imports from the USA

[manxlad]

has anyone bought any electronics from the USA as i am in the process of buying a boat and want to get the usual bits such as fish finder, vhf and gps. i have looked on various mail order sites and the prices are far cheaper than anywhere in the UK.

do you have to pay any import taxes etc, also will USA radios work in the UK?

[Newt]

You will have to pay duty and VAT along with shipping. In general, if you take the price in $$ and simply put it into ££ with no conversion, you'll be very close to your eventual cost.

 

As to the radio - if it has the channels you need (by channel number) it will work fine. Back in my younger days I spent a good few years on US Coast Guard vessels and we used the VHF to talk to local fishing/commercial guys all the time.

 

Not sure about the power supply though. US uses lower voltage on shore (houses, businesses, etc.) than the UK. But my bet is that a boat is a boat is a boat when it comes to the electrical part.

[Alan Taylor]

manxlad:

has anyone bought any electronics from the USA as i am in the process of buying a boat

For what its worth Manx I would stick to buying closer at home, the price will be about the same at the end of the day but if you have any problems (things do tend to go wrong) then it is going to get a bit expensive sending things back. OK you will be covered by the guarentee but repairs/replacements will take ages compared to "local" purchase and that is fishing time lost.

 

On the otherhand you can buy my boat for 2.500 quid complete with fishfinder, gps (new), vhf, reserve motor (ideal for trolling) and trailer.

Sorry about that, I did'nt mean to get off your topic.

 

Alan(nl)

[corydoras]

manxlad:

has anyone bought any electronics from the USA as i am in the process of buying a boat and want to get the usual bits such as fish finder, vhf and gps. i have looked on various mail order sites and the prices are far cheaper than anywhere in the UK.

do you have to pay any import taxes etc, also will USA radios work in the UK?

I used to work for an investment bank in the City and a couple of my colleagues were keen danglers.

 

When one of our team had to go to New York on business they would buy stuff like fish-finders, depth-finders, GPS and so on. Often when they came back to Heathrow the Customs Officer would let them through with nothing extra to pay.

 

I have bought stuff from US web shops in the past and the Customs have not charged VAT or any import charges on them.

 

As the say in the other side of the pond, your milage may vary.

[Gillies]

I have often made large orders to the US for tackle for me and my friends, especially Cabellas and Bass Pro for fishing tackle, and was getting hammered with crazy shipping & handling (40% of order) and customs bills ontop of that ....

 

I am often over in NYC, so I thought to save money I should get my orders mailed to friends over there, and they would repackage it, and mail it onto me as a gift to save on the customs and excessive shipping charges, it does save a few £'s if your order costs a few $s.

 

Newt is right though, what you pay in $ USD expect to pay around that in $ GBP.

 

Gillies

[chesters1]

buggered though if it packs up after a few weeks if the garauntee DOES cover it theres big postage to pay getting it fixed.

[Salar]

I have bought loads of fishing stuff in the US at various times but there are things to watch out for:

1. If you buy personally when there and bring in yourself, customs don't worry as long as the value is within the personal limit - this does not apply to purchases made by phone/letter/web - you pay VAT and import duty and handling fees (and the US seller will also apply sales tax, which unlike VAT is usually not included in published prices)

2. Electronics can and do go wrong. UK shops and importers will not be interested in fixing them!

3. 12v is 12v but US chargers may only cope with 110v mains. UK chargers usually cope with both.

4. Don't buy VHF without checking - there are new regs coming in and sets sold in the UK have to be compatible or at least upgradeable. I'm not even sure I agree with Newt, channels in sets may be different.

5. Check specifications - in the US things are often sold with the expectation they will not be used forever (sorry Newt), and sometimes do not have the same finish, feature or accessories as the UK equivalent. Fly rods are a classic - top quality UK ones come with a very nice tube - US ones often don't.

6. On the other hand you can buy very cheap tackle in K-Mart/Wall Mart which is good enough for the rough and tumble of boat angling where two seasons is a good innings for anything - braid line, hooks, swivels, wire traces, rod holders, diving vanes etc.

7. Dont buy distress flares, the US ones are not approved in the UK and I don't think you'd get very far past security these days with a rocket in your pocket anyway!

8. There are things you simply cannot buy in the UK - such as cast nets, and paying import premiums on these is not an issue. Many items that were once US only are now here - jelly worms, rod holders etc.

 

Hope this helps - my advice is go there and bring back bits and bobs but dont risk buying electronics on the cheap - its probably not worth it.

[Norrie]

Hiya, Dont know if it is of any help, re the radio's, I was a CB'er, the US ones have the same channel no's but wont work in the UK, they are set on different "wavelengths". As I said this may or may not be of help.

[Newt]

salar - no need for the "sorry" since you are exactly correct.

 

And again about most smaller electrical items in the US (such as battery chargers) only accepting one voltage. But we are now using 120v rather than the 110v that was common over here years ago. The only items in my house that use 240v are the stove and the clothes dryer. And I dunno if it is to save mfg. costs or just being provential but very few items will allow use of any other input voltages.

 

As to the VHS radio part though - since these are carried on large comercial ships as well as boats and since the ships may go anywhere in the world, they have to be universal for frequencies and such.

 

CB being short range and largely ground based don't have to be like the VHS stuff. Local differences wouldn't be a problem normally.

[Salar]

Newt:

As to the VHS radio part though - since these are carried on large comercial ships as well as boats and since the ships may go anywhere in the world, they have to be universal for frequencies and such.

I was thinking more of the numbering of channels rather than frequency - we have Marina Channels for instance - and also the new DSC capabilities now required by all radios in the next few years. Do you have that in the USA yet? (Position indication when you hit the panic button in case you don't call it DSC)

 

Manxlad - have you tried the budget mail order sites and catalogues aimed at Yotties? Cheaper than local chandlers. Try www.compass24.com, NASA with DSC for £189.95 - got to be the cheapest anywhere. Also Eagle Fisheasy for £99? Can't be bad.