I can buy from amazon in california, and bring back with me various parts for a rig I'm going to build. As an example, price differences are; 2600K Retail - US price £191, equivalent UK price £239 GTX 580 EVGA - US price £300, equivalent UK price £385 Anyone know of any reasons (other than logisitcs of delivery to US address which isn't a problem for me - got a mate in San Diego lined up to order/receive for me before I go out there) not to buy in the US from Amazon? Savings are because there's no sale tax in Ca for internet purchases, and the £/$ rate etc.
The only problem is that you get in trouble if the components fail. Other than that, no real downside. Idk how long you are staying in California, but if you can pop the components into your mates PC to test them out it would have been perfect. Relatively few components fail over time under normal operating conditions. So if you can make sure the components are not DoA then you should be golden.
Is it true that you don't pay sales tax if you buy something online in the US? Does the same apply for Virginia?
Definitely the case that sales tax on Amazon supplied stuff in Ca doesn't apply. Don't know about Virginia, the sales tax on net-supplied items varies from state to state. It just happens that this is the case in Ca. Mind you there are moves to change this, as some Amazon competitors obviously don't like it and are lobbying hard for a change...
Sod's law says you'll have to rma the 580 ...which could be a lengthy/difficult process. In other news, you would almost certainly be obliged to declare the products to HMRC as you enter back into the country as they are subject to VAT. Using your figures, the 2600K then costs £229inc VAT while the 580 would cost £360inc VAT ...is really worth the hassle, just to save £35?
Will you be travelling with someone? If so, you could legally bring back both items under each of your personal tax/duty allowance of £300. If not, declare the GTX 580 as being in your allowance if questioned and slip the 2600K into a concealed location * *Pre-emptive disclaimer: I shall take no responsibility for any advice I give on this forum.
Doesn't tax not apply to second hand goods. Therefore get a American friend to purchase and test then pay him back in cash cost price.
You post it to yourself just before you fly home and mark it as a 'gift' on the little mail posting sticker thingy..lol. There is no tax on gifts. Don't flame me..they asked! Disclaimer. I take no responsability for this if you do it.
You are at risk of getting nabbed forcustoms duty etc, because apparently they can open any package if they want (spot check type thing) I got a 480 and a 580 second hand from the US and didn't get picked up, but you might not be so lucky, then they charge VAT and a customs charge, so they may not be quite so good value.
Hence my disclaimer. I did this accidentally once. I bought a brand new graphics card on Ebay (was cheapest I could find so shh) from a seller who was marked as being in the UK. When the card arrived it had been shipped from the USA with a little tick in the gift box. Pretty cheeky of them I thought. But as I got it in good time, and it was clearly new, I didn't say anything.
there is no sales tax on internet purchases unless their base of operations resides in the same state that you are receiving the good in in the US. ie it ships from the same state you're getting delivery in you pay sales tax. i don't know about UK customs, but when i came back from Europe i just opened everything first to avoid paying import duties, as since its not sealed its considered used technically. didn't keep the invoice either in case they would come upon it. it may be the same there?
Declaring the item as a gift only works if the value is under a certain amount, its around £40-50. If you say its a £300 GPU, you can tick that 'gift' box and draw some cute love hearts around it, and still they'll tax you, based on the value of the contents AND cost of shipping. Of course, if you declare it under the maximum giftable price, you wont be taxed.... but when it goes missing that £300 GPU you've bought will eventually be replaced with a nice IOU for around £80 (claimed value + shipping charge refunded). Heres a handy little website: http://www.dutycalculator.com £300 GPU, shipped from the USA to UK, $50 postage incl insurance costs Customs value = £330 (300 + 30 post/ins) VAT & Duty = £66 Total cost landed = £396 Thats the legit way, or £330 and hope to god it doesnt get lost and be replaced with a £80 cheque and faux apology for losing the package about 2 months after it should have landed. You've got to ask yourself if its worth it?
Depends if you get caught, I got a 480 and 580 for 600usd. Which I considered a pretty good deal, and may be about to buy another 580 for 400usd.
if you don't have the receipt and unbox the items, how will they tell that it's "new". I personally wouldn't bother with the hassle though. Peace of mind in case it breaks
If you're gonna bring all the stuff back yourself, you're gonna have to dump all the boxes and pray to the overclocking gods that the guys in customs and excise are out having tea and digestives. Relatively easy with a new watch or a digital camera... Might be a little more difficult with a cpu, ram, motherboard, and graphics card stuffed up your bottom
