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[horsecow]

Has anyone had experience of ordering stuff online and getting it delivered from the U.S? I'm looking at this item http://www.amazon.com/MAG77LT-15-Amp-Magnesium-Circular-Lightest/dp/B00B7EUS46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382646148&sr=8-1&keywords=skilsaw+mag77lt and when I go through the order it adds a fee of £33.00 odd which it says import fee deposit. Is this the most I will have to pay or is there a chance that it will go up? I've heard some horror stories of people ordering things from abroad and then the package being held in customs here until another fee is paid to release it which varies greatly depending on which story you listen to.

I've had one of these saws for the past 10yr or more and unfortunately its starting to get a little too long new so I'd rea;;y like to get another if possible and they don't make them in the U.K at all 

[Vamps]

I have bought all sorts from America and other Countries, all I should add, via ebay, and never had any additional fees...............

[05omegav6]

Depends on the shipping firm as much as anything

USPS ends up with Parcel Force, who send you an invoice for customs charges. Once you've paid they deliver your stuff.

UPS and FedEx deliver direct and send you an invoice for the customs charges.

Ebay have started offering a prepay system for charges, so what you pay at checkout is all you pay

Somethings seem to get clobbered by customs, but no rhyme or reason to it really... two identical items from different sellers, both $50. One gets delivered direct, no import duty, tother got whacked with £25 Go figure

That Amazon thing sounds speculative, could get charged more, maybe less...question is, how long do you need to wait for a refund if the deposit is more than the charges...

[05omegav6]

I have bought all sorts from America and other Countries, all I should add, via ebay, and never had any additional fees...............

Depends on what you're buying and from whom some stuff comes in unnoticed, some gets whacked

[horsecow]

I'm just not sure what to do. Think I might have to take a punt on it anyway and see how it goes. I'h hate to spend that money though and then get told it was going to cost another whack to get it released. I think Ebay seems to be the way to go as it totals everything up. 

[bigegg]

I have little idea about importing from the USA in general - apart from it's usually better to have it shipped to a friend in the states, and have them ship it on...

Having said that, I bought some stuff from amazon.com - a dado blade for a radial arm saw and some other tools - a couple of years ago. I paid the import duty deposit, and got it all back within 2 days of receiving the parcel.

Amazon is VERY good as far as customer service is concerned.
I sold about 80K a year for 4 years on their UK site, and their expectations of sellers are onerous.
I'd just order them, and not worry about it - which is something I would NEVER say about ebay.

[Sir Tigger KC]

As you're buying that from the US, will it not be designed to run on 120v and when you plug it in to our 240v system go pop!? 

[Vamps]

As you're buying that from the US, will it not be designed to run on 120v and when you plug it in to our 240v system go pop!? 

Most site stuff is 110 volt anyway, so no problem, just needs a very readily available transformer/ drop box if on 240v .......

[Rods2]

A brand new one but with no packaging on fleabay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skil-7-1-4-MAG-77-SHD77M-Worm-Drive-Circular-Saw-Skilsaw-New/300997201875?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D18222%26meid%3D2219163405282422385%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D8339%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D141067311812%26

[Kevin Wood]

I've had a Skillsaw for years. Fantastic bit of kit. As said, beware that they'll be 110 volts from the US though. You can always run it off a site transformer.

[henryd]

I have bought a few US based items via Ebay and been caught for duty every time(model aircraft parts),fortunately parts were cheap enough to stand it so wasn't too bothered

[05omegav6]

I have bought a few US based items via Ebay and been caught for duty every time(model aircraft parts),fortunately parts were cheap enough to stand it so wasn't too bothered

Everything that I have imported has either been unavailable in the UK/europe or about half the price, but you need to be ready for about 35% (15% import duty and 20% vat) on top

[scimmy_man]

As you're buying that from the US, will it not be designed to run on 120v and when you plug it in to our 240v system go pop!? 

Most site stuff is 110 volt anyway, so no problem, just needs a very readily available transformer/ drop box if on 240v .......

dont they use 60 hertz to our 50?

[Kevin Wood]

dont they use 60 hertz to our 50?

Yes, but I'm guessing this will employ a universal motor, which won't be too sensitive to AC frequency.

[horsecow]

I already have the same model which came from the U.S over 10 yrs ago and it has never let me down once. It does run slightly slower than it would in the U.S but its still miles better than any saw I can buy here by far IMO. All I did with it was cut off the U.S plug, stick on a yellow 110v plug and its been going that way ever since.

I'm not in any immediate panic for it but I just wanted to know what other people had experienced. Looking at the ones on Ebay its going to work out about £150 stg with import tax and postage etc and I'm pretty happy with that and by the sounds of it I may get the import deposit back so that would take it down to around £120-130 (even better again)