Importing a RIF in current climate

[leigh_19777]

Hello,

Myself and a friend are planning on starting airsoft in the near future and have put some money aside for some gear. Quite like the wa system m4 GBB's like G&P and vipertech but  can not find any UK sellers that supply them and overseas sellers seem to be out of stock of just about everything! Don't mind buying a used setup but a bit worried about parts availability.

 After getting ukara if able to purchase from overseas how much of a whack is customs likely to stick on top of the purchase of a RIF? is it possible to buy wa replacement parts in uk?

Have also been looking at ghk's..

Thanks

[EDcase]

Welcome

Yeah, unfortunately things are quite bad at the moment.

Eastern production having been affected by Covid for the last year and a bit, shipping disruptions and Brexit issues importing means that stock is very low everywhere and most European suppliers will not deliver to UK anymore.

 

You can order direct from Eastern retailers but shipping is expensive and long.

Same situation on parts.

 

Best option right now is find something you like in a UK retailer and make sure its from a well known make but many parts are also in short supply.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by EDcase

[Tommikka]

As above, and take a look at the tales of woe here:

 

Theres a lot of grief that could be had when importing today, or it could sail through with no issues

 

Costwise if you spend up to £135 with an overseas retailer and if they go to the trouble of registering with HMRC then you pay UK VAT as part of the purchase with no additional charges on arrival 

Under £135 and if they don’t register with HMRC then it may get stopped for charges or may slip through 

 

Over £135 and you will owe 20% import VAT, potentially import duty as well and then a handling fee to the carrier it goes through on arrival.  Actual fees vary between companies and may be fixed or a percentage of the total.

 

Buy from a UK retailer and they are your point of contact to resolve any problems, plus you know what your paying with no surprise extras

[Lozart]

I have just received a Classic Army MP5A3 from Gunfire.com. 

 

Product value:£136.99 

Shipping costs:£20.73 

Total:£157.72 

 

Plus customs charges of £42.67

 

Cheaper than buying one in the UK, plus nobody has them in stock anyway. Gunfire has a minimum order value to the UK of £135 for the exact reasons stated above, they've stopped using UPS and moved over to GLS because they're less of a shower of shit. Shipment was prompt, the only real delay was in GLS telling Parcelforce what the customs value was so they could charge me.

 

[Rogerborg]

1 hour ago, Lozart said:

they've stopped using UPS and moved over to GLS

 

 

I do have to flag up "Not played yet, want GBBR" as a potential way to see another couple of GBBRs appear in the classifieds.

 

We usually recommend AEG -> gas pistol -> GBBR / HPA in about that order as you start sinking your kids' inheritance into this hobby.  Find out if you like it first playing in easy mode before switching to hard mode or buying premium gear.

[leigh_19777]

Thanks for the advice, hopefully things may have improved by the time am able to choose a setup.

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Got a notification that Taiwan Gun had CM.048Ms in stock.  Tried to order but no dice.  They are not shipping to the UK again.  Bollocks.  

[Rogerborg]

10 hours ago, Tactical Pith Helmet said:

Got a notification that Taiwan Gun had CM.048Ms in stock.  Tried to order but no dice.  They are not shipping to the UK again.  Bollocks.  

 

Are they still operating the genius strategy of not telling you that until right at the end of the order process?

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Of course not!

 

They merely allowed you to struggle completing the shipping option until I e-mailed them thinking it may be a tech issue...

 

Now it is 'improved' to telling you at the checkout again.  

[Pappa Large]

Didn't order a RIF but bought parts and other related stuff for £180ish from Gunfire 30/1021 and used GLS instead of UPS.

Yesterday Parcel Force let me know i owe £40 and will be delivered on 15/11/21. Apart from the charges it looks like delivery back to normal fingers crossed. I got a project on the go and might buy a cheap sniper and see how it goes with Border Farce. Shame about TG as i want the Fostec shotty which is released soon.

[Rogerborg]

22.2222222222% isn't too bad, if that includes whatever fee they're mugging you with for paying the tax and duty.  If we can factor that in and get reliable (not UPS) delivery again, it becomes a lot more viable.  Thanks for letting us know, I hope the delivery goes smoothly.

[ak2m4]

22.22222222222222% ain't bad indeed if that includes UK VAT, duty and handling charge as I believe Polish VAT is 23%

[Rogerborg]

Mmm, it seems almost too good to be true.  I wonder if £40/£180-ish are rounded off somewhat optimistically, and ignoring postage.

 

But if I can get GunFire gats for even 25% (maximum, not "ish") plus postage extra, it does make them a viable option again.

[colinjallen]

You can now buy items from Gunfire with a total value of less than £135 but the system automatically adds UPS Saver shipping, which is currently £51.35.

[ak2m4]

@colinjallen shipping cost clearly gone through the roof, £51 sounded high but I just checked my DSV / UPS account and for a 4kg package pickup from Wroclaw Poland to UK came out to £70.  However do the reverse, UK to Poland via Parcel2Go and UPS standard is £27 (£50 insurance).

[colinjallen]

Shipping costs are high; however, a RIF that is 50p over the £135 minimum rather than 41p under has a delivery cost of £23.50.

[Tackle]

[EDcase]

43 minutes ago, colinjallen said:

Shipping costs are high; however, a RIF that is 50p over the £135 minimum rather than 41p under has a delivery cost of £23.50.

We just have to buy enough to get over £135 😁

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by EDcase

[colinjallen]

21 minutes ago, EDcase said:

We just have to buy enough to get over £135 😁

 

Indeed!

[emit]

On 14/11/2021 at 00:21, Rogerborg said:

Mmm, it seems almost too good to be true.  I wonder if £40/£180-ish are rounded off somewhat optimistically, and ignoring postage.

 

But if I can get GunFire gats for even 25% (maximum, not "ish") plus postage extra, it does make them a viable option again.

Doesn't the listed price already include Polish VAT? If that is the case shouldn't we be able to claim  back the tax before paying UK VAT?

Or does it only work when buying goods from the EU in person and claiming when exiting the EU?

[Rogerborg]

2 hours ago, emit said:

Doesn't the listed price already include Polish VAT?

 

Hmm. A CM028S (for example) is listed at £87.55, or at €101.01, which are about equivalent.  So, yes, they shouldn't be billing us to pay protection money to both mobs.

 

However, I don't see a way to not get mugged.  One to take up with them, if you can.

[Tommikka]

21 hours ago, emit said:

Doesn't the listed price already include Polish VAT? If that is the case shouldn't we be able to claim  back the tax before paying UK VAT?

Or does it only work when buying goods from the EU in person and claiming when exiting the EU?

VAT export reclaim is for when you actually pay their VAT

 

Buy remotely as export and the invoice will either say they charged UK VAT or no VAT 

Even if the top item figure was the same inclusive price originally 

If Polish VAT is declared on the invoice on an export sale then you can deal with their tax export rules and claim if valid 

[Rogerborg]

47 minutes ago, Tommikka said:

If Polish VAT is declared on the invoice on an export sale then you can deal with their tax export rules and claim if valid 

 

Hmm, I can only find how to do that as a UK VAT registered business, and only for business supplies: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/refunds-of-uk-vat-for-non-uk-businesses-or-eu-vat-for-uk-businesses

 

It doesn't seem like GunFire / TaiwanGun or any other Eurosellers should be charging EuroVAT on exports, as it means it gets paid twice to two different protection rackets. I'd have wonder if they're simply pocketing it as profit.

 

I have similar suspicious about AliExpress sellers who claim to be paying UK VAT and duty at source, so that goods can come through UK customs.  Good for us, but I do wonder - are they really paying it, or just slapping a label on the package.

[ak2m4]

8 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

Hmm, I can only find how to do that as a UK VAT registered business, and only for business supplies: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/refunds-of-uk-vat-for-non-uk-businesses-or-eu-vat-for-uk-businesses

 

It doesn't seem like GunFire / TaiwanGun or any other Eurosellers should be charging EuroVAT on exports, as it means it gets paid twice to two different protection rackets. I'd have wonder if they're simply pocketing it as profit.

 

I have similar suspicious about AliExpress sellers who claim to be paying UK VAT and duty at source, so that goods can come through UK customs.  Good for us, but I do wonder - are they really paying it, or just slapping a label on the package.

 

I've wondered about this as well.  I would guess since Aliexpress is the payment provider everything goes through them but who's to say they actually pay the UK government the correct fees.  There's no way they can check, when you look at an Aliexpress label there's no indication of any tax paid.   So Aliexpress make a little extra from the 20%, UK government make a little extra from whatever payments are made and can reduce checks on goods coming in (extra saving).  

 

The only saving grace here is if you use a Chinese or HK website who don't charge UK VAT their side, their might be less checks so less chance of import tax and duty.  

[Tommikka]

2 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

 

 

It doesn't seem like GunFire / TaiwanGun or any other Eurosellers should be charging EuroVAT on exports, as it means it gets paid twice to two different protection rackets. I'd have wonder if they're simply pocketing it as profit.

 

 

Exactly that.

When it goes into the accounts it will be an internal Polish sale at €100 item value €23 Polish VAT, (€123 total) and a UK export sale of €123 item value, €0 Polish VAT, €24.60 UK VAT (€147.60 total)

2 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

 

 

I have similar suspicious about AliExpress sellers who claim to be paying UK VAT and duty at source, so that goods can come through UK customs.  Good for us, but I do wonder - are they really paying it, or just slapping a label on the package.

Label on the package I would hazard a guess 

Especially as it doesn’t get paid by transaction at the time, but on a (quarterly?) account 

 

Unless someone sits in the depot checking HMRC reference numbers are valid they will fly past

Then does the sellers registration actually exist, or will their ledger have every transaction on it?

 

 

 

Remember Asian traders ‘customs insurance’?

You either bought your item and later found out if the package and declaration pass through without  you getting picked up with a charge and handling fee, or you paid for ‘insurance’ and they would still put on a dodgy ‘sample value $0.01’ declaration but offer to pay you back any charges