Shipping to the UK

Hi,

When 50D comes out, a friend of mine in the US is willing to buy one and ship it to me here in the UK. What is the best wayt o handle this? Do you ship the whole box or the camera itself alone? What about courier? Do you ship USPS or something like FedEx or UPS. Also, are there any marking ourside telling what is inside? What do you write on the customs form?

Thanks.

Depends how legal you want to be.

Personally I would ship it in the box. Then pack the box in bubble wrap and put it in a bigger box for added protection

USPS is OK, Fedex / DHL / UPS is faster but more expensive. Make sure you purchase additional insurance to cover the value.

You need to write on the customs form that it is a digital camera and its value. You will then get charged import duty and vat on the declared value. Customs aren't stupid and a false declaration is technically fraud.

Thanks Andrew.

Do you know if it would be worth getting it from the US after paying shipping etc and customs/VAT?

andrewc wrote in post #6187816
Depends how legal you want to be.

Personally I would ship it in the box. Then pack the box in bubble wrap and put it in a bigger box for added protection

USPS is OK, Fedex / DHL / UPS is faster but more expensive. Make sure you purchase additional insurance to cover the value.

You need to write on the customs form that it is a digital camera and its value. You will then get charged import duty and vat on the declared value. Customs aren't stupid and a false declaration is technically fraud.

Probably

Digital cameras are zero rated for duty, but you still have to pay VAT.

So:
1) Take the total cost of camera + shipping and work out how much that will cost you in pounds. I use this link: Currency converter but most credit card companies, or Paypal, charge you at 3 or 4% worse than the standard exchange rate.
2) Add 17.5% to the total
3) The courier (including Royal Mail/Parcel Force) charge you a fee for dealing with customs. The last package I got, worth around £180, cost me £13.50 to collect but they may charge more for higher value items.

Also bear in mind that you won't have a UK warranty - Canon warranties on digital cameras only apply to the country of origin, so you'd have to send it back to the USA for any repairs or recalls. That seems a little risky on a new model of camera, but only you can decide if it's worth it.