Originally Posted by
John N
I have been lucky in that I have ordered bikes, lots of parts (Rohloff, SON hubs, etc.) and never had to pay a tax. Plus if you buy from Europe and have it shipped to the USA, the seller waives the expensive VAT (tax) which can be as high as 21%.
That said, I am booked to go to Europe for a couple months this summer. Ideally, I would buy a used bike like I want but since there are very few, I may not have that option. This would be the first new bike I have bought in 3 decades as I strongly prefer to buy a used bike and let someone else take the massive depreciation bikes have. Covid sort of ruin that model. Normally, I would not be as rushed but since my Americano was stolen, I am looking for a new bike. My Thorn Nomad MkII is totally disassembled, including the wheels, so I may have to just rebuild it and take it and be patient.
My Rohloff, I paid no duty on that, but I think I should have been charged. But a bike frame (Nomad Mk II) in a big box, plus it had a lot of other parts in the box to push the price up, and the S&S couplers added to the price, I think that cost me over $100 for customs duty.
I assumed that your Americano was purchased new. Every owner of one that I have talked to was the original owner.
Have a great time in Europe, stay safe, and good luck passing all the covid tests you likely will have to pass along the way.