Importing guitars from the U.S. to the UK

[abeswick1]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if anyone had had any experience of importing acoustics from the U.S. to the UK via mail delivery services such as USAbox.com or MyUS.com? I recently joined USAbox.com and after e-mailing them to find out how much it would cost they quoted $445 to send a guitar weighing 8 Ibs, saying that it was based on volumetric weight rather than actual weight and so the greatest weight would be calculated at 130 Ibs. I'm not sure how an 8 Ibs parcel can be weighed at 130 Ibs but can anyone tell me if they have used any of these services and how much it cost them? I've heard it costs between $70-$130 to send a guitar via USPS so am wondering why their quote is considerably greater. Also are there any other options anyone has found to get around this issue? I thought about contacting another vintage guitar dealer to see if they were willing to forward stuff on but am not sure why they would do this unless I could send them guitars in return. It's frustrating as I've found some really good deals on guitars recently but they are only available to post to the U.S.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

thanks,

Andrew

[panhandler]

Most folks I know ship USPS across the pond.

[FretFiend.]

I did a quick calculation on the USPS website. A standard Martin/Taylor size shipping carton weighing eight pounds would cost you about $75, Priority Mail International. Insurance and import taxes would add to that.

[abeswick1]

That's what I thought, has anyone used a mail forwarding company though? I don't get how they claim it costs $440, and that's before they've even added taxes etc. Most places won't ship direct to the UK so this is the only option as far as I can tell.

[garthman]

Shipping costs should be £100 max. On top of that you will probably have to pay customs clearance and VAT.