leisure pro in the US

[Conor]

I am thinking about ordering some equipment from leisurepro to be shipped to the UK. I stand to save a couple of hundred if I don't get killed on tax.

I was wondering if any of you guys have done this before and if so could you answer a few questions?

Do the prices on the site include tax ?
If not how much tax will be added ?
Will I have to pay UK tax as well ?
How much would shipping cost and is it per item or per order ?

Thanks in advance

Conor

 

[Scubaroo]

Is ordering from Simply Scuba an option, or does the VAT kill the savings? Here in the US it is often cheaper to order from Simply Scuba than Leisure Pro!

Prices on the website do not included tax - there is an 8.something% tax that only New York State residents have to pay. For the most part, US websites only charge sales tax on online sales if the shipping address is in a state where the website is based, or has a bricks and mortar presence. So buying from the UK should not incur sales tax - it is on their policy page.

 

[Conor]

According to their site everyone has to pay the NewYork tax, but it wasn't very clear.

Normally simply scuba is cheaper, but I have found some gear on there considerably cheaper (30%) than anywhere in the UK.

I don't mind paying the tax but I would hate to end ut paying twice, especially if the shipping made it more expensive than getting it here.

I am hoping to have a business trip out there in the near future which may be a better solution.

 

[ScubaBaby]

I ordered a digital camera from the states for Belushis xmas present. I was going to save a huge amount until it got stopped by customs!

Customs and parcelforce charged me just short of 35 quid to get it back for VAT. They will ask you for proof of how much you paid for it etc.

Also to warn you - get tracking on the items. If I hadn't have paid extra to track my parcel and also spend a huge amount of time phoning EVERY customs office in the UK I dont think I would have received my package much before April !!!

 

[Tibbs]

You need to be careful with importing stuff - you can be really hit hard. You need to add 10% for import duty and the 17.5% on top of that for VAT from any country not in the EU. Within the EU there is no extra to pay.

The other way to do is to it is to find someone who's going over there and get it delivered to their hotel and get them to bring it back with them. It's what lots of people did (and still do) to bring over Halcyon gear, before Aquarius and Underwater Explorers did it for us...

Chris