Lester Bailey Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I am attempting to sell a melodeon to another concertina.net member but both of us are new to the selling/buying game. Can anyone out there help with: How best to ship UK to US? What will US Customs will charge? How best to transfer the money from US to UK? Don't let the fact its a melodeon that's being bought/sold put you off, we promise to play mostly concertina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 How best to ship UK to US? On a slow boat? Seriously, I recommend a parcel service -- UPS, FedEx, DHS, whatever has offices and a good rep in the seat of the former Empire, -- rather than the Post Awfuls/Offal/Office. Don't forget to insure it, or the recipient might wind up with two. What will US Customs will charge? Take a look here. Enter the word "accordion" and at the next level select 92041080 (it should be clear why) and click on the "Detail" button. Looks to me like the import duty will be 2.6% of the "value", which I think can be taken as the purchase price. You could always contact the nearest US Embassy/Consulate to double check. The US has no national VAT, so that should be the only tax. How best to transfer the money from US to UK? I normally use what my US bank calls a "wire transfer", in which my bank is provided with the specific identity of the recipient's account (your bank will have one or more specific international identity codes, to which your account number is added, plus the names and addresses of both you and the bank for cross-checking) and transfers the funds electronically. This normally takes 3-5 business days (don't ask why). (In some European countries this is apparently known as a "Money Order", but that term means something different in the US.) Make sure the money is received by your bank as UK pounds. Any conversion charges will then be borne by the buyer. He should also be able to pay all other charges at his end. (I.e., if your bank charges a fee for accepting the transfer, he should tell his bank to pay *that* as part of the amount to be tranferred. They should know how.) I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Read Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I find the best wat to transfer money is Paypal. It means you both have to associate bank accounts and become ORDINARY members. This way there are no fees for either of you. If you want to use a credit card, the seller has to get an upgraded account and he then pays approx 4%. It is the cheapest way I have found. I think there may be some currency exchange fee but it is small and Paypal's web page lays it out in detail. Don't use UPS. The receiver will likely get hit with high broker fees. Purolater and Fedex are cheaper. The post is good between US and Canada and you often don't get hit for duties (duties and taxes depend on the value). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stayton Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Take a look here. Enter the word "accordion" and at the next level select 92041080 (it should be clear why) and click on the "Detail" button. Looks to me like the import duty will be 2.6% of the "value", which I think can be taken as the purchase price. You could always contact the nearest US Embassy/Consulate to double check. The US has no national VAT, so that should be the only tax. Bagpipes get in free. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Bagpipes get in free. Go figure. Tom Standeven, incredible piper and collector of bagpipes (also scholar of Celtic languages, music, and song) used to work for US Customs. I didn't know he had that kind of clout, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Timson Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I've sold a couple of items overseas using international money transfer. Nowadays your bank account will have an international number, as will your branch. Using this information, a person can arrange transfer of funds direct from their bank account to yours. the information I supplied was as follows:- Name: Christopher John Timson International bank account number: (not saying, except it is 22 mixed letteres and digits long) Bank: HSBC, Chippenham Branch Branch Identifier code: MIDLGB2125U The really good bit about this is the bank didn't charge me any fee for this, but converted the money at the current exchange rate. They even wrote to say they'd received it. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lester Bailey Posted March 27, 2004 Author Share Posted March 27, 2004 (edited) Thanks to everyone who helped. Its easier and quicker than I thought, money moved over night and the melodeon took just 36 hours. The world is getting smaller. Edited March 27, 2004 by Lester Bailey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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