Usa Vat

gubbs

I'm hoping to come over to NY to visit my brother in the new year :beer. While I'm there I want to take advantage of the favourable dollar/stirling rates (almost 2-1) and get a lens (or 2 ). Forgive my ingnorance but how does the VAT work from state to state, I have to admit to being a little confused :confused

I think/hope the price differential will pay for the trip even taking the UK VAT into account.

lynnma

gubbs wrote:

I'm hoping to come over to NY to visit my brother in the new year . While I'm there I want to take advantage of the favourable dollar/stirling rates (almost 2-1) and get a lens (or 2 ). Forgive my ingnorance but how does the VAT work from state to state, I have to admit to being a little confused :confused

I think/hope the price differential will pay for the trip even taking the UK VAT into account.

we dont have a value added tax gubbs .. if you buy your lens online here you'll just pay shipping and sometimes depending on the company not even shipping.. Hubby thinks tax in NY is 7% state tax in New Hampshire it's nothing in Massachusetts it's 5% so it would best to buy online. Have it shipped to Andy or me (if you dare) and then you pick it up tax free. Any time you want to do that Gubbs I'll be happy to help out.

Andy

gubbs wrote:

I'm hoping to come over to NY to visit my brother in the new year . While I'm there I want to take advantage of the favourable dollar/stirling rates (almost 2-1) and get a lens (or 2 ). Forgive my ingnorance but how does the VAT work from state to state, I have to admit to being a little confused :confused

I think/hope the price differential will pay for the trip even taking the UK VAT into account.

buy from b&h and have the gear shipped to non-ny state address and there will be no tax. take it home in your bags. no vat. no sales tax.

when will you be coming? we need to shoot up nyc for a day

yvonne

gubbs wrote:

I'm hoping to come over to NY to visit my brother in the new year . While I'm there I want to take advantage of the favourable dollar/stirling rates (almost 2-1) and get a lens (or 2 ). Forgive my ingnorance but how does the VAT work from state to state, I have to admit to being a little confused :confused

I think/hope the price differential will pay for the trip even taking the UK VAT into account.

Sales tax in NY is 7%. The only way to avoid it if buying on the internet is to have it shipped to an address outside NY, which is a pain if that's where you're staying. But even with the 7% you'll save sooooooo much money. My gran lives out there and I'm ready for a BIG shop next time I head over.

Pop into b and h (that's bhphotovideo.com), and you'll just wet yourself (can I say that on a US site?). I came out of there with twice the gear I planned.

I have heard, that some people who would seek to avoid import taxes unpack ANYTHING they buy out of it's boxes, and mail themselves the empty boxes, warranties and receipts! Hence removing any evidence that the items in their luggage were purchased in the US. Especially since London customs are very punchy at the moment. Of course this sort of thing is technically illegial, and I would not condone or encourage this sort of thing in any way.

Also be sure to pay the little bit extra for international warranties. You'll be VERY unhappy if you're stuck in the UK with a US warranty and something goes wrong.


Last year I DID manage to save the cost of my flights.. sort of depends how much you're planning to buy.
Happy Shopping!

yvonne

One other thing.

Watch out for US internet sites that have really aggressive prices. They have a very frequent practice over there of the initial price being intended to lure you in so that you buy other stuff, and they can become very aggressive if you don't want anything else. E.g. Not, "one 10d is it, sir, that'll be uor pleasure", but "what else do you want with your bargain price 10d... batteries? lenses? Nothing??? What, just the body???" Click. Line Dead.

The reason why you find yourself on the phone with them in the first place, is because most US sites will not accept European credit cards for security reasons. Even though you might think that your VISA is perfectly international, it IS if you're there with it in person.. you may struggle on the web.

And also if you're only there for a certain window of time you need to be sure that the company you buy from online has a good rep for delivery (there are lots of sites where you check out shop reps), you don't want to go there and find your gear arrives after you leave.

Just my experiences...

gubbs

andy wrote:

buy from b&h and have the gear shipped to non-ny state address and there will be no tax. take it home in your bags. no vat. no sales tax.

when will you be coming? we need to shoot up nyc for a day

That explains it! My brother bought my 8080 for me over the internet (he lives in NY State) and still got stung for the 7%.

I can't give dates yet as we've got a couple of things to sort out. All being well though, we're hoping April/May. I'm definitley up for some shooting & eating though

gubbs

lynnma wrote:

we dont have a value added tax gubbs .. if you buy your lens online here you'll just pay shipping and sometimes depending on the company not even shipping.. Hubby thinks tax in NY is 7% state tax in New Hampshire it's nothing in Massachusetts it's 5% so it would best to buy online. Have it shipped to Andy or me (if you dare) and then you pick it up tax free. Any time you want to do that Gubbs I'll be happy to help out.

Thanks Lynn

gubbs

yvonne wrote:

One other thing.

Watch out for US internet sites that have really aggressive prices. They have a very frequent practice over there of the initial price being intended to lure you in so that you buy other stuff, and they can become very aggressive if you don't want anything else. E.g. Not, "one 10d is it, sir, that'll be uor pleasure", but "what else do you want with your bargain price 10d... batteries? lenses? Nothing??? What, just the body???" Click. Line Dead.

The reason why you find yourself on the phone with them in the first place, is because most US sites will not accept European credit cards for security reasons. Even though you might think that your VISA is perfectly international, it IS if you're there with it in person.. you may struggle on the web.

And also if you're only there for a certain window of time you need to be sure that the company you buy from online has a good rep for delivery (there are lots of sites where you check out shop reps), you don't want to go there and find your gear arrives after you leave.

Just my experiences...

Thanks Yvonne, I've heard all about the Brooklyn photo shops.
I'm sure my brother will sort out the payments for me

Tim Kirkwood

Gubbs, Andy, Lynn
My wife and I were hoping to make it to NY in late april also. It would be fun to have a little get together and put some faces with some names and of course put away some grub Let me know gubbs if you get a date in mind


Tim