Buying from the US in the UK

JoshPJ · July 28, 2017

On newegg's UK website prices for pc parts are much cheaper than here and I could save a lot of money, the parts are shipped from the US and I still save money with shipping included, however do I have to pay VAT for these parts? If so I dont save any money and it becomes much more expensive.

TheRandomness · July 28, 2017

Import taxes should and would make it more expensive.

JoshPJ · July 28, 2017

Just now, TheRandomness said:

Import taxes should and would make it more expensive.

Thats a bummer I thought I had just saved money lol

Oshino Shinobu · July 28, 2017

You'll have to pay 20% VAT and customs duty on most things (that's on the combined price of the items and shipping). 2.5% is the flat rate for customs charges for items between £135 - £630, though it can change depending on the item. You may also incur some additional import and handling fees.

Typically, you'd expect to end up paying 10%+ more importing from the US and you'll likely find that the warranties won't be available within the UK so you'd have to ship the item back to the US if you have issues, thus incurring more shipping and import fees. I wouldn't be surprised if just running components off the 240v we have in the UK would void the warranty right away.

It may seem cheaper at first glance, but once shipping, tax and fees are accounted for it's almost always more expensive and inconvenient.

JoshPJ · July 28, 2017

8 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

You'll have to pay 20% VAT and customs duty on most things (that's on the combined price of the items and shipping). 2.5% is the flat rate for customs charges for items between £135 - £630, though it can change depending on the item. You may also incur some additional import and handling fees.

Typically, you'd expect to end up paying 10%+ more importing from the US and you'll likely find that the warranties won't be available within the UK so you'd have to ship the item back to the US if you have issues, thus incurring more shipping and import fees. I wouldn't be surprised if just running components off the 240v we have in the UK would void the warranty right away.

It may seem cheaper at first glance, but once shipping, tax and fees are accounted for it's almost always more expensive and inconvenient.

Thanks