Can anyone advise on importing from the U.S.A to the U.K

[karel]

After a lot of searching I have found a good cheap supplier of womens...

lingerie,Pajama sets, Gowns, Cami Sets ...etc

I wanted one more to set up home parties that seem to be popular at the moment. Obviously I will look at a website, ebay options also.

I have done my figures and all is well, the one thing is as I have never bought from the U.S before, is anyone wise on import duties or any other costs I might incur. I believe that certain items are a higher percentage than others

Any advice at all on importing from the U.S would be great.

Regards Paul

[Collectors-info]

Re: Can anyone advise on importing from the U.S.A to the U.K

Hi, can be a mine field on the tax side of things. You are correct that there are many tax rates depending on the products.
If you are only talking a few hundred dollars per order? I would look to see if the supplier you have found in the US has any EU/UK buyers & approach them to purchase your goods. This can often work out far cheaper for you as the buyer you approach may have far better buying powers than you will have, & will give you a good discount because you’re helping the size of his orders.
At the moment the exchange rate is good, but this can change. I personally would also check out the Far East as well. Chances are the US supplier may have purchased the goods from there in the 1st place.

[karel]

Re: Can anyone advise on importing from the U.S.A to the U.K

Hi Chris, the supplier may or may not be importing from the far east, but I have searched all over the world and these are the best price I could find. I have done all the checks on the company that I can and they are 100% trustworthy as far as I can see.

I have bought from China in the past and all went well for a while then things like quality and postage became a problem. It was more like, now we have your custom we can slack. Also the far east is becoming more and more full of scammers and it is very hard to know how legit they really are, some have a good reputation and then decide they are going under and rip everyone off on the way down, there have been a few cases of this recently. I actually used an agent when I dealt with them, but his profit and my profit, well there was very little margin left.

I like the idea of seeing if anyone is buying from them in the U.K. Not sure though if after they put there % on that it would be any cheaper. Orders would be in the region of $1,000 to start, maybe less until the full trust is built up.

thanks for the reply, much appreciated. I have emailed the company regarding the matter also, so I will wait to see what reply I get.

[LadyEye]

Re: Can anyone advise on importing from the U.S.A to the U.K

Hi Karel

As you are already aware, there are many "knock off" companies lurking around the internet and selling "knock off" merchandise as the real thing. But you are heads up on that matter already ...

In so far as customs & excise taxes for your lot of goods, I would really recommend contacting your local customs & excise taxes and ask them to send you the guidelines for importing goods. It can be quite different for the type of goods, right down to what the goods are made of, fabric, and also where the fabric was first produced, or re-manufactured. Yes, oh yes, can be quite a complicated procedure. You could opt for a broker to do your importing, however, they charge hefty. If instead you use the delivery service to do your clearing, you may just get a surcharge from them for doing so, their rate is not too hefty.

But if you get the guidelines and then work with your suppliers telling them with what works best for you in your situation, that is what I would recommend.

I really do not recommend, taking the word of any supplier as to how you will be treated with customs and excise taxes, alot do not know themselves and you may be given very wrong incorrect information.

Hope this helps. Go after the guidelines yourself.

[karel]

Re: Can anyone advise on importing from the U.S.A to the U.K

I totally agree with not taking there word for it Holly. Although as stated I have done a number of checks and the supplier did come recommended, I do want a full picture of what extra costs will be added.

Buying and selling has always been my first love and something I have done for a long time, as on this forum, the wholesale forum I go on has some very clued up people that cover just about everything so as not to get scammed or ripped off. The products are not made out to be designer or anything like that, so counterfeit is not an issue.

I will wait and see what they say and then like you say do my own checks, a little time on google should do me the world of good.

Thanks Holly

Paul

[Momus]

Re: Can anyone advise on importing from the U.S.A to the U.K

I'd look for a UK wholesaler or distributor who has already done the importing for you.

If there aren't any, then you have to jump through all the tax hoops. If this is something you have to do, I'd be looking to set up as a wholesaler or distributor. ;)