Thread: GST on purchases from UK etc

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

I have not bought anything from the UK or Europe for years because of the scandalous freight and postage charges. I have recently bought small items from the USA and as usual they just come straight through to my mailbox, no GST, no Customs interference.

So the part is half the price but the postage is high. End result is the outcome is still much cheaper than the local dealer. ??
And yes I’m happy to screw the dealer as their pricing is ridiculous and their inability to discount also poor form

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

I have not bought anything from the UK or Europe for years because of the scandalous freight and postage charges. I have recently bought small items from the USA and as usual they just come straight through to my mailbox, no GST, no Customs interference.

Some freight is still a bit overboard. The Rimmer Bros freight is charged based on the volume of the package. I have asked to see if I can get a better deal on shipping and they would only do better with large bulky items, ie; wheels.

Honestly though, the prices have come down a fair bit since I first got my RRC in 2010. The other thing about it is it's fast.. I have ordered stuff from both the UK and Melbourne at a lunch time, the stuff from the UK arrived in 3 days and a week later the Melbourne stuff arrived. Both off the shelf and to where I was living near Katherine NT.

Your experiences will vary depending on who you purchase from, the total value (both purchase price of the items and freight costs) and the freight service/company used.
But to give you some idea from my experiences in purchasing from the UK in the past almost 12 months since the rules changed:
If you use an online sales platform such as Amazon/eBay they will collect the GST and sort it out.
If you purchase direct from a seller and the total (including freight) is sub $1,000.00, most of the freight companies will quote on a freight price that is inclusive of the GST collection. As such the freight price can seem high but it’s because of the GST collection, and likely some admin fees. This is a good process as the goods aren’t held up and go straight through to delivery. Some will incorrectly assume that they’re not paying the GST but it’s just because the freight company silently collects it...
As above, but if over $1,000.00, then it will often be held up in customs until the freight company contacts you to arrange payment of the GST, import duties, and brokerage fees. GST is applied last so you pay it on the import duties and brokerage fees too. This is a frustrating process as the goods are held up and delayed in delivery.
Once, when purchasing an over $1000.00 item from Japan, I had to arrange my own brokerage, used an online mob for this purpose. AusPost and Customs sent through a letter and this had the longest delays for delivery.

Regarding Land Rover items I purchase a lot from the UK. I actually have a trade account with one major parts suppliers over there. Four major reasons for purchasing from there:
1. Part price - I can usually purchase genuine Land Rover or OEM for cheaper than third party here in Australia. If I go with aftermarket from there then it’s generally significantly lower in price.
2. Options - purchasing from the UK provides me with the option of choosing between aftermarket brands, OEM or genuine all within an affordable price bracket.
3. Selection - for uncommon parts and little funny bits they usually have them available to order and do so without fuss or additional charges.
4. Speed - if it’s under $1,000.00 order I can usually have the parts on my doors step quicker than I can get them delivered from anywhere else in Australia.

My tip is if your finding your UK parts suppliers freight quotes to be too high, then change suppliers, there’s plenty of them and they do calculate freight differently between. Mine collects all the parts, packages, then quotes on freight and awaits confirmation that I wish to proceed at the quoted rate.
Personally I find the international freight form the UK generally reasonable compared to what we pay for freight within Australia.

Just to share a random story, for anyone still reading this essay, about eight years ago I purchased a ‘Made in Australia’ Safari Snorkel from the UK, including freight to me, it still worked out to be a $100.00 saving over what they wanted locally for it despite now having been made in Australia, delivered to the UK, resold and returned to Australia... Sad that Australians rip off Australians so badly yet happily sell to the rest of the world for less to remain competitive...

Many thanks to all who responded. Some real life experiences, always good value.

I think the message is to just proceed and see what happens. And thats what I will do. Most of what people had to say I was pretty well aware of. But the freight companies paying the GST is a new one on me. I import regularily, all sorts of items, and no problems yet. Most recent import was an electronics item from Germany, no GST,no problem.

And of course it is price + freight which is important in making comparisons. Generally I have found freight from UK to be very reasonable. From the US, outrageous, except when using eBay's Global freight system. Even with US freight costs it often pays to import. A few years ago I imported an anchor with a landed price here of about $700aud compared to retail here of $1000aud + freight.

At the moment I am assembling a spares kit for outback travel in a D3. I have been buying parts from hong Kong, Australia, etc. Advanced Factors UK have a good price on a set of 4 height sensors, and rear wheel speed sensors. So I am now going to proceed with those.

Lee

See invoice below from AF.

LCAs at ex-vat price with a few other small parts in the order. Also the Aulro discount was included.

Whilst the LCAs are heavy and bulky I took the shipping price as including gst.

There was no choice of shipping provider or speed of shipping in the order process.

Tracking of the parts occurred almost immediately from time of purchase.

Parts came through to my house within days.

Originally Posted by PerthDisco

See invoice below from AF.

LCAs at ex-vat price with a few other small parts in the order. Also the Aulro discount was included.

Whilst the LCAs are heavy and bulky I took the shipping price as including gst.

There was no choice of shipping provider or speed of shipping in the order process.

Tracking of the parts occurred almost immediately from time of purchase.

Parts came through to my house within days.

Thanks for that. Confirms what I am thinking. Did not know about AULRO discount so will be sure to ask...thanks

Lee

Originally Posted by banjoship

Many thanks to all who responded. Some real life experiences, always good value.

I think the message is to just proceed and see what happens. And thats what I will do. Most of what people had to say I was pretty well aware of. But the freight companies paying the GST is a new one on me. I import regularily, all sorts of items, and no problems yet. Most recent import was an electronics item from Germany, no GST,no problem.

And of course it is price + freight which is important in making comparisons. Generally I have found freight from UK to be very reasonable. From the US, outrageous, except when using eBay's Global freight system. Even with US freight costs it often pays to import. A few years ago I imported an anchor with a landed price here of about $700aud compared to retail here of $1000aud + freight.

At the moment I am assembling a spares kit for outback travel in a D3. I have been buying parts from hong Kong, Australia, etc. Advanced Factors UK have a good price on a set of 4 height sensors, and rear wheel speed sensors. So I am now going to proceed with those.

Lee

If buying from US suppliers insist they use the Post Office (USPS). I have them use flat rate boxes. You can get 20 lbs. of goods in a large flat rate box. Flat rate boxes come in several sizes, shapes, and costs. The boxes are supplied by the post office free of charge and the PO will complete the customs declaration for the sender. The PO will quote on oversize/overweight items. I bought a new Muncie gearbox from Florida. The supplier was quoted over US$900 by FedEx and a bit less by UPS. I asked them to get a quote from the PO. They were not aware that the PO would do this. US$360 and it arrived in 5 days and this is the rub. It came by FedEx so the PO had subbied off the job to the carrier that had quoted ove US$900.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

If buying from US suppliers insist they use the Post Office (USPS). I have them use flat rate boxes. You can get 20 lbs. of goods in a large flat rate box. Flat rate boxes come in several sizes, shapes, and costs. The boxes are supplied by the post office free of charge and the PO will complete the customs declaration for the sender. The PO will quote on oversize/overweight items. I bought a new Muncie gearbox from Florida. The supplier was quoted over US$900 by FedEx and a bit less by UPS. I asked them to get a quote from the PO. They were not aware that the PO would do this. US$360 and it arrived in 5 days and this is the rub. It came by FedEx so the PO had subbied off the job to the carrier that had quoted ove US$900.

Yes, I am aware of the intricacies of freight from the US, and that USPS often works out the cheapest. It all depends on the seller: many Americans are parochial, frightened of international transactions, and won't work to the best solutions. EG, last year I attempted to buy some snowshoes from the US; the seller got a quote around $180 (for a 2.5kg package), I tried to get him to explore USPS, no joy, his attitude was thats the quote, so no sale. On the other hand, I bought some binoculars from B&H in New York, they shipped via DHL for $12 which I thought was great. Its all a lottery dealing with Americans.

Lee