Shipping to the UK

[Cougar]

I just got an email asking how much to ship the guitar I'm selling to the UK. I politely declined. I only ship to the lower 48, which is hassle enough!

 

It's an interesting question though. What is the standard for shipping a guitar from US to UK, and what's the typical price (say, from the west coast)? [i don't think the ~ $600 value of my guitar would justify the cost of shipping anyway.]

 

And yeah, I've seen all the talk about the extra hassle with the "rosewood restrictions," which I ain't gonna worry about because... I only ship to the lower 48.

 

But for those who ship international, that's not the end of it, is it? Customs? What's the story there?

[slimt]

Actually. There is paper work to fill out. But.....rosewood is not something you should be shipping. Not any more. To complex for me as well.

[Guest Farnsbarns]

From the buyers perspective it still makes sense because your $600 guitar would probably be more like £800 here. You wouldn't need to worry about customs, that will be dealt with this end. The buyer will have to pay the duties before the package is released from the port. I don't think the rosewood would be a problem but that's all a bit vague right now. I wouldn't​ bother getting involved if I were you, either. Just seems like unnecessary hassle from your perspective.

[fretplay]

From the buyers perspective it still makes sense because your $600 guitar would probably be more like £800 here. You wouldn't need to worry about customs, that will be dealt with this end. The buyer will have to pay the duties before the package is released from the port. I don't think the rosewood would be a problem but that's all a bit vague right now. I wouldn't​ bother getting involved if I were you, either. Just seems like unnecessary hassle from your perspective.

 

It will cost your customer appro 33% of the purchase price to land it in UK, so a landed price of 800usd. but as Farnsbarns says it might be worth it as guitars are considerably more expensive here. If you don't want the hassle give him your zip code and the weight and dimensions of the box and he can contact UPS or DHL and get a price that way.

[badbluesplayer]

It's not that big a deal really. You just fill out some cursory customs form and away it goes. I sold a loaded strat pickguard to some lady Nadia in Kazakhstan. It was easier than I thought it'd be.

[merciful-evans]

Ive had to check this before. Import Duty and VAT both have to be paid. Some US marketing sites have experience of this and are pretty good at advising uk customers.