Originally Posted by
barkersoldbean
I am contemplating a plunge into the spending abyss of a built from scratch Calfee Tetra - a la TandemGeek and just wondered if there was anyone financially silly enough in the UK to have done it already? Tips tricks etc to be shared.
To avoid sales tax in the US, you have to have the bike/frame shipped to an out of state address. e.g. if the bike is made in Arizona, have it shipped to Florida. Then you need to find someone who is travelling to the UK to take it with them and the customs probably won't even ask what's in the box. We took a complete Trek T2000 packed in 1.5 bike boxes, taped together, by BA from Tampa to Gatwick about 5 years ago. BA didn't charge anything and the customs didn't blink. In the unlikely event you get stopped by customs, it doesn't matter if it is used or not, they can still charge duty. I speak from experience of being done with a used camera many years ago.