evening all,

i'm getting ever closer to finally ordering my first railboard direct from the factory in the US. i'm in the UK and have no idea how much i'll be expected to pay to cover shipping costs, but more importantly import charges, customs duties/taxes, etc. when the beast finally arrives here. can any of you UK-based stickists give my any pointers regarding this as it appears to be something of a grey area? a few years ago i heard of someone having to pay around £1500 to cover these costs which is pretty frightening?!

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure what the amount will be, but I will point out that Stick Enterprises is currently offering an international shipping credit on all new instrument orders of $150. That should help!

Hi Chainhomelow.

I've just checked the figures on a Grand Stick I bought in 2013.

S.E. have a deposit system for when you order.......
I paid just over £200 i.e. about $300........
or somewhere in the region of 10%

The Shipping (UPS) cost (I paid £263 ($383)) is charged when you pay the balance.
I'd expect that to be slightly more now.

Here's the stinger.....
courtesy of our delightful customs laws........
its around 25% of the total amount you pay S.E.
Quick maths:-
cost of Railboard(£1500)
+ cost of case(£250)
+ cost of shipping (with Emmetts international discount =£200)
Add that all up and then work out the 25% for Customs.

I make that about £470...so whoever paid £1500, must be mistaken........

Customs charges (FYI) are around 9% for guitar-like musical instruments.........
Then VAT is added (thats sales tax for our USA friends)
And when I say added.... thats VAT on top of the 109% we've already accumulated ......
Then theres the smallish charge for the import company to fill in all the forms.....!!

On the bright side its actually cheaper now....
my first Stick cost about 30% extra in 1982 (thats where we get the old...pounds for Dollars quick calculation method from!!!)

I'm not sure all of my figures are up to date, but they're probable near enough!
Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers

Steve

Hi
You need to do some serious research on this, I just got hit rather badly bringing a new one into Australia. Next day a friend who is a car freak told me a bout the US shipping addresses you can get on paper, basically avoiding being slugged by bloodsucking Customs fees. He brings in car parts all the time this way. I had heard about this method but completely forgot about it at the time ( sadly )..
When UPS called and told me the cost to get it cleared I nearly passed out.
Throw in the AUS -US exchange rate now and on the whole it was all rather unpleasant from a $$ point of view. Bit like Strings which are now a $100 luxury effectively.
Luckily its an awesome Grand Stick I expect I'll have forever !

hi guys,

steve: many thanks for the info and breakdown of costs - it's come as somewhat of a relief. still, it seems a ludicrous amount to have to pay considering only five years ago i didn't have to pay any additional charges for a custom-made 4/4 electric cello sent to me from china which arrived in a box the size of a coffin! the sender had however written 'a gift' in large lettering on one side of it which may have helped? anyway, shelling-out an extra few hundred quid to get my hands on one of the most beautiful instruments in the world will be well worth it.

piratebruce: this method you mention regarding "US shipping addresses you can get on paper", could you please elaborate?

greg: emmett's contribution of $150 towards shipping costs is a mighty kind gesture which i will take him up on.

kind regards,
andy

I don't know about the UK, but I have heard that German customs will not be fooled that easily. (In Germany, import tax amounts to about the same, so it is tempting to try.)



This. I haven't regretted a single Cent I have payed for my two Sticks.

All the best,
Johannes

evening johannes,

haha...yes, i know german customs all too well, having had 2 tins of tuna confiscated from my luggage by them before my last flight out of berlin a few years back. they also suspected an antique coffee grinder i was carrying was some sort of detonator, until i showed them the beans inside it?! ...strange world we live in.

regards,
andy

Hi Andy,

I received my new Railboard (including stand and LapDawg, so two shipping cartons) in late November, and the bottom line Import Duty/VAT charges came to £447.

Well worth every penny though!

Cheers,

Chris

hi chris,

many thanks for the info. might i ask how much you paid for shipping, minus emmett's international credit of $150?

cheers!
andy

Hi Andy,

Initially, the discounted UPS shipping was only $60, but I adjusted my order to include a Stick Stand which was in its' own carton, so the final shipping charge from SE was $100. Pretty amazing deal really.

Cheers,

Chris