Buying items from the States

[Valcuda]

It's been years since I bought stuff on-line from across the Pond, so perhaps somebody could remind me how it all works.

I'm after a windshield washer bottle (so therefore a bulky item and probably a "rare" item) which I can get on Ebay (American) or via Year One. Do I buy, then wait to get a note from the postman saying the local PO Sorting Office has it, go down there and pay the import duty, or do I get the seller to use a parcel service which will pick it up and somehow get it to my door after the flight, and I pay a delivery man? Or do I go to my friendly American parts importer like American Autoparts in the UK, which is certainly stress-free though maybe not as economical or quick as doing it myself directly, I just don't know.

What do you guys think?

[Dave999]

we'll for most things i just buy it and let the postman stick a demand for import duty through the door

provided the sender puts the cost of item and cost of shipping on invoice correctly you will get a red notice from shipper/delivery agent asking for handling charge and customs/vat

unless you purchase from a big store that charges all of that upfront. in which case the postman delivers with no further questions asked.

in most cases a UK supplier will get these things for you

and you end up paying a little more but have the piece of mind that if its broken then its their problem not yours.

if you buy direct and its broken, regardless of if you need to foot the bill to send it back. the replacement will be subjected to the same import handling and vat, if the sender sends it as a replacement and does not fill in the invoice correctly the customs people will use a formula to calculate out what they think you owe, which in this day and age appears to be a random value 3 times higher than what you should have paid.

having said that i buy most of my stuff direct from suppliers in US or Oz, granted i've had a bit of trouble on a few occasions but it is exceedingly rare
the last one being a case of "free shipping" which was something that HMRC could not handle so they charged me what they thought based on a formula more appropriate for fraud than legitimately charging someone vat on shipping...but then they had failed to fill in their own paperwork properly so i negotiated an reduction with UPS

buy one on ebay from a seller in the global shipping programme and in theory its all paid up front.

any problems with yodel parcel force or hermes at this end, phone up, demand something called an "ebay" letter and you will get you money back.

handy solution if the delivery man forgets how to deliver stuff and leaves it in a bin outside the depot, and then uses pictures of your house from google maps to prove he delivered it.

i'm painting an awful picture you will have no problems with an ebay or stateside purchase or a local one....things go wrong very rarely.

[Dave999]

PS have you tried rockauto

look up 67 68 barracuda

see what you find they might do one. they will allow you pay all charges up front

use the discount code on this site in the traders section

[Valcuda]

Yes, Dave, I'd already done this. Sadly Rock Auto do washer pumps, the grommet between it and the reservoir, wiper arms, etc but not the plastic reservoir itself! Thanks for your careful analysis of the mechanics of buying/selling. I will re-read and make a decision next week. Many thanks. J

[MattH]

USAutomotive in Bedford ship every 2 weeks or so, so can get things in. As Dave says, if damaged in transit it is their problem, not yours.