B+H for Brits
 

Anyone in the UK bought stuff from this or other US outlets, and did the Inland Revenue (or US tax) make it worth your while?

Hi,

I recently bought a lense for my DSLR from B+H and I'm afraid to say it turned out a bit more expensive than it would have been had I bought it here in the UK due to various charges like VAT, Import duty etc..

It wasn't a real big deal for me as I had waited on a few waiting lists for the lense for a couple of months before I decided to buy from B+H but, as soon as it arrived, the UK shops got them in stock that week and I would have saved approx £20 if I had waited and bought from the UK.

Cheers John

As i feared. Looks like we're stuck with the extortionate UK prices on all our gear.
Thanks john.

i buy a lot of stuff for them and it has always been cheaper. just work out the duty and Vat and see for yourself. I bought an idx charger for £600 including tax and shipping that would have cost me £850 in the UK.

I've bought from B&H, Adorama and many others with no problems. Just remember there will always be 17.5% VAT and somewhere between 6-14% duty to pay depending on what you are buying. Also, they add the cost of shipment into the price of the goods and work out the percentage duty from there, so if you're importing something with a high shipment cost you'll pay more duty.

US prices aren't always cheaper, Japenese and EU goods are subject to hefty import duties. It's also worth pointing out that US prices don't always reflect the actual price you'd pay if you walked in off the street (there are usually state and federal taxes added to the advertised price).

What we need in the UK are a few stores like B&H and Adorama that can match their buying power and deliver more choice at better prices. I've got an idea for a new business...

Cheers,

Liam.

myus.com
 

This is a great alternative when buying from the states.

They are basically a company based in US that buy on your behalf. They take usual visa and paypal.

The item is then delivered to them and they can then forward it to you but the important part is they value the item at trade value not consumer price.

This usually means trade is 40 to 60% less than consumer so you pay stacks less on import etc.

Again, take a look and add up the costs before doing it but I have purchased a load of stuff from ebay this way and always works out cheaper than good old british shops.....