's what I do.

Frankly, I really get upset when somebody overseas (or overfence, like Canada) buys something from me on eBay and demands this. Please don't ask me to commit fraud, 'cause who's gonna sing? Bill Shatner?

Protect yourself first, the item second.

thanks, im not selling it...just shipping to me girlfriends house so I can go over and use it....is there tax on that?

do people ship them in the carry bags or actually box them up?

thanks, im not selling it...just shipping to me girlfriends house so I can go over and use it....is there tax on that?

Kent,

I'm an American living in the UK so have some experience of shipping and carrying stuff back and forth..

The short answer is that there doesn't seem to be a way to ship personal items avoiding customs. See
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageTravel_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document

If you carry it with you, personal items are exempt from customs duty and VAT (tax), providing you take it with you when you leave the UK.

If you were moving here, there is provision to send stuff without duty, though you may need to pay a deposit.

If your girlfriend is going to keep it, then you can legally/ethically call this a gift, but it still would be subject to duty and VAT if worth more than £36 (UK pounds).

If you send it with all the correct/honest information and your girlfriend is charged duty/VAT, then she could contact customs and explain, and they may refund the duty.

Sorry this sounds like such a hassle... (it is).

Mark

thanks Mark, Im starting to see that it indeed is a hassle , one issue at a time.


for now, im going on a 6 month visitor visa and just want to bring bare bones set up so I can keep my US biz afloat while on vacation.

Im going to be carrying my DVX and laptop + my luggage will be cloths and random gadgets stuffed in.

beyond that, I was going to bring a coupple audio interfaces, a couple lights, the tripod. I was thinking about putting this stuff in a pelican case. Im not even sure you can ship a pelican case if its locked? seem like it would be a terrorism flag or something....crazy

is the tax , if imposed, dependant of weight of do they have some archane cost of goods schedual? sounds like they open every box and look at all the items? weird...


many questions....i guess i better call,,,thanks fir the link

Kent,

You can lock your bags, but if TSA wants to look inside they will break them open... so not recommended. If you use a special lock like
http://www.pelican-case.com/1506tsa.html
they can open it.

I don't know if the British can open these though...

Good luck with your adventure!

Mark