States postage costs

[3pm]

Hi guys has anyone ever bought from the states as I was wondering if you have to pay loads of taxes and things on top of the item price. Basically should it be done or not?

[Tazz]

Try this (http://www.fatbobsdirect.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=335) thread. Might help you.

[Tom]

I have bought stuff from an american forum (ie a personal sale - not a shop). I got a spyder shutter with gas bottle shipped for £20 by standard us parcel post.

The problem is with shops that want to use UPS or another courier. Then you're looking at extortionate rates, plus taxes, import duty etc etc. It's a nightmare :)

Tom

[Karizma]

DON'T DO IT!!!!!! Postage costs a small fortune. I looked at buying a playing jersey, one I hadn't seen over here. Cost of jersey was around 25 dollars, pretty good I thought. Post and packing was another thing. Total for the transaction came to nearly 70 dollars. Needless to say, that one got cancelled. Try your "local" paintball shop, see if they can order stuff from their Stateside supplier for you. You never know, it might work for you.

[3pm]

Thanks for info guys, I think I will buy our kid a sabby from fat bobs. ;)

[Dark Warrior]

Originally posted by Inknstuff
DON'T DO IT!!!!!! Postage costs a small fortune. I looked at buying a playing jersey, one I hadn't seen over here. Cost of jersey was around 25 dollars, pretty good I thought. Post and packing was another thing. Total for the transaction came to nearly 70 dollars. Needless to say, that one got cancelled. Try your "local" paintball shop, see if they can order stuff from their Stateside supplier for you. You never know, it might work for you.

Shipping depends on the store you purchase from and the carrier they use. Your experience is probably a worst case scenario. There are hundreds of outlets, so look around for the best deal you can. Sometimes it can be cheaper importing, sometimes it works out better to buy at home. It's a free market out there and thanks to the internet, you have a wider choice.

[robtattoo]

Just out of interest, Doropaintball in the US ship with the US Post office & shipping costs are almost the same as UK prices. Me & Bod have both had stuff from them & found them to be about the cheapest there is. Hope this helps M8.

[Karizma]

Cheers m8, I'll give them a try.

[Bulletdodger]

Rob,

Out of interest, what did you find was a typical shipping cost from doropaintball? Also, did you get stung by customs for VAT?

[robtattoo]

Shipping costs all depend on weight, my marker cost $43.
I've never been done for import duty (yet) Bod has though.
If you ask, they'll gift wrap the item for you (at a small cost) because gifts/presents are not subject to imprt duties. Similarly, you can ask them to stick a receipt to the OUTSIDE of the package, indicating the total cost of the items to be LESS THAN $24.00 (also not subject to import duties). This is a little bit naughty, legally, but they can't open the package to check (unless it's "suspicious") so you'll be OK.:D

[Fatbobs]

"Unless it look suspicious"

Maybe if they x ray it and it's got a trigger and a barrel.:D :D ,

On a serious note, do be carefull. Only buy from the states if there is absolutely no chance of ever needing the warranty, remember you'll have to send it back if anything goes wrong.

[Tom]

Basically, you might save yourself a little bit of money, however, as Andy says, you're screwed out of your warranty, customs can screw you for import duty (very few shops will mark your parcel as 'gift') and you can actually end up paying more for shipping etc if they use a courier.

Not trying to sound overly negative, but there are a lot of ppl out there who spout a lot of BS about buying from the states, and the poor suckers that then do it and expect it to be no hassle are often the ones who lose out.

Tom (Devil's advocate)

PS <SHAMELESSPLUG> Did I mention Fat Bobs reasonable prices and great customer service!? </SHAMELESSPLUG>