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Import a road bike to the UK?

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Old 11-03-09 | 03:19 AM
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Import a road bike to the UK?

Has anyone ever imported a road bike from the USA?

Looking at prices I could get a great bike $2,500 in USA for £1,500 plus import tax.

Is it worth the effort?
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Old 11-03-09 | 03:27 AM
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Originally Posted by FitzM
Has anyone ever imported a road bike from the USA?

Looking at prices I could get a great bike $2,500 in USA for £1,500 plus import tax.

Is it worth the effort?
I'd try one of the many German sites as they are often competitive with US pricing and you won't have a missive shipping bill, customs, and VAT to pay. That will eat up a lot of your savings.
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Old 11-03-09 | 07:53 AM
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Fly out for a vacation and buy a bike. Ride it for a couple of weeks to get it good and dirty. Fly back with it. Declare it when you come back -- the duty will probably still be less than the price difference.
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Old 11-03-09 | 07:59 AM
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Some of the Chinese and Taiwaneses factories will sell direct.

I bought a tandem from Performer in Taiwan. Paid by PayPal - arrived in 4 days (they had quoted 5 days)

Since most bikes are made there anyway buying one stateside can only add to the cost.

Don't forget customs and sales tax. (sales tax is charged on the total cost including shipping)
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Old 11-03-09 | 02:19 PM
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Re. the Germans: check Canyon's site. In the UK consider on of Wiggle's own brand "Focus" models or a bike from Planet X.
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Old 11-03-09 | 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by meanwhile
Re. the Germans: check Canyon's site. In the UK consider on of Wiggle's own brand "Focus" models or a bike from Planet X.
Also https://bike-components.de and their build-a-bike site https://www.vortrieb.com/

They speak very good English and have pretty decent customer service.
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Old 11-08-09 | 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by CycleBiker
Some of the Chinese and Taiwaneses factories will sell direct.

I bought a tandem from Performer in Taiwan. Paid by PayPal - arrived in 4 days (they had quoted 5 days)

Since most bikes are made there anyway buying one stateside can only add to the cost.

Don't forget customs and sales tax. (sales tax is charged on the total cost including shipping)

Sales tax is not usually charged on shipping charges. Handling charges are a different story.

Bill
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Old 11-09-09 | 01:10 AM
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Originally Posted by the_doctor
Sales tax is not usually charged on shipping charges. Handling charges are a different story.

Bill
I've been taxed by customs on shipping charges before, and in the EU you'll pay VAT on shipping charges.
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