Parts UK to Oz

In the past I have had family in the UK purchase and ship parts to me - it saved a fairly significant amount of money (although claiming the VAT back was such a bloody hassle that I wouldn't do it again).

I'm sure Richard from Beamends will be along shortly to confirm that he's able to ship to NZ/AUS for a sensible rate (or that he will try and organise something) - his prices seem fair, the range of parts is good, and Richard is fairly knowledgable about what fits where and when.

I have had overdrive parts shipped from the US (Rovers Down South) without major problems. I would have to think very carefully about things too heavy to send by mail however. The post office handle the import duty and GST much more simply for the receiver than do the airfreight companies, and there is a threshold below which they do not bother to collect the taxes. JD

Just watch out for the hidden costs of importing, depending on the value, size, etc. depends on whether Customs will hit you up for another 5% to 25% depending on the item's tarrif classification. You then pay GST on the total cost of the item + shipping costs + tariff. Sometimes those bargains overseas end up being an expensive learning exercise.

The GST on the total is the real killer, any savings that you've made in the purchase overseas just gets wiped.

Generally anything that can be sent by postal services does not attract too much attention, items consigned by a courier will always attract attention as the courier will do all the paperwork for customs and pass on any costs to you plus their markup.

If you can persuade the consignor to place a low value on the item then you can avoid customs - not that I would ever do anything like that myself.

.....

I'll send small stuff to Oz/NZ that can go Royal Mail unofficailly (NOT the US - insurance......). For larger items, from what I can see from the web, any savings are likely to be removed by the high cost of delivery, plus you'd have to wait up to 10 weeks or so to get them.

Judging by the mails I get, there does seem to be something of a restricted supply of (particularly after-market) parts in that neck of the woods. Assuming that, on the basis that someone would have done it already, setting up an import business is not viable, how about the clubs getting together and setting up a cross-club "shop". As ever this would probably mean one person getting dumped on big-time organising it, but I'd offer some discount for reasonable sized orders that ould be used to cover costs. Payment could be direct to us, so whoever took it on would not have to worry about oranising the money side of it, just forwarding parts on arrival (I'd need some help working out the cost of that for each "sub-order").

Or maybe there is someone who runs an import business who's looking for a side-line.....

Just a thought....

Richard

Went through a similar exercise last year. Cheap spares in the UK compared to here, but in the end I sourced them in Oz for about thesame price considering the amount I save in shipment charges from the UK.