UK import duty on jewelry supplies

Jewelry Discussion
1

Have any UK Orchid subscribers ordered stuff- tools, Argentium,
etc., - from suppliers in the USA like Rio Grande? From what I hear,
you have to pay mucho customs and excise duty as well as having to
pay to have it collected from customs depot? I would appreciate
knowing what aggro and how much expense is involved before I go
ahead. Many thanks, Kay

2

Hi Kay,

Have any UK Orchid subscribers ordered stuff- tools, Argentium,
etc., - from suppliers in the USA like Rio Grande? From what I
hear, you have to pay mucho customs and excise duty as well as
having to pay to have it collected from customs depot? I would
appreciate knowing what aggro and how much expense is involved
before I go ahead.

I’ve ordered from a few places in the US - the odd few beads, wire,
tools, etc - and as long as the value of your order is no more than
18 and marked on the front of the package as such (might be worth
checking that as it’s been a while since I ordered from overseas!)
you won’t get hit for import.

Not sure what the rate is for packages valued more than that but in
my experience, the postman knocks on the door and asks for the duty
there and then - of course, if you’re not in you have to go to the
local depot and deal with it there :slight_smile:

Hope this helps!
Janie

3

Hi Kay,

Count on an additional 25% (tax + fees).
Consult the customs office (website) for details.

Alain

4

I’m in the Uk and I order from Rio all the time - I like the service
and range!

My last order was only 178 UKP and that carried charges of 32.11 UKP
VAT and 11 UKP brokerage charges. Looking back I have never paid
more than pennies in Duty.

My stuff always comes UPS (I’m on first name terms with the driver
now), takes 3 days, and it will have a complete list of the contents
and value thereof on the outside - as required by customs.

Andy Parker, Agate House Lapidary
Ulverston, Cumbria, England
@Andy_Parker

Tel: 01229 584023

5

Worst case scenario I have encountered are additional costs for
import duty, plus VAT, plus carrier handling charge which varies
according to the carrier. FedEx deliver direct to you then send you
an invoice. The Post Office get you to collect but leave/give you a
card with details of the amount due.

Or you could be lucky and just have everything passed straight
through Customs and have no extra costs at all. I think it’s a case
of them not having enough people to check every package.

I’ve ordered from Rio Grande without incident.

Pat Waddington

6

Hi, I know it is true in Sweden…I ordered about $200 worth of
silver from Thunderbird supply and had it shipped direct to Sweden
from the vendor. I got hit with the equivalent of 25%…around $50
Swedish customs…it was a nasty surprise…to say nothing of the
international shipping costs!! Quite a learning experience. I assume
it is better to ship to a friend or relative in the states who then
forwards as a gift in plain packaging. Good luck…babara

Barbara J. Black-Miller
SunDance Traders
Vejbysrand, Sweden 46 431 3638 74
Palm Springs, California 011 760 345 4524

7

Hi Kay,

You will usually get charged 17.5% VAT plus customs duty and a flat
admin charge levied by the shipper. I found that whenever packages
were shipped by FedEx there was no escape from tax and duty.
Sometimes I’ve bought items that were shipped by normal postal
service and I escaped charges, but not very often.

This question came up a little while ago - you can see my reply to
it here:

It includes links to where you can look up customs duty charges on a
range of different goods.

Hope that helps,

Eva.
Eva Martin

8

Hi Kay,

If you use the below, the links given by Eva Martin, it
may be less expensive to order components from www.bijoutil.ch. They
are in Switzerland and the site can be translated into English.

Beth Thompson

9

Andy,

I guess that we here in the US are spoiled by the number and variety
of suppliers. I am surprised that you, in the UK, have to order from
suppliers here in the States. Isn’t there some company comparable to
Rio Grand, perhaps on a smaller scale, in the UK? Or would you have
to order from a number of smaller, more specialized companies, that
don’t have the range of a Rio Grande? I would be unhappy having to
pay import duties and international shipping costs. Joel

Joel Schwalb
@Joel_Schwalb
www.schwalbstudio.com

10

Hi Barbara

It is a painful experience when you must pay such an amount
unwarned. You must of course remember that the Swedish sales tax IS
25% on top of the goods value. You seem to have avoided duty and
administrative fee of US $ 14.

michaela

11 
... I would be unhappy having to pay import > duties and
international shipping costs.

For those of us outside the US this is simply a reality we are
sometimes (often?) forced to live with. While there are of course
local suppliers, particularly in the major cities and jewelry centers,
they seldom offer the prices or selection that most Americans take
for granted. Enjoy it, good selection at great prices is one of the
true gifts your country offers you. For many of the rest of us it just
ain’t so.

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
Visit TouchMetal.com at http://www.touchmetal.com

12

Hi

I guess that we here in the US are spoiled by the number and
variety of suppliers. I am surprised that you, in the UK, have to
order from suppliers here in the States. Isn't there some company
comparable to Rio Grand, perhaps on a smaller scale, in the UK?

I use Rio for some things and it is all down to price.

For example

Prices from Rio in the US and Cooksons or Walsh in the UK

Dialux Green Vert Polish $5.50 (In the UK $6.71)
22m solid blue wax tube $4.40 (UK $10.20)
Foredom handpiece no 30 $46.50 ($96.39)
Vertical platinum casting machine $995 (UK $2,187) -
Though I just got oneoff Ebay for $170
Diamond Tester $85 (UK$221)

To make the saving on shipping cost effective, I only do a few bulk
orders each year.

In addition to the direct cost saving, rio Grande offers more
gadgets than can be easily found in the UK.

For some reason the carrier that Rio use doesn’t hit me with any
import tax. If I order from another supplier and the item comes via
Fedex I am aften hit with 25%ish import tax.

Kind regards
Chris Parry

13

Hi Chris,

Which carrier do you use? I do the same and order a couple of times a
year, UPS seem to add a lot.

Tim Blades.

14

Hi Chris

In order to avoid high postage & tremendous duty or administrative
fee.

Which carrier would you suggest for shipping to UK ? Would it be same
for most of the parts of UK like London, Manchester or Sheffield.

This would help in calculating costs.

Kenneth Singh
46 Jewelry Supply
karat46@aol.com

15

Many thanks to all responders re UK import duties. The main reason
for using a US supplier is for buying Argentium, will not be
available in the UK until autumn and probably not even then, judging
by the progress of negotiating parties.

Kay