leftpondian imports

Andy Cox said:

SWMBO and I are planning a trip to LeftPondia during the summer and
I'm giving thought to purchasing a new steed while there.

I'd like to pick up a 'Dale Rush and give it a couple of weeks abuse
stateside prior to returning with it.

Can I ask the panel's collective wisdom on the most cost-effective
method of getting said steed back to blighty? It's between posting
it home, or carrying it back as luggage, in either case making sure
it is suitably mud-encrusted to pass for 2nd hand.

Any thoughts / recommendations?

Can I also ask about getting a bike to and from Canada?

I've been horrified by the quotes I've had for sending the bike in a box in
advance*, and taking the bike on the plane may not be at all convenient, or
desirable if it's likely to get smashed up.

* Cheapest so far (one way): £146 !! from www.london-baggage.com . The size
is over the limit for most couriers.

~PB

Andy Cox said:

SWMBO and I are planning a trip to LeftPondia during the summer and I'm
giving thought to purchasing a new steed while there.

Check with you airline / cruise operator on their charges and
requirements for transporting bikes as they appear to vary widely.
Then check again by a different means of contact as you might get
another story.

Andy Cox wrote on 07/03/2007 11:49 +0100:

Quoted message said:

SWMBO and I are planning a trip to LeftPondia during the summer and I'm
giving thought to purchasing a new steed while there.

I'd like to pick up a 'Dale Rush and give it a couple of weeks abuse
stateside prior to returning with it.

Can I ask the panel's collective wisdom on the most cost-effective
method of getting said steed back to blighty? It's between posting it
home, or carrying it back as luggage, in either case making sure it is
suitably mud-encrusted to pass for 2nd hand.

Any thoughts / recommendations?

Thanks,

Andy Cox

I've bought back a number of bikes from Leftpondia. Take it as checked
luggage. Posting will cost you a lot of money - couple of hundred
dollars. As for the mud encrusting, as the Customs Officer said to me
when we were chatting in the Goods to Declare channel, most people seem
to forget that we are experts at this and they are amateurs. In the
off-chance they stop you and are suspicious it is up to you to prove you
bought it in the UK, not them to prove you bought it in the US. And the
penalties can be either a punitive duty charge or confiscation of the
goods. It's your choice whether you want to take that risk.

--
Tony

"...has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least
wildly inaccurate..."
Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Tony Raven wrote:

As for the mud encrusting, as the Customs Officer said to me

Quoted message said:

when we were chatting in the Goods to Declare channel, most people seem
to forget that we are experts at this and they are amateurs. In the
off-chance they stop you and are suspicious it is up to you to prove you
bought it in the UK, not them to prove you bought it in the US. And the
penalties can be either a punitive duty charge or confiscation of the
goods. It's your choice whether you want to take that risk.

As an "amateur at this" it once took me about 15 minutes with a slow
dial-up connection to determine that a particular version of the
Specialized Stumpjumper was offered for sale in the US, but not in the
UK. I would be a little worried if a Customs Officer couldn't do the
same thing in a lot less time.

mark

Tony Raven said:

In the
off-chance they stop you and are suspicious it is up to you to prove you
bought it in the UK, not them to prove you bought it in the US. And the
penalties can be either a punitive duty charge or confiscation of the
goods.

Also, I was told, a criminal record. This was from a friend who was
asked to bring a bike back for another friend. He opted to go through
the red channel, was stopped, quizzed, and then waved through without
having to pay.

Quoting Tony Raven <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Andy Cox wrote on 07/03/2007 11:49 +0100:

Quoted message said:

method of getting said steed back to blighty? It's between posting it
home, or carrying it back as luggage, in either case making sure it is
suitably mud-encrusted to pass for 2nd hand.

dollars. As for the mud encrusting, as the Customs Officer said to me
when we were chatting in the Goods to Declare channel, most people seem
to forget that we are experts at this and they are amateurs.

And in this case ten minutes with Google will find them a Mr Andy Cox
asking about this very approach, which would tie it up nicely if they
became suspicious...
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!
Today is Tuesday, March.

POHB said:

Tony Raven said:

In the
off-chance they stop you and are suspicious it is up to you to prove you
bought it in the UK, not them to prove you bought it in the US. And the
penalties can be either a punitive duty charge or confiscation of the
goods.

Also, I was told, a criminal record. This was from a friend who was
asked to bring a bike back for another friend. He opted to go through
the red channel, was stopped, quizzed, and then waved through without
having to pay.

Carry it with you.
Customs evasion is one of those things that is deemed worse than murder,
the best idea is to be aware of the maximum allowable value of personal
imports from the U.S. which is £145 for this type of product, however if you
go above that you pay duty and VAT on the whole amount, customs are always
on the lookout for attempted imports from the U.S. and for products with
unrealistically low invoiced costs, the best idea is to go into the red lane
at the airport and be prepared to pay, you can still end up with a bargain, if
you do your math first, also it is not unheard of to get let off by
customs just
for being honest, if they suspect you of trying it on then you will
lose big time.

People with nice bikes do not leave them covered in mud by the way, think on.

--
Three wheels good, two wheels ok

www.catrike.co.uk

Andy Cox said:

SWMBO and I are planning a trip to LeftPondia during the summer and I'm
giving thought to purchasing a new steed while there.

I'd like to pick up a 'Dale Rush and give it a couple of weeks abuse
stateside prior to returning with it.

Can I ask the panel's collective wisdom on the most cost-effective method of
getting said steed back to blighty? It's between posting it home, or
carrying it back as luggage, in either case making sure it is suitably
mud-encrusted to pass for 2nd hand.

Any thoughts / recommendations?

Thanks,

Andy Cox

Fly with it, but be prepared to pay some sort of import tax, you'll
still end up with a bargain compared to UK prices. The old trick used
to be to fly out with an old bike (I took an old dutch frame to a mate
in Oregan) and return with the new bike. But as mentioned elsewhere
it's unlikly you'll get stopped, alot of folks travel with bikes and
it's difficult to spot the new from the old.

"Andy Cox" <[email hidden]> of Prifysgol Cymru - University of Wales,

Aberystwyth said:

SWMBO and I are planning a trip to LeftPondia during the summer and I'm
giving thought to purchasing a new steed while there.

I'd like to pick up a 'Dale Rush and give it a couple of weeks abuse
stateside prior to returning with it.

Can I ask the panel's collective wisdom on the most cost-effective method of
getting said steed back to blighty? It's between posting it home, or
carrying it back as luggage, in either case making sure it is suitably
mud-encrusted to pass for 2nd hand.

Any thoughts / recommendations?

Well there's always the buy bike in Leftpondia, take it the long way round
the world for 6 months or so on a tour, then come home option. (Been there,
done that, bought a nice Kona in San Francisco, brought it home via New
Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.)
--
Steph Peters
Chorlton Wanderers Cycling Group
Monthly slow and easy rides from South Manchester
http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/cycling/chwan.htm

Steph Peters wrote on 08/03/2007 22:58 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Well there's always the buy bike in Leftpondia, take it the long way round
the world for 6 months or so on a tour, then come home option. (Been there,
done that, bought a nice Kona in San Francisco, brought it home via New
Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.)

That would work ;-)

--
Tony

"...has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least
wildly inaccurate..."
Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy