Guide on buying online cues from UK

[ichigo1661]

Hi,

I would like to enquiry whether is there any other charges if I would like to purchase a cue online from UK cuemakers.

Example: If I would like to order MW Legend which the price stated is 450 Pound on his website, other than shipping cost, is there any tax that we need to pay in addition to the cue price?

Thanks.

[cantonguy]

Normally no other charge , except add a cue case or any other accessories.
If you live outside UK , maybe you need to prepare to pay import tax/duty which vary for each country.

Cheers..

[damienlch]

Hi,

I would like to enquiry whether is there any other charges if I would like to purchase a cue online from UK cuemakers.

Example: If I would like to order MW Legend which the price stated is 450 Pound on his website, other than shipping cost, is there any tax that we need to pay in addition to the cue price?

Thanks.

Hi Ichigo... I did not notice paying any tax for cues out of the UK but your country may tax you for the incoming cue, maybe something like an import tax.

So basically, you pay $XXX for the cue, plus $XX for the shipping cost to the seller. He sends you the cue. When the cue reaches your country, it may be held at your local delivery centre pending your tax payment, you should receive an invoice from them. It doesn't always happen though. I guess it's got to do with the declared cost of the item.

ps. Are you thinking of going "bankai" with a MW cue? hehe.

[ichigo1661]

Thanks m8 for clarification.

So it is normal like other country. I never order any cue from UK before. Just ordered directly from Thailand before this. Just want to know cause I can see some of their website put VAT which I dont know what kind of tax is that . Usually when I purchased a cue from Thailand, I will informed the cue maker to declare price lower so our gov wont tax me. But I have to take the risk of the cue damage during delivery but so far no problem yet.

Haven't decide yet what cue to get from UK. Too many option and too many good cue makers but no budget...huhuhu... But looking forward to order when my pocket is big enough.

[damienlch]

VAT is Value Added Tax... some countries call it GST, i.e. Goods & Services Tax... I don't think there will be VAT for overseas purchases.

[liquidsymphony]

personaly i had to pay taxes once ( after ordering hundreds of things outside the EU ) . apparently the size of what you order is important as they pay more attention to bigger packages . if it happen you'll have to pay a tax that is a pourcentage of the value of the good ordered ( depending of the VAT in your country ) and an extra amount for treatment costs at the customs office that most of the time is the same whatever the price of the item

[cueman]

VAT is only payable for people living in the UK, outside that and you should get the price without VAT. John Parris is the only cue maker that automatically has this on his website. If you look at his site the prices quoted depend on where you are living. You shouldn't have to pay tax twice, that would be completely ripping someone off. Best thing to do is to ask the cue maker you will be dealing with to see if they will exclude the VAT from the price quoted.

[ichigo1661]

I think my country custom also will check the size of the items first. If they suspect anything, then only we need to show our invoice and see whether it should be tax or not.

Thanks again all. Will ask the cue maker first before ordering a new cue for sure.

[Terry Davidson]

ichigo:

As an example for Canada. I import quite a few cues from Britain and their VAT is excluded from their price as they don't have to remit the VAT on overseas orders.

However, when the cue comes into Canada, either by courier or post they will use the 'Declared Value for Duty' box and I will pay 13% sales tax plus if by courier another 10% for the courier 'admin' fees.

I do the same as you and ask the shipper to value the cue below 50GBP or even $50(CAN) and sometimes I escape paying anything, especially with post. I just received a cue by UPS from the UK valued low but I still paid just over $17(CAN) in courier admin fees (that's about 11GBP or so)

Terry

[farrelld91]

If you get the sender to mark it as a gift do you not avoid this sort of duty tax?

Had a couple of things sent from china and hong kong and whenever theyve marked it as a gift ive never paid anything but the one time they didnt i had to pay something like £10 for a £60 item which i thought was a bit of a farce

[damienlch]

If you get the sender to mark it as a gift do you not avoid this sort of duty tax?

Had a couple of things sent from china and hong kong and whenever theyve marked it as a gift ive never paid anything but the one time they didnt i had to pay something like £10 for a £60 item which i thought was a bit of a farce

I believe so... Same here, got taxed once for a bulky item because the sender marked it as goods. Cost me another 50 bucks or so.

[perpetualboredom]

ichigo:

As an example for Canada. I import quite a few cues from Britain and their VAT is excluded from their price as they don't have to remit the VAT on overseas orders.

However, when the cue comes into Canada, either by courier or post they will use the 'Declared Value for Duty' box and I will pay 13% sales tax plus if by courier another 10% for the courier 'admin' fees.

I do the same as you and ask the shipper to value the cue below 50GBP or even $50(CAN) and sometimes I escape paying anything, especially with post. I just received a cue by UPS from the UK valued low but I still paid just over $17(CAN) in courier admin fees (that's about 11GBP or so)

Terry

What would the carrier pay you out for your $50 cue if it was lost/damaged and you tried to claim $1000?

[ichigo1661]

Thanks all for the clear explanation.

So to simplifies this:

Local buyer (UK) = They will pay VAT.
International buyer = No VAT.

My country also will tax the goods if the price is above MYR 500 = GBP 50 (include shipping cost). I had a couple of cues from Ukrit and Omin and ask them to declared as testing items and price below Thai Bath 4000. So far, they all passed the customs checked. Got 1 Master cue stuck at customs last 2 week maybe because it is a 1 piece cue and the packing made them suspicious. End up have to collect at custom office which is far away from my home but luckily no tax. . If the price is above GBP 50 they will charge 15% in my country.

Just 1 more question. Majority of the cue makers in UK advertised the price include VAT or not from their website. Some of their websites do provide this info but some does not. I know to ask the cue makers is the best option but just dont want to bug their busy day with silly question.

P/s: I'm not a cue trader. I just would like to test a cue from different cue makers. I sold my Omin Union because I tested lots of frames and the results, I do better score using Master cue. I lost money when selling my Omin but just a few bucks . So i'm happy.

[ichigo1661]

What would the carrier pay you out for your $50 cue if it was lost/damaged and you tried to claim $1000?

I guess this would be the risk for online buyer. I dont think the insurance will cover the cost of the cue. So they will pay you the invoice the cue maker declared. For me, I don't think that I would resend it to the seller if the cue damage during the delivery. It would only cost me lots of money to resend it back. Just pray the items arrive safely and if damage, just have local cue reseller to repair it. So far, all 4 cues I ordered online arrived safely. Maybe just a little warps on 1 of the cue but it does not affect the play.