Buying watch from overseas - considerations

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Japanred

·Jul 22, 2020

Hi all,

I’m considering purchasing a watch (or two) from Japan. I live in the UK. The dealer has confirmed shipping costs which I’m happy with.

Doee anyone know if there are customs (or other) charges when the watch hits the UK?

Thanks. Rob

 

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Shabbaz

·Jul 22, 2020

If the seller declares value. Yes. Import duties.

 

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Evitzee

·Jul 22, 2020

Not sure how diligent the UK is on custom duties, but in the US it is a hit-and-miss affair. I've seldom been charged for any custom fees or taxes on imported watches, the last time in April when a new Omega arrived via DHL as a "Horological Instrument Set" per the commercial invoice. It arrived in Cincinnati, OH and was processed and cleared customs in less than 24 hours with no duty charged. In today's environment most facilities don't have the manpower to flag every parcel coming in. It is best to plan for the fees in your purchase consideration and if it sails on through with no duty it is a bonus.

 

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Japanred

·Jul 22, 2020

Thanks both. I’ll plan for fees and if I don’t pay them that’s a bonus.

The watch(es) are second hand. Would the value simply be what I’ve paid for them? How do I work out what the fees may be?

 

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p4ul

·Jul 22, 2020

Japanred

Thanks both. I’ll plan for fees and if I don’t pay them that’s a bonus.

The watch(es) are second hand. Would the value simply be what I’ve paid for them? How do I work out what the fees may be?

Here is a link that should help.


https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad

 

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Shabbaz

·Jul 22, 2020

Japanred

Thanks both. I’ll plan for fees and if I don’t pay them that’s a bonus.

The watch(es) are second hand. Would the value simply be what I’ve paid for them? How do I work out what the fees may be?

Yes. Seller declares value and you pay duties over this amount. For example, I pay 21% over the declared value.

 

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Shabbaz

·Jul 22, 2020

What's the VAT in the UK (i think you call it VAT)?

 

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Donn Chambers

·Jul 22, 2020

From my experience selling to buyers in the UK, expect to pay duty, even on what would seem a small price. Every watch I’ve sold to UK buyers was charged duty. I know this, because all complained to me in one way or another, even though I had warned them and explicitly stated I would accurately describe the contents and the price it sold at. One even refused to accept the watch (for something like $50 duty on a watch with a declared value of $200), and so it was returned to me and I had to pay for the return postage. He never even responded to my emails about a refund when I got it back, so I don’t know what his issue was.

That was one of the few watches I made a very nice profit on - because I essentially sold it twice!

 

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SpikiSpikester

·Jul 22, 2020·@ ΩF

If the seller declares it properly, it will definitely be charged duty at 20%+ and then Royal Mail will hold it, charge you and stick extra admin charges on top.

I usually budget for approx 25% on top of the purchase price & that pretty much covers it.

The only time I wasn't charged was for about 15 years ago on some sports equipment, where the seller misdescribed the items on the customs declaration without telling me. It was a nice surprise, but dodgy.

 

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time flies

·Jul 22, 2020

Evitzee

Not sure how diligent the UK is on custom duties, but in the US it is a hit-and-miss affair. I've seldom been charged for any custom fees or taxes on imported watches, the last time in April when a new Omega arrived via DHL as a "Horological Instrument Set" per the commercial invoice. It arrived in Cincinnati, OH and was processed and cleared customs in less than 24 hours with no duty charged. In today's environment most facilities don't have the manpower to flag every parcel coming in. It is best to plan for the fees in your purchase consideration and if it sails on through with no duty it is a bonus.

 

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Japanred

·Jul 23, 2020

Thanks all. Looks like this will make the watches too expensive.

 

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dennisthemenace

·Jul 23, 2020

The only time I've been charged VAT on a watch posted from abroad was when it was sent by Fedex. All the others went through customs un-noticed.

 

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Dor_42

·Jul 23, 2020

Import taxes are a female dog...
Where I'm from it's 17% plus some other made up customs fees.
They don't care if it's new or used, the 17% will be calculated based on the value + shipping cost of the item (that includes watches of course).

 

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jsducote

·Jul 23, 2020

I'm out of work, so maybe I should offer to hand-carry a few items for ya'll. You buy, I fly. You pay the ticket, I keep the frequent flier miles. 😉

 

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BlueOcean

·Jul 23, 2020

I just bought a Herve Alvia from what I thought was a Manchester, UK based company. The advertised price of the watch was $360/£285 and the confirmation of purchase email I received was from the Manchester company. I was therefore surprised when a Malaysian company took payment from my card and the watch was shipped to me direct from Kuala Lumpur. DHL wouldn't deliver the watch to me until I paid an extra £70 for VAT and some other levy. I would be good if Herve stated clearly on their website that they're a Malaysian company.

 

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dss_watch

·Jul 26, 2020

for what it's worth, I'm in the US and I just received a watch from Japan. the duties worked out to be around 4%

 

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STANDY

·Jul 27, 2020·schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector

jsducote

I'm out of work, so maybe I should offer to hand-carry a few items for ya'll. You buy, I fly. You pay the ticket, I keep the frequent flier miles. 😉

Just bought a watch in Columbia, how long will it take you to get to the airport ? I will supply the Suitcases 👍

 

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TimeODanaos

·Jul 27, 2020

By next year, UK can enjoy paying 20% on anything from Europe too 🤦

Edited: Jul 27, 2020

 

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Japanred

·Jul 27, 2020

D dss_watch

for what it's worth, I'm in the US and I just received a watch from Japan. the duties worked out to be around 4%

I would’ve been happy with 4% but it sounds like it will be at least 20% which adds over £2000 into the cost of the watches.

 

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Bugbait

·Jul 27, 2020

TimeODanaos

By next year, UK can enjoy paying 20% on anything from Europe too 🤦

Would mainly be admin fee on top though. You should be able to get VAT free coming out from the EU and then pay customs/VAT on arrival in the UK. When I ordered from Germany in the past I had the option of which side I wanted to pay the tax on. Since Germany is 19% I opted for that each time instead of the 20% in the UK. No additional charges on arrival in the UK.