Advice on mailorder from the states

Have been searching endless threw the different mail order companies on the web. Im trying to kit the boat out with some quality rods and reels and have came across a company called Tackle Direct they are from the usa.

Their prices are unbelievable offering a penn 6/0 senator with matching penn rod for less than any uk company can do the actual reel its self for.

Even taking into account shipping charges the US combo is just over half price of the reel over here.

Could anybody share some advice on the do's and donts of US mail order or put me in the right direction of a US company that they've used and that provided a good service.

The new boat is coming end of june and i wana have everything ready to go once she arrives.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks..........Alastair

be warned....alot of the time you think you are saving but there is this duty you have to pay when it comes into the country...i forget what it is called but it is usually alot. :oops:

Have got one or two small things from the states but fishinmidget is right about the duty.
Some sellers will mark the item as a gift which I think means its less likely to get the duty added however it still can happen.
Sounds like you've found a great deal though so maybe even with the added duty it would be cheaper?

If you are caught by customs the duty is on the price of the gear the price of the postage together. The odd small package slips through but something like a rod will probably attract attention. At least that is what I have been led to believe.

The guys are right. Irish Customs will take the stated price of the item add the freight and the duty and then add 21% Vat to the gross on any item over 22 euros.

A gift will get through free of charge up to 45 euros, after that the same can apply.

Tom.

Thanks lads not sure what to do. Its too good an offer to miss might just send away for a reel on its own see what happens. One guy told me to order gear from the channel islands it would work out near the same as the states something to do with their tax or vat or lack of it!!

Have emailed one shop over there but they're not that keen on dealing. God knows why said they have just started out and are more into lure fishing side of things.

You guys ever heard till of tackle from the channel islands being cheaper.

The big gear from the states is a lot cheaper the likes of the senator range but when you go into the smaller stuff the likes of abu7000 and penn 320gti iits not worth the hassle over a couple of quid.

Ive been searching as 2 weeks now thats every night to god knows what time and still cant make the mind up.

Going today to get a feel for the rods and reels then decide what to get. If i spend anymore time looking my heads gona explode. Any suggestions on the rod and reels. The 320 penn is ruled out was looking at one yesterday not impressed the abu bg7000 was far superior reel. Saw the fladen solid carbon maximus range they look a mighty little rod so thin and fragile looking but balls of power. Not sure what a 6/0 senator would look like on it though.

Any suggestions??????

bought some line about two months ago value was 100 dollars had to pay 30 euro duty in the end is was expensive beware i also bought a reel from ebay.com same story

drop a pm to phenwick mist. Last year he got some nice stuff in from the States, he should know the ins and outs of it.

For what it's worth Alastair, Vat in the North is 17.5% though the import duty is the same. [ trust me, that's what I do !!]
Catch me on the other forum, I've just posted again.

Boyd

Unless your going for sharks tuna etc the 4/0 senator 113H Will fulfill any requirements you throw at it,for smaller stuff the Shimano Tekota 600 or 700 are both superb reels Ive had the 600 for two years and as long as you look after it,it works very well,Ive found that the Penn Tidecutter range of rods are excellent the 12/20 is great for ling pollack etc,the pirker rod in the same range is rated 30/50 and will handle anything up to a shark.The Glasgow angling centre had some very good deals on Penn stuff recently and would be worth checking out,also their shipping costs seem to less than some of their competition.Anytime Ive ordered stuff from the states the couriers have collected the governments Vat Duty etc for them and most of the time this wipes out any savings,also with rods they will charge extra on carriage,your best option would be if you could get someone returning from holidays to bring the stuff in.As an example of what you can save I got a new 4/0 senator in NY last year for 110 dollars.

unless the item is over 30 dollars or is it pounds in not sure either ways it 30 then duty applies, if however it is under 30 then it is ok no duty carriage doesnt count. belive me i order stuff from ebay.com all the time and i should know if its dollars or pounds :oops:

oh i forgot, ebay is ok for marking it as a gift if its is private seller, but a buisness will not mark it as a gift.

Folks, how about a few facts ?
The legal maximum value of goods for trade importations into the EU free of Vat & duty is 22 Euro. Fishing tackle over that value is subject to 3.7% duty plus Vat on the total C.I.F. [ cost, insurance & freight ] value.
Due to the sheer volume of traffic, the accepted minimum value of goods for postal importations into the U.K. is £30; though there is no legal support for this ruling.
Goods from within the EU are imported free of vat and duty as it is assumed the vat is paid at source; the Channel Islands, however, do not have vat, and, whilst goods from there are subject to vat at import, it is rarely applied to UK postal traffic.
If you purchase goods on the internet [ eg eBay ] from either a trader or private individual, it is deemed to be a mail order purchase, and cannot, therefore, qualify for gift relief.
You can, of course, ask the seller to undervalue the goods, or declare them as gifts; but, for the saving involved, is it worth the potential loss [ seizure] of the goods, or, worse still, appearance in court.

Boyd.

Lads I also got stung with the vat /duty/ charges from the states but then a shooting friend of mine told me that he brought a rifle scope in and paid nothing extra by phoning the shop and asking the guy to mark it as REPAIRS !!! worth a try? :)

Just got a lovely customs charge of 56 euro for an Avet from the states

Howver, the alternative was getting one from rokmax.co.uk and their website doesnt appear very professional. You cant order online

Stll, thrilled with the reel

Kev