Importing to UK

[Alex_DeLarge]

Originally Posted by magnum_valentino

Did you even READ my post?

Stupidly, I presumed Amazon adding that tax thing meant that was what I'd get charged when the item was delivered.

So my next question is, given the price of the item bought (£55 or so all in), any idea what the customs charges will be.

Also, Alex, are you suggesting that rather than getting my item in five weeks like they told me I could get it sooner?

Yes, I did READ your post and wasn't really answering your question as such which is why I started with 'for what it's worth'. Merely giving a little input and opinion on the subject of postal/shipping costs.

At no point though was there any mention of a 5 week wait. All the more reason to choose the cheaper option if they're waiting for stock unless you really need it for a certain time. Yet again there was no elaboration from you why there's a 5 week wait, so I'm guessing it's a stock issue. Even though they've told you 5 weeks there's always that chance it'll turn up a little earlier in my experience. I don't import blu-rays, but import a lot of other things and more often than not they turn up before the stated time. I'm not saying that they WILL, I merely saying that there's always that chance.

Last time I got stung for customs charges the contents were declared @ £200. I paid £35 'ish for them to release the goods. You do the math. Just to confuse you a little more, there's no guarantee you'll get stung for customs charges yet as things do slip past from time to time. Just expect to get stung. Then it's a bonus if you don't.

Still confused? Just keep importing, you'll soon get the jist. There's nothing like a little personal experience.

[magnum_valentino]

Thanks friend, as far as the five-week thing goes, that's just the standard month-to-deliver time, though it was in stock at the time and has already been dispatched.

£35 is is 17.5 percent of £200, which is (or was) standard UK VAT, isn't it? So I reckon I could expect to pay at least an extra £9 or so.

Final question then (since y'all seem to be so in the know): if it was posted 27th of May, when can I expect to receive it, in the best case scenario?

[Brvtality]

Thanks for the interesting replies guys - very helpful.

General consensus seems to be Amazon is worth using despite waiting a short while. Just one last question that confused me - to avoid custom charges which delivery option is advisable on Amazon? Or is it not worth the risk of going over £18?

Cheers

[RuLeX]

As has been said before, if its valued over £18 the potential is there to get a import/vat duty charge but it just depends if they get you. Plus i'd say it also depends on the item, perfumes & electrical goods i'd say are gonna get pulled, but cd's and br's not so much.

I have never had a import charge and as i've said I had bought plenty of things from the US, not just br's from Amazon.

I suppose one way to see is give it a go and see if you get one, as maybe some areas are more stringent than others. Bear in mind that £18 is roughly $30 worth of blu's and obviously postage is not taken into that so i'd say unless you buying mega expensive titles you'll be fine.

[RuLeX]

P.s Seven Samurai on a price drop atm, $28.99 amazon, $5.80 postage ya looking @ around £21.20 delivered, compare that to Axelmusic price of £25.12 and then add postage and your looking at saving maybe £6+ on one disc alone.

As I said before, if your not desperate to have in your hand, you'll be quids in

[Alex_DeLarge]

Here's one example of mine. I bought an autographed photo from a MAJOR Star Wars company in the US for $450. It sailed through without charges.
Then I've also bought blank photos from the same company at around $60 cost and got stung.

[Brvtality]

Originally Posted by RuLeX

P.s Seven Samurai on a price drop atm, $28.99 amazon, $5.80 postage ya looking @ around £21.20 delivered, compare that to Axelmusic price of £25.12 and then add postage and your looking at saving maybe £6+ on one disc alone.

As I said before, if your not desperate to have in your hand, you'll be quids in

Thanks for the heads up. Never seen Seven Samurai so might grab that one!

[mrpants]

I'm looking at importing some blu's myself for my collection, I've got some questions and searched for some answers, hopefully someone can clarify this info.

Q. Best way to avoid charges that come with paying in a different currency?
A. Unsure, did someone just say amazon.com let them pay in GBP? Does that apply for amazon.ca and amazon.de too? That would be very helpful as it looks like my bank (lloydstsb) charges both a standard charge and a percentage.

Q. NTSC/PAL a problem?
A. Not for HD content, extras could be a problem.

Q. Region coding a problem? (for me with just a UK PS3 in particular)
A. UK PS3 won't play any other region than B, do your research and check that the blu-ray is ABC.

Q. Do I have to sign up to each amazon flavour?
A. I can use amazon.co.uk account to purchase from any of them.

Q. Scratched/damaged items in transit a problem? (especially for steelbooks)
A. Possibly, but sticking with amazon is a good idea, patience is the key thing.

Q. Hard coded subs in foreign language? (wouldn't be ideal)
A. Unsure. Best to do research for individual disc?

Q. Why are people being charged £4 odd for amazon shipping when their site says $4 for a blu ray, shouldn't that be £2.50-ish?
A. ??

Any other questions I should be asking?

[chip75]

Originally Posted by mrpants

I'm looking at importing some blu's myself for my collection, I've got some questions and searched for some answers, hopefully someone can clarify this info.

If you order from Amazon.com it's shows your order in GBP, the same with Amazon.ca (it gives you the option to change currency as well).

Shipping is usually about 4-5 pounds for the standard method (a Steelbook is 4.53 for example).

Damaged goods shouldn't be a problem Amazon will pay P&P to return (they do in the UK anyway).

Hardcoded subtitles are something you need to research first. Canadian releases should be bi-lingual. If you order from France or Germany research to make sure the titles have English audio some will have subs you can't disable even if they're not hard coded or burnt in.

Not 100% put all UK TV's should play 60hz and 50hz material it's the US players that have problem with our 50hz content.

One account is good for all Amazon sites, some only except certain credit cards though.

Do your research on region coding. A lot of studios put out region free discs.

[Poshteh1]

I've found myself importing way more titles recently (from the US), Amazon.com are the way to go, cheap prices and great service. Only problem I find is that quite a few Blus I order arrive damaged! It took 3 attempts to finally get a mint copy of The Bridge on the River Kwai, and more than a few standard Blus arrive with cracked/chipped cases, which is really annoying as I can't find replacements for the slim US cases (which are of inferior quality to the standard UK Amaray cases).

However, Amazon are great when dealing with damage problems, when I report damage items, they just tell me to keep the item and then they sent me a replacement, so I can't really complain.

I usually manage to keep orders at £18 max, most releases won't cost over that price (unless it's a box set/limited edition set). I recently had an order which had a value of around £19-20 and it arrived fine, no customs fees.