buying pens from japan - advice please

[seikopath]

I'm thinking of buying a pilot capless, pen can be bought here in the uk for about 150£, from japan via eBay there are some from around £62 inc shipping.
what can i expect to be stung for in terms of import duty , handling etc?
is it worth buying from japan or should i bite the bullet and pay uk prices?
thanks for any advice/ experience.

[Chicken Pox]

Is it not similar to getting a watch from Creation etc?

Presume liable for VAT, no Customs duty given the value but I wouldn't be surprised if there is a handling fee (for the Christmas party no doubt).


https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

Customs Duty
You’ll be charged Customs Duty on gifts and other goods sent from outside the EU if they’re above a certain value.

The value includes:

• the price paid for the goods
• postage, packaging and insurance

Type and value of goods Customs Duty
Anything under £135 No charge
Gifts worth £135-£630 2.5%, but rates are lower for some goods - call the helpline
Gifts above £630 and other goods above £135 The rate depends on the type of goods and where they came from - call the helpline

[seikopath]

I looked at that. As far as i can make out, no customs liable due to value, vat at 20%,plus handling fee of £8.
Just wondering if I'm missing anything out? Don't want any nasty surprises

[Phil Lee]

Be careful on the nb you are getting. I believe there is a model of Capless available in Japan which has a “special alloy” rather than gold nib.

https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpen...ing_t1_dretyk9

Also make sure you’re getting a Capless/Vanishing Point rather than a Decimo.

See https://www.handoverthatpen.com/2016...-point-decimo/

[helidoc]

I bought two Platinum 3776 pens from Japan sellers via Amazon. Price was great, no import tax, although shipping was a bit slow, 3 weeks iirc

Dave


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Brian]

I bought some pentel kerrys from japan no problem at all through amazon.


B

[Inchpincher]

Great pen though, I’ve got the matt black version and had a friend bring it over from the US such was the saving. Annoyingly my toddler bent the clip back a few days ago so need to find the best place to repair.

[72bpm]

I'm thinking of buying a pilot capless, pen can be bought here in the uk for about 150£, from japan via eBay there are some from around £62 inc shipping.
what can i expect to be stung for in terms of import duty , handling etc?
is it worth buying from japan or should i bite the bullet and pay uk prices?
thanks for any advice/ experience.

It can be a bit of a hit and miss as far as Vat is concerned. I've ordered a few Capless pens form Japan. Some I paid VAT + £8 handling change, some just the handling charge.

As Phil Lee has pointed out they all have gold coloured nibs even if the clip has a rhodium finish. I don't know if they're the 'special alloy' ones. Also make sure it is NOT a Decimo
I've looked hard for rhodium nibs, they are hard to come by and the prices tend to be higher - not much saving over UK prices.
It is a fantastic pen IMO. I have 8 of them! I can PM you the eBay seller I've used if you want.