Anybody thought to buy from US gear sites?

I'm new to this forum, so I hope it's a friendly one? I've noticed the relative expense of UK gear, especially Gore Tex products, even though I prefer to buy British. I just purchased a brand new Gore Tex XCR parka from REI for US 120.00, or 75.99 pounds sterling. Admittedly, it was on sale, but a quick survey of other American sites, such as Cabelas and LL Bean reveals goos savings on outdoor gear. Anyone else with a story of savings through buying gear online from overseas sources?

I've bought cheap leatherman etc from US sites. It looks a lot cheaper, but I got stung by customs dues, so the difference in the end wasn't massive. I think it's fine if you get together with a mate and buy a load of kit at once it might be ok.

US goods at full price are generally not significantly cheaper than they are in the UK, maybe 25% at the most on certain clothing items, and in fact often more expensive than the UK for technical equipment. Certainly worth a look if you're in the US, but mail order is a different matter. I've bought a little stuff in the past, but financially it's not the bargain it appears at first sight unless you're getting a truly massive discount, because of the add-ons.

REI's shipping charge on $120 for example is $42.

Then you get charged UK customs duty plus handling charge on anything over 36 euros. Depending on the nature of the goods ordered, this could add anything from £15 to £35 on something costing $120. And although many parcels used to slip through the customs net undetected, my post 9/11 experience is that most get charged.


So if you're buying a $120 jacket that normally retails for $240, then you're probably making a worthwhile saving, but not 50%.

The 60%-off Kelty tent priced at $99 I bought from REI-outlet actually ended up costing more than £100 once all the extras were added on. I was still pleased with it because it was cheaper and better than the UK equivalents, but it was a rare bargain and I haven't seen anything else since that I actually want that offered similar savings.

I find European online retailers such as cham3s and telemark-pyrenees a better source than US ones. They have good prices (especially for footwear and skis), much wider ranges than the UK, reasonable shipping costs and no customs charges.

The only buying I've done from the US recently has been on Ebay. For example I got a brand-new Patagonia technical jacket which retails in the UK at £220 for $89. Because it was from a private seller, shipping cost was just the postage charge, $10, and there was no customs charge. If you check Ebay regularly, there are some real bargains to be had.

You could save yourself a lot of money by just asking them to send it ordinary surfice post. I discovered the reason they charge so much for postage and packing is that they send it all first class air mail! It is also possible to get around customs by asking them to label it as a gift.

Sorry Brian but that doesn't work with big companies like REI. They send international packages by carriers like UPS (not by airmail) because these provide tracking and insurance, which the USPS doesn't outside the US. They also load on a handling charge because there is more admin involved in processing international orders, such as customs labelling.

And labelling as a gift doesn't work if the goods are worth more than 45 euros, because VAT and duty are payable regardless, gift or not, once the value exceeds this. It's also worth noting that the postage charge as well as the goods are chargeable.
See this for the full rules.

The only way I can think of avoiding these costs is to get someone with a US address to accept the goods for you and then post them on by USPS with an underdeclared customs value. Though in my experience even this is difficult because most companies won't accept credit card payment where the delivery and cardholder addresses are different.

REI won't ship a lot of named brands to the UK anyway as the companies won't allow it. I ordered a North Face footprint thinking it would be cheaper and their policy saved me money as I found it at Cotswold cheaper. If you shop around and buy out of season its just as reasonable here and as I found out with Field and Trek you have full consumer rights if you need to return an item. Much harder to do if you have bought something overseas.

Agree with Bryan on avoiding customs - when I bought my Mountain Hardwear Approach tent (brand new) new through E-bay from a guy in the US, I made sure he marked it as second hand and as a gift, so no customs issues and saved £100 on UK retail. Admittedly he was a private seller so did me the favour (once I'd bit the bullet and sent the bankers draft over, which was a bit of a gamble that made me sweat for a while..). Major retailers may not be so obliging. One site I look at in the US is Sierra Trading I think - great bargain prices but have yet to buy...

Cheers all,

PB

Paul, marking parcels as second hand and as a gift has no effect on customs duties payable if the value is over 45 euros - check the link in my previous post above. I think you were just lucky not to get caught; no doubt C&E don't have time to inspect every single package. The only way to be certain of avoiding customs duties is to ensure the stated value of goods is under the limit. I've bought quite a bit from the US and learned this the hard way.