Hobbyking international customs/import tax charges??

thermite · July 30, 2014, 03:51:57 AM

I've been looking around at places to buy components and was wondering if anybody knew whether anything you buy from HK is subject to customs/import tax fees. I know they indicate that they have global warehouses and ship all over the place but if something is indicated in USD, will this come form the US or will it effectively be a domestic shipping? I came across the Fatshark Predator V2 value bundle with camera, battery tx/rx etc and it seems really good value. £160 something. Some sites in the UK sell this for around £260! Any help would be much appreciated.

Coyote · July 30, 2014, 07:37:27 AM

You can change the currency to other options than USD, that is just the default currency.

Anything I have bought in recent weeks from them outside the EU has been hit by customs every single time now.

dogzilla · July 30, 2014, 08:15:02 AM

Indeed. Don't buy anything unless you are willing to cough up the customs fees.

You might get lucky and it pass through but you might not and have to pay lots of fees.

thermite · July 30, 2014, 09:13:50 AM

Thanks for the response guys. I've read mixed things about HK. People waiting forever, bad customer service. Guess I'll keep reading before I jump into anything.

CurryKitten · July 30, 2014, 09:25:58 AM

Where it ships from is indicated by which warehouse is comes from. If they have the bit available, the UK warehouse is obviously the easiest place to get things, but as long as you are not getting something that requires a "large box", then you may have the option to choose UK Delivery Channel from the International Warehouse. This option ships to the UK first, and then to you (from Tim's Boatyard)- so should always be a UK->Uk post and no customs charges

thermite · July 30, 2014, 09:38:01 AM

Quote from: CurryKitten on July 30, 2014, 09:25:58 AM
Where it ships from is indicated by which warehouse is comes from. If they have the bit available, the UK warehouse is obviously the easiest place to get things, but as long as you are not getting something that requires a "large box", then you may have the option to choose UK Delivery Channel from the International Warehouse. This option ships to the UK first, and then to you (from Tim's Boatyard)- so should always be a UK->Uk post and no customs charges

Thanks CK, that's what I was hoping would be the case but is there a way of being sure of where things are coming from? The FS goggles in question I was looking at just show the international sign.

CurryKitten · July 30, 2014, 09:46:38 AM

I presume you are looking at the Predator V2 goggles, the International sign/warehouse means they are coming from Hong Kong. I do know that they can be bought via the UK delivery channel option (because I know someone who just got them this way).

In the main, HK are fine - when things do go wrong, warranty claims can be a pain as you are dealing with people several 1000's miles away who don't have english as their first language. In terms of stuff not working on arrival/not showing up always pay with PayPal, and always open a dispute within the time frame (as HK will tell you to wait months and you'll miss the cut off) - but you are fairly well covered there.

thermite · July 30, 2014, 10:08:58 AM

Thanks for the advice CK.

Miles · July 30, 2014, 12:21:25 PM

HK are fine, but as above, watch for them trying to make you miss paypal dispute in the event of no parcel arriving. I just had to make a claim, and they told me to wait 6 weeks, after waiting 6 for the parcel to not arrive, but got my money back through paypal.
I've made over 30 orders from them, and only ever had one issue.

BigT · July 30, 2014, 02:09:38 PM

Quote from: thermite on July 30, 2014, 09:38:01 AM
Quote from: CurryKitten on July 30, 2014, 09:25:58 AM
Where it ships from is indicated by which warehouse is comes from. If they have the bit available, the UK warehouse is obviously the easiest place to get things, but as long as you are not getting something that requires a "large box", then you may have the option to choose UK Delivery Channel from the International Warehouse. This option ships to the UK first, and then to you (from Tim's Boatyard)- so should always be a UK->Uk post and no customs charges

Thanks CK, that's what I was hoping would be the case but is there a way of being sure of where things are coming from? The FS goggles in question I was looking at just show the international sign.

My rule of thumb for buying fromHK or any supplier outside theEEC over the last 8 years is simple: if it's a single item over £100 landed and likely to go wrong, for example Fatshark Goggles or a FY 41 Ap and therefore require backup I buy from within the EEC. The only exception to this is my My Fly Dream AP because Charles's customer service is excellent. To me the savings are not worth the trouble if it goes bad or is DOA. For example I bought a FY41 from Simon which developed a problem with the EPROM. Simon gave a full refund straight away. No waiting for 8 weeks 6 weeks etc etc.

chris-s · July 30, 2014, 03:10:02 PM

Quote from: BigT on July 30, 2014, 02:09:38 PM

My rule of thumb for buying fromHK or any supplier outside theEEC over the last 8 years is simple: if it's a single item over £100 landed and likely to go wrong, for example Fatshark Goggles or a FY 41 Ap and therefore require backup I buy from within the EEC. The only exception to this is my My Fly Dream AP because Charles's customer service is excellent. To me the savings are not worth the trouble if it goes bad or is DOA. For example I bought a FY41 from Simon which developed a problem with the EPROM. Simon gave a full refund straight away. No waiting for 8 weeks 6 weeks etc etc.

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