Well, the VAT is around 60 pounds of that, so the other fees and whatever
customs duty applied (probably 4% or so) total 24 pounds--not too bad,
actually. If the shipper had used UPS they would have charged you a lot more
for handling the customs formalities.
Depending on exchange rates etc., for many items it is still cheaper to buy in
the US if shipping is by the USPS and not one of the private delivery companies.
Although I must admit that I also prefer to bring stuff in person, such as the
two Pentax lenses I brought back from San Francisco in May and somehow forgot
to declare on landing in Madrid :-)
Cheers,
Nathan
Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
YNWA
On Jul 9, 2011, at 11:56 AM, Chris Barker wrote:
> Again I find myself wondering why I buy anything from outside the EU. I have
> just received a lens from the USA, a secondhand Pentacchio DA15/4 which I
> bought for just under GBP300, including postage. I have been charged a total
> of GBP84, for Customs, VAT and a Clearance fee (by the Post Office in the UK).
>
> But at least it got to the UK, not a guarantee for stuff from the USA . . .
>
> Chris
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