Re: OT: Digital Camera - UK or USA

[Colin Irvine]

On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 22:10:47 GMT, Rope <spam@ukrm.net> squeezed out
the following:

>SWMBO is orf to NY on Monday, and wants/needs/has to have a
>good digital camera - settled on Nikon Coolpix 4200 or 5200
>
>Cost in UK is IRO £210, in USA around £175 - but, the
>included charger will be 110vAC, yes? so will she have to
>fork out for a 240vAC charger for the UK?
>
>is it worth the hassle to buy in NY, or pay the best UK
>price?

I suspect she'll have to pay VAT and duty if she brings it in. Plus if
it goes wrong ...

--
Colin Irvine
YZF1000R BOF#33 BONY#34 COFF#06 BHaLC#5
http://www.colin.irvine.dsl.pipex.com/

[Ace]

On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 23:48:22 +0000, Champ <news@champ.org.uk> wrote:

>On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 22:25:22 +0000, Colin Irvine

>>I suspect she'll have to pay VAT and duty if she brings it in.
>
>*Should* pay...
>
>I considered buying a new snowboard when in the US, but the 3 hours I
>spent with customs and excise (after a 10 hour flight) the last time I
>tried that trick put me off.

Ooops. I bought some new ski (touring) boots in Canada, but after
twelve days' use they had enough scuffs and scratches such that no
cutoms bod would have suspected they were new. Similarly we both
bought new skis the first time we went over there some years back,
again at the beginning of the trip so they were well-used by the
return journey.

Couple of points to bear in mind: make sure whatever you buy is
available in the UK or Europe; post the receipt to yourself, or at
least ensure you don't keep it in your wallet or with the item you've
purchased; throw away original packing; make sure it looks 'used'.

--
Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
GSX-R1000K3
BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2

[Bear]

In article <5pnst05pj1o81qdtn6ceuhuvq4c5sucr02@4ax.com>, Champ says...
> On Thu, 6 Jan 2005 23:59:31 -0000, Bear <bastardDOTbear@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >> I considered buying a new snowboard when in the US, but the 3 hours I
> >> spent with customs and excise (after a 10 hour flight) the last time I
> >> tried that trick put me off.
> >
> >Strewth. What on earth took them 3 hours? Either they want you to pay
> >duty or they don't, or does it not work that way?
>
> They like to **** you around. All part of the act.

Yeah I know only too well, I was just wondering if you'd attempted to
slip something past them, or whether they'd just decided to be bastards.

I've been on the receiving end of their ire myself (the US lot), through
no fault of my own.
--
Bear
"Don't believe the hype"
Today's music: Marillion "Marbles"

[Verdigris]

On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 16:52:42 +0000, Bear wrote:

> In article <6eett05n6iiqoii37bvof94si1rut9306t@4ax.com>, Champ says...
>> On Fri, 7 Jan 2005 15:13:52 -0000, Bear <bastardDOTbear@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >In article <5pnst05pj1o81qdtn6ceuhuvq4c5sucr02@4ax.com>, Champ says...
>> >> On Thu, 6 Jan 2005 23:59:31 -0000, Bear <bastardDOTbear@gmail.com>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >> I considered buying a new snowboard when in the US, but the 3
>> >> >> hours I spent with customs and excise (after a 10 hour flight) the
>> >> >> last time I tried that trick put me off.
>> >> >
>> >> >Strewth. What on earth took them 3 hours? Either they want you to
>> >> >pay duty or they don't, or does it not work that way?
>> >>
>> >> They like to **** you around. All part of the act.

<SNIP>
> None of which excuses them holding you up for 3 hours though.

It's the same as (some) traffic police taking their time over nicking you:
they consider that it's more of a deterence than the actual penalty.
Seems to have worked in this case.

--
Simon - verdant lineone ne t
Triumph Tiger. Big trailees - you know they make sense.
Z1000 - less sense, more sensation.
MAG BOTAFOT#36 two#22 HLR#pi BONY#62 BHaLC#3

[Bear]

In article <pan.2005.01.08.20.22.38.239203@deadspam.com>, Verdigris
says...
> On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 16:52:42 +0000, Bear wrote:
>
> > In article <6eett05n6iiqoii37bvof94si1rut9306t@4ax.com>, Champ says...
> >> On Fri, 7 Jan 2005 15:13:52 -0000, Bear <bastardDOTbear@gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> >In article <5pnst05pj1o81qdtn6ceuhuvq4c5sucr02@4ax.com>, Champ says...
> >> >> On Thu, 6 Jan 2005 23:59:31 -0000, Bear <bastardDOTbear@gmail.com>
> >> >> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> >> I considered buying a new snowboard when in the US, but the 3
> >> >> >> hours I spent with customs and excise (after a 10 hour flight) the
> >> >> >> last time I tried that trick put me off.
> >> >> >
> >> >> >Strewth. What on earth took them 3 hours? Either they want you to
> >> >> >pay duty or they don't, or does it not work that way?
> >> >>
> >> >> They like to **** you around. All part of the act.
>
> <SNIP>
> > None of which excuses them holding you up for 3 hours though.
>
> It's the same as (some) traffic police taking their time over nicking you:
> they consider that it's more of a deterence than the actual penalty.
> Seems to have worked in this case.

I have to say, the only time I've had to stand there and take a right
royal, 20 minute bollocking, I've not been nicked.

It's the ones that want to complete the transaction quickly that are the
problem, IME.
--
Bear
"Don't believe the hype"
Today's music: Marillion "Marbles"

[Rope]

Ben spoke:
> When I was at uni a friend of mine who lived in Brussels went on a
> weekender to Amsterdam. She and a friend bought a lot of resin
> between them and left it in the boot of her car.
>
> A week later she drove back from Brussels to Birmingham using the
> tunnel with it still in the boot...
>
> ....and didn't get stopped by any customs.

Many years ago a friend of mine bought a 'replica' Colt Navy 45 in
France - a real, working gun. Got home and was showing it off at
the gun club when someone said:
"Of course you have declared it at customs, notified the police,
have an import license blah blah blah"

Which, of course, he didn't. Now, if you had a gun license, which
he did, then you are open to inspection at any time without notice
by the police, and you had best have only what is declared on said
license, so mate was ****ting bricks until another friend said he
was going overland to Spain to a wedding, and gun-boy hatched a
cunning plan to get the gun back into France and have it posted back
to him, with customs declaration, whereby, if all went well, the
police would be involved and would hand-deliver the weapon to
gun-buy and, with a little hassle, the potential
banged-up-and-throw-away-the-key arms smuggling charge would be
reduced to a sever bollocking and duty to pay..

He twisted Spain-boys arm to smuggle the gun back to France and then
post it back, with a customs declaration on it.

Spain-boy, however, got pissed on the boat & train, and Paris passed
in an alcoholic haze, which finally cleared at the Spain/France
border, as the machine-gun toting Spanish border police were
prowling the train demanding to see passports and inspecting random
pieces of luggage.

Spain-boy survived that, went to his wedding, then shat bricks again
on the train back into France, then to a convenient post office in
Paris, where he presented the pre-packaged gun over the counter.

The post-person took one look at the Duane slip and shoved it back
across the counter with a resounding *Non!*

After much negotiation and haggling, the only way the parcel would
be accepted was with a new duane form declaring it as a
non-functioning replica toy gun - under which guise the thing was
yet again smuggled back into the UK.

--
Rob_P
UKRM(at)indqualtec.co.uk
uppercase(d) BBIWYMC#1 BOG#11? MRO#31 IBCDBBB#1(kotl)
FJ1200, CCM130
Rebel without a clue

[Mick Whittingham]

In article <VA.0000156e.0269b80f@ukrm.net>, Rope <spam@ukrm.net> writes
>Ben spoke:
>> When I was at uni a friend of mine who lived in Brussels went on a
>> weekender to Amsterdam. She and a friend bought a lot of resin
>> between them and left it in the boot of her car.
>>
>> A week later she drove back from Brussels to Birmingham using the
>> tunnel with it still in the boot...
>>
>> ....and didn't get stopped by any customs.
>
>Many years ago a friend of mine bought a 'replica' Colt Navy 45 in
>France - a real, working gun. Got home and was showing it off at
>the gun club when someone said:
>"Of course you have declared it at customs, notified the police,
>have an import license blah blah blah"
>


Marlin 44, open sights N.S.R.A 20 yds pistol target.
The group was slightly low as the powder drop was smaller than I was
used to.

http://www.whittinghamsite.fsnet.co.uk/images/target.jpg
--
Mick Whittingham
'and I will make it a felony to drink small beer.'
William Shakespeare, Henry VI part 2.

[Christopher Des Clayes]

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:02:20 +0000, Mick Whittingham
<Mick@whittinghamsite.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:

>Marlin 44, open sights N.S.R.A 20 yds pistol target.
>The group was slightly low as the powder drop was smaller than I was
>used to.
>
>http://www.whittinghamsite.fsnet.co.uk/images/target.jpg

Pretty damn good!
--
Chris Des Clayes (Header addresses are munged)
Reply to chris@ffcc.powernet.co.uk, but remove one "f"
VN1500 Drifter (Gertrude) - Twice the fun at half the speed.
Barrel Bikers (Buckingham) MCC (www.barrelbikers.co.uk) UKMC#9