Reply With QuoteThere will be VAT (20%) to pay (on watch + postage) plus shippers handling fee (~£10).
Ok, this may be a daft question, but i have never done it, so bare with me !
If i were to buy a watch from Seiya, is the price advertised on their site the final price, to my door ? Or will i be expected to pay duty tax ? If so how much can i expect to pay and how is it paid ?
I am asking here because they seem to be a company that is used favourably here.
Thanks in advance
Last edited by Dilemma; 11th October 2016 at 19:09.
There will be VAT (20%) to pay (on watch + postage) plus shippers handling fee (~£10).
Thankyou, will that be paid to Seiya upon checkout, or will there be additional charges after ?
You pay Seiya the advertised price plus any delivery charges. if the courier is DHL, you will get a text or email saying the package has arrived in the UK but there is an added charge (VAT) needed to be paid to DHL so it can clear customs. The message provides a link and job ref to the DHL site and you simply pay using your card on the DHL site and the watch should turn up shortly afterwards. I imagine other couriers have similar processes.Originally Posted by Dilemma
I think the courier pays the VAT on your behalf so you pay the courier rather than you pay HMRC directly.
Thankyou !
The watch i was thinking of ordering was a Seiko SDGM003, i spoke to a local jeweller this afternoon who stocks Seiko. He seemed very helpful and went out of his eay to find out as much information as possible, after a few phone calls and about 15 minutes he came back and said that this particular watch was set to be sold in the UK in 2017 via a new Seiko "boutique" somewhere in London.
I have no idea how accurate his sources were, but he seemed genuinely shocked himself.
Very interesting. Currently the nearest Seiko boutique is in Paris, I think, and there are only four high end Seiko ADs in the UK (and none in London, amazingly).
They have several "SEIKO" boutiques now including NY, Germany, Paris in high end locations. London seems to be a strange one as several brands dont actually have boutiques in London, including Seiko but also Audemars Piguet, Panerai, A Lange Sohne to name a few. A seiko boutique would be very interesting indeed!
I guess that they are happy with their sales to Chinese customers elsewhere. ;-)
Ah, thanks. :-)
You do know its not chinese that buys these....I wouldnt be surprised if the majority of buyers for APs or Lange are Americans or Europeans in all honesty. the US watch market is doing very well. When I went to the Lange boutique and Manufacture, not a single collector that came along was Chinese. It was 3 americans and 2 french.
This is a completely accurate explanation of what should happen (and you should certainly budget for an additional 20% when you make your buying decision) - however it does rather depend on the description and value the vendor puts on the paperwork...
Simon
This has been my experience too, and Seiya are a reputable dealer so they label the contents correctly. What I find annoying is the additional handling fee.
I have used this a few times - https://www.dutycalculator.com/new-i...x-calculation/ you get 1 calculation for free then you have to join/pay so get it right first time
Last edited by murkeywaters; 12th October 2016 at 23:08.
In terms of sales in London? That would surprise me as things currently stand.
Worldwide I could believe it, for now.
Why annoying. Should they handle it for free?
I've used Seiya, and service was excellent. Paid full duties on it though.
I've also use a Seiko dealer in Prague that seems to be able to obtain all of the same but without the import costs to send them to UK.
www.webhodinky.cz I think was the address (it's in some of my old posts if you search Seiko Marinemaster) they are a "bricks and mortar" dealer too, and I spent over £1k with them as my first (and rather nervous) deal - they were excellent.
Might be worth a look?
Good luck!
The site appears to be down at the moment. When did you last visit it?
You could ask them to undervalue the item for import purposes. Some dealers will not, some will.
However, you do carry the risk that you may only be covered for the undervalued value. I imported my sarb in this way.
Thanks.
When i've bought a watch from Creation Watches i'm pretty sure that on the shipping paperwork (the sheet of paper stuck to the outside of the box) its stated the box contents is "measuring instrument". Not that my watch was valuable enough to qualify for the extra VAT anyway (the package stickers had a Singapore address on them) but that seems to be one way of not paying an extra 20%.
DHL has been mentioned but other companies do things slightly differently (how it has been for me anyway):-
Federal Express - package delivered w/o any payment. Not as good as it seems though as an invoice will later arrive by mail.
Parcel Force/Royal Mail - a letter arrives by mail, once this is paid delivery is made. Quicker to track package and go to depot and pay/collect before letter even arrives.
UPS - delivery driver took payment (sometimes had card reader?)
It was Creation I had in mind when I wrote my earlier post...
Simon
You can also buy from sellers in EU. In that case the price you agree is what you pay, no further taxes. A reputable seller is Solojapan on eBay who ships from Spain. He can get more than he offers on eBay, just contact him via PM.
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I bought a Grand Seiko from Higuchi, who was very efficient. The weird thing was that UK customs only charged about £60, on a watch costing g £2500. I didn't query it, for obvious reasons. It all seems a bit hit
and miss.
Again, it may depend on the declared value. If Higuchi quoted the contents value as £300, then HMRC would have charged you £60 for VAT...
Simon
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