buying stuff from the US

[carwynm]

hey

i am thinking of buyin a set of clubs from the US Ebay, i rekon they should be cheaper even with the shipping postage charges. but the site says summin bout customs and import duties.... i was jus wonderin how much this is and is it worth me gettin some Nike Slingshots from the US or the UK.

cheers

[Dave Ireland]

Originally Posted by carwynm

hey

i am thinking of buyin a set of clubs from the US Ebay, i rekon they should be cheaper even with the shipping postage charges. but the site says summin bout customs and import duties.... i was jus wonderin how much this is and is it worth me gettin some Nike Slingshots from the US or the UK.

cheers

Howya Carwynn and welcome. I've bought a good deal of gear from ebay in the US. First and foremost I'd suggest that you go and demo irons locally and tap the local pro for info on the clubs that suit you best, then get onto ebay. I've saved upto 50% on Sonartecs and Cleveland Launcher.

If they ship UPS Worldwide Express the clubs go direct to Cologne in Germany and they impose sales and customs on them ... sales tax is calculated based on what's called a TARIC code ...basically it depends whether the goods are balls, clubs, clothing etc and this is a standard tax across the EU usually around 2.5% of the value of the goods recorded on the Customs docket attached to the package. If you get a kindly seller they may reduce the value on the docket ... so if you pay $600 they may record the value as $300.

In addition to sales tax you also pay customs which is the standard rate of VAT on goods in the UK, in Ireland it's 21%, UK I think runs to 17%. Finally UPS also charge a handling fee of 13.50 euro.

So anyways before you do anything, price them in the UK - get a calculator out and convert the asking price on ebay from $ to £ 's including shipping and handling and then finally add 20% or a fifth (customs and sales taxes) to your figure.

Hope that's of help to you - and one final thing to remember - have a budget figure in mind and if you fail to win the clubs first time around, just remember like the buses there's always another one coming shortly. Good Luck.

Dave

[carwynm]

cheers mate, ye, not a bad price then, worked out at about £350 witht he £20 added on... not bad, but only a £50 saving, is it really worth the effort in thinkin?

[Lamma]

I know that a lot of guys have bought golf clubs on Ebay, but personally I'm leery of it. I've read several stories about people spending their hard earned money and getting scammed. If I were you I'd take a look at www.tgw.com before deciding on ebay. You might spend a few quid more but you'll have the peace of mind of knowing that you won't get ripped off.

I'd buy stuff like gloves, balls, tees, head covers, etc from ebay but not anything over $100 U.S. But that's just me. I'm paranoid about spending several hundred dollars only to get nothing in return.

[obagain]

All the fees still apply if you buy from TGW, they are in the U.S. and sometimes you pay more in duties.

Also watch the shipping method. I have had shipments sent global priority that have taken 2 months to be delivered. I sent the clubs the next day but once I give them to the carrier it is out of my control how long they take.
I don't sell to the UK for this reason, in fact I only ship to the U.S. and canada unless I know the buyer.

[wirehair]

Cheesus H. Christ! 17% + 3% + 13.50 - plus shipping! Hell, I think I could cary them over for you for less!

[Dave Ireland]

Originally Posted by wirehair

Cheesus H. Christ! 17% + 3% + 13.50 - plus shipping! Hell, I think I could cary them over for you for less!

Yeah Wire, but it just shows you who much we get stiffed over here for golf equipment - that I can still make a saving of up to 50% when taking these charges into account.

The concept of demo days, swing and lie analysis are still rare here, basically you have a young lad working in a golf shop that plays golf and offers their personal opinion on what are the best irons etc. Furthermore, most drivers will sell with the stock shaft as other than specialised retailers the understanding of shaft mechanics is limited.

If yer available as a courier/mule I'll get my acquaintances in Cali and Medellin cartels in Columbia to look you up