Bikes shipped from the States question!

Anyone brought in a full bike from the states? What are the 'likely' costs and hassles through customs and excise

Any help on recommended shippers etc

I bought a khs Montana team off goldeneramtb a while ago. It came it 2 boxes, I believe the declared value was around 250 dollars. I got a letter from yhe courier asking around 40 pounds for duties etc

lewis1641":20yqyxue said:

I bought a khs Montana team off goldeneramtb a while ago. It came it 2 boxes, I believe the declared value was around 250 dollars. I got a letter from yhe courier asking around 40 pounds for duties etc

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Awesome thanks

Anymore?

Bought an Alpinestars Al Mega from the states. Cost me a bloody fortune to get it over here in one box (£200 with DHL) and I had to take a risk and declare it's value as $100 so I didn't get stung with customs charges.

Customs charged me about £15 if I remember rightly.

FWIW and from what I've read since, your much better off having the bike sent in 2 boxes (wheels in one, rest in the other) - that way, you'll save money on the postage because each box will be smaller (courier companies base a lot of their charges around the size of the box, rather than the weight).

It's up to you whether you want to risk having the bike sent with a low declared value (lower customs charges but less cover), or have it sent fully insured with the proper value on it (higher customs charges but more cover).

Personally, I'd take the risk if the bike only cost a couple of hundred £. If it was a much more expensive bit of kit, then I'd swallow the import duty because I'd rather it was covered in case anything went wrong!

I've done plenty of importing in the past so here's the lowdown. The parcel (if you get the bike shipped as a whole) will be cost a lot as the shipping will be worked out on the size of the box rather than the weight, this is due to a bike box being considered over-sized.
When it comes to custom charges complete bikes attract a 15% import duty. This will be charged on the combined stated value of the bike and the cost of shipping. Next you take the value of the bike plus the shipping plus the import duty and add VAT at 20% and then top it all off with a handling fee from the importer/courier, which they justify because they paid Customs & Excise on your behalf before asking you for the money.
As others have said, splitting the bike in to parts can help bring the cost down; lower shippng fees for a number of small regular-ish sized parcels and also bicycle parts only attract 4.8% import duty and with a bit of luck you'll only get hit for one handling fee, well if all the boxes arrive together.

Thanks for the responses. That's going to be really helpful information if I proceed.

If you are importing it yourself, try this website for shipping costs
www.parcel2go.com they go and collect it and then deliver it to you
all you need are the box dimensions and weight, it might be cheaper than what the seller is trying to charge

£250 charges paid for my mukluk, came in 2 boxes too..........another guy paid same amount.

hard to get round some charges.

Have shipped many complete bikes to Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China in TWO BOXES...that's the key. By US Postal Priority Mail only...that is key #2 as DHL and all others are much higher. I've always charged the actual cost and depending whether a lightweight road bike or mountain bike it comes out to between US$140 and $160. I also feel that US Priority Mail and their international final delivery partners are far kinder to the boxes and the way they are handled than all other shippers out there.

Brill information. Thanks very much one and all