Is there nothing for sale in the UK

[Wedders]

I have been looking for a pilot watch for some time, either an IWC or Fortis. I can find plenty for sale in the States which involves shipping and import duties. It seems impossible to find one in the UK or even Europe.
My ideal would be a le petit prince but no chance apart from brand new and I don't have bottomless pockets as I've just bought a BLNR.

[Jay (Eire)]

Originally Posted by Wedders

I have been looking for a pilot watch for some time, either an IWC or Fortis. I can find plenty for sale in the States which involves shipping and import duties. It seems impossible to find one in the UK or even Europe.
My ideal would be a le petit prince but no chance apart from brand new and I don't have bottomless pockets as I've just bought a BLNR.

Get on a plane, take a weekend in NYC. I'm sure the US prices are cheaper than the U.K. prices anyway so the weekend would be free!

[accountank2000]

Originally Posted by Jay (Eire)

Get on a plane, take a weekend in NYC. I'm sure the US prices are cheaper than the U.K. prices anyway so the weekend would be free!

You could avoid NY sales taxes by doing the watch-buying across the river in NJ or ordering from an out of state dealer; but of course when you bring it back to blighty you'll need to pay 20% UK VAT on it (unless you're going to commit customs fraud and walk through the green channel hoping you don't get pulled aside and asked about your shiny new watch...).

The dollar to pound exchange rate isn't great at the moment - and although you can get close to the bank spot rate if you are lucky enough to have one of the few credit cards without the customary 2-3% FX loading from Visa, MC or Amex, you'll find that a lot of 'grey market' dealers you find online won't take foreign cards for transactions that are not done in person. So you'd have to buy the dollar currency to send them - and your bank or currency broker or paypal would sting you for a percent or two on the rate.

Obviously walking into a high street AD in NYC you'd be able to use your credit or debit card and if you have one of the ones with no fx currency loading you'll avoid that charge and really get the proper spot rate. But then you are back to paying those brand new main dealer prices that you hoped to avoid, and with a sale over the counter there's no chance to avoid local sales taxes if you're in a place like NYC which has them, and then there's still the VAT as you come back into UK.

US prices always look tempting to us brits when sometimes the price in dollars isn't much higher than the price in pounds here - stick the prices you see online into a currency converter and all looks great. But when you add FX fees, local taxes, customs etc the reality starts to hit home and the $3000 can become more like £3000. Unless you get a great deal on an expensive piece, you'll struggle to cover the cost of a trip with your savings. But having said that, if you are flexible on your dates, Norweigian has some flight deals from UK to US at the moment - you can get to NY or LA for £300ish if you're flexible on travel dates.

[Jay (Eire)]

Am I missing something here with the VAT? Can the OP not wear the watch and ship the box?

Is there a serious suggestion that all goods purchased abroad for ones own personal consumption are declared? A reasonable assumption would be 99% of people do not declare items purchased on vacation.

The only reason we think about it here is due to the value, right?

[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by Jay (Eire)

Am I missing something here with the VAT? Can the OP not wear the watch and ship the box?

Is there a serious suggestion that all goods purchased abroad for ones own personal consumption are declared? A reasonable assumption would be 99% of people do not declare items purchased on vacation.

The only reason we think about it here is due to the value, right?

It depends on what country you live in... There is usually a specific value above which you according to law should declare your goods and pay customs + VAT. Some countries let you import goods by wearing them through customs, I believe that is the case in the US. This is not the case here. I am not familiar with UK law, they might even confiscate the goods if you are caught smuggling.

[j0oftheworld]

Sounds like a load of BS.. Sorry OP, there's steals on used IWC's in just the TRF classifieds so I feel ya. If I were in your situation I would be so tempted to smuggle it in somehow.
There's no DavidSW's in the UK!? :)

[rootbeer7]

Ibtl

[Jay (Eire)]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

It depends on what country you live in... There is usually a specific value above which you according to law should declare your goods and pay customs + VAT. Some countries let you import goods by wearing them through customs, I believe that is the case in the US. This is not the case here. I am not familiar with UK law, they might even confiscate the goods if you are caught smuggling.

The US has a limit for residents which if I recall correctly is $800. Something which is fairly easily exceeded with any of the watches we talk about on here. Above that by law you pay tax on the value of the goods.

Ignoring that for now, and to answer your question, I don't think anyone could identify a watch on your wrist as something you acquired abroad on that trip. It's impossible.

Also, if we are going to focus on breaking or not breaking the laws as they related to import duty then I'd ask again how many people here properly disclose all,items purchased abroad (clothes, gifts, momentos, food, etc etc). I'm certain most people do not complete those customs forms correctly or completely and this is intentional. Just because we are talking about a higher value item it seems people are hung up on whether or not the law is being broken.