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HELP!!! I’m stuck with something

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  • January 6, 2012 at 2:12 am #14724
    Gkam84

    Right, let me outline this a little and see who can chip in with advice for me 😕

    I spied a new bike that I REALLY liked the look of, after a bit of searching I found out all the details and looked for stockists, unsurprisingly for a bike I’d never heard of, there were only US and Canadian dealers, so in my infinite wisdom I went straight to source and contacted the manufacturer. This is where it gets a bit complicated.

    So after a dialogue of emails back and forth, I’ve figured out they have NONE of their bikes anywhere outside of the US and Canada, BUT they are looking to expand into the UK and Europe, So to be cheeky and maybe grab myself a discount, I offered, if upon purchase of a bike, if they contacted retailers/dealers who might wish to have a look at and potentially stock their bike/brand, then I’d happily within reason travel with my bike to show interested parties.

    So having received an email not that long ago and getting prices and spec’s, I really cant refuse the chance of getting 25% off Industry Pro Deal they are offering me.

    My problem now comes regarding shipping, I’ve entered the weight and dimensions into various websites who could ship it for me, but getting at best around the £500-600 mark for shipping, although even with that amount of shipping, I’m still grabbing a bargain price, But after looking at flights (return) to the US, I can do it cheaper myself, flight from Aberdeen – London – America comes in at £400 odd return.

    The help I’m asking for are just a few tips/suggestions about this all

    1. If I ship it via a courier, I’m guessing there is a good chance of getting stung with import duty, because its a high value item, I would want it declared for shipping insurance.

    2. If I travel to the US personally to collect my bike, say with an empty bike box (hiring or buying something like this http://bikeboxalan.co.uk/) Then packing it up and flying home with it, would I be able to avoid import duty?

    3. The way I see it, flying over and collecting it, I could gain a lot more knowledge if in the future they ever wanted me to show the bike to any potential clients and OF COURSE, my first port of call when getting back in the UK, would be to Road.cc HQ to let you have a look/ride and review the bike, giving you the jump and exclusive scoop on this new bike.

    So any helpful tips and ideas would be gratefully received because I’m stuck as to what to do, Dave if your reading this, its regarding the bike I sent you a PM about.

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  • January 6, 2012 at 2:33 pm #660113
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    The _Kaner

    Go to the dump find an old
    Go to the dump find an old bike, box it up….take it to the states as ‘your touring bike’…(if you know the frame number of the new bike..stick that on the ‘outward bound declaration’ as proof that you took a bike out)…ride the new bike and leave any dust/dirt residue on it- bin the old banger….(take loads of photographs of wherever you go ..try to include the new bike in them….and friendly US cyclists) …say you had a wonderful time with your US ‘buddies’….box it all up…come home – try to get past customs with the ‘old used UK bought bike’…tell them what a great little holiday you had….hopefully scam them into thinking it is an old bike (not likely)…get found out …have the bike confiscated and still have to pay fines etc….be out of pocket and have a criminal record…(if not ‘do’ time sharing a cell with big Bubba)…lose your job/family/house etc…

    Or you could buy a bike in the UK- paying all the tax-middleman add ons/profits etc…and help the UK cycle industry stay afloat in this time of financial crises…

    I know which one I’d do…… B-) @i’m leaving on a jet plane@

    January 6, 2012 at 1:43 pm #660111
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    Squiggle

    That’s true, I think the time
    That’s true, I think the time limit is 6 months so if you can wait that long and you have a mate in the US then send them the money to buy it then go collect it once the time limit expires. My girlfriend and her pal looked into this when she was looking to buy a sculling boat in Canada. I might be getting my timeline mixed up but if it’s not 6 months then it’ll be less.

    January 6, 2012 at 12:34 pm #660109
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    arrieredupeleton

    Why let your bike enjoy the
    Why let your bike enjoy the trip and not you? I’d go in person if I were you. Three things though: Don’t make up a receipt and don’t claim you’re taking a bike out and its only an empty bike box. Apart from being illegal, they’ll scan the bike box at the airport. Finally, consider taking a bike out with you. I assume you’ll be taking other gear to ride out there anyway.

    Out of interest, there must be a time limit until an item bought overseas and is used overseas, becomes exempt from taxes. Surely people who ‘travel’ for 12 months don’t pay import duties and VAT on clothes and other goods? Your riding it in Cali may make it easier to claim its not new – just well looked after. You really need to take advice from experts on this matter. Good luck.

    January 6, 2012 at 11:33 am #660107
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    Gkam84

    Thank you for that link
    Thank you for that link Simon, many ideas in there i had thought of, I was going to get some miles on it before coming back, my own little tour of cali 🙂 and was also going to post myself the receipt as to not carry it on my person. I was also going to pay it in cash over there to avoid it on a bank record.

    If i was to complete a custom’s form on the way into America for a bike, but not actually be carrying a bike, just an empty case, that might cause me more hassle than its worth? I would fully declare that i was carrying a bike on the way back though.

    Stumps, Saddleback are all fine and good if your importing a bike brand they stock, this manufacturer do not have any stockists outside of the US and mainly have small scale retailers at the moment, this is why i’ve managed to get a deal with them in exchange for showing the bike to any interested parties they may have over here, so want to avoid getting a retailer involved in my import, that way i will also avoid getting a huge mark up added onto my purchase.

    I looks like a trip to America is on the cards 😀

    January 6, 2012 at 11:05 am #660105
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    Stumps

    Get in touch with a company
    Get in touch with a company called Saddleback. They ship bikes from America to this country and then transport them by courier to your address / shop.

    I bought my Felt bike through them and it was dispatched from California. They MIGHT be able to help with your predicament.

    January 6, 2012 at 10:14 am #660103
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    Simon_MacMichael

    Not sure about bikes but
    Not sure about bikes but certainly camera gear such as lenses will have a CE sticker on somewhere which confirms that the product complies with EU quality standards etc.

    Now, that isn’t proof that you purchased the item in the EU, but it’s going to help your case if you’re going through customs when returning with a bike that you flew out with.

    That doesn’t apply obviously if you’re going out, buying a bike and coming back. There’s definitely a risk involved, and if you do get stopped, you will face questions of why you didn’t declare it, and of course unless you’re paying cash, your bank/credit card records will confirm it. If you have the receipt about your person, you’re in trouble and could end up seriously out of pocket and lose the bike.

    Best practice if you’re travelling anywhere outside the EU with something valuable, be that a bike, camera gear, whatever, is to complete a customs declaration on the way out, so that when you come back into the country you can prove that you didn’t buy the goods abroad.

    My advice would be that you either come clean and pay the charges, or assuming no money’s changed hands yet, look elsewhere for a bike – you can’t exactly hide a bike in a suitcase and for that reason alone it could well attract the attention of customs officers when you come back into the country.

    If you’re still determined to do it, have a look at this thread:

    http://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=114530

    January 6, 2012 at 9:46 am #660101
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    SPAM Naval

    the suspense is killing
    the suspense is killing me…what bike are you looking to ‘smuggle’ over?? 😕

    January 6, 2012 at 9:27 am #660099
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    pepita1

    U probably shouldn’t b airing
    U probably shouldn’t b airing these ideas out loud.

    January 6, 2012 at 8:39 am #660097
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    Gkam84

    Yeah thats just what i was
    Yeah thats just what i was thinking of doing

    The vat and duty come into effect when something bought outside of the EU costs more than £15, if its a Gift its £40 and for certain things this extends right up to £135, but the bike is going to cost alot more than that

    The vat and duty comes to well over £1000 if i declare it as a bike, but it will be shipped un-built, so i can declare it as parts, there for getting a reduced rate, but still going to be closer to the £1000

    Where as if i fly, i can do it for less than half and just say i took it with me to go do a few days cycling in America, BUT then would i need to provide proof of purchase in this country? Easy enough if i made up a receipt i suppose. I just refuse to pay the government ANOTHER tax on something with it keeping me fit and health and out of the NHS hospital’s 👿

    January 6, 2012 at 8:03 am #660095
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    seabass89

    1) When you get things via
    1) When you get things via post, or container (takes weeks, but you can transport quite a lot) you will always have to pay duty, or VAT on products above a certain value. Probably 20£ or something.

    2) If you go to the us and collect it yourself you can avoid duty by pretending it was your bike “all along” and you brought it to the US for a sportive, or something like that.

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