how

[kev 102 42]

long does gear normmally take to arrive from the USA ?,i had CONFIRMATION on the 11 may still no sign........kev

[simon84]

Hi Kev,

I've had stuff turn up in a week and some turn up in 3 weeks.

Not much help I know but if its of value then its going to go through customs which will hold it up. If they do then its off to the PO to pay their ticket.

Simon.

[paulbeer]

ive ordered a few things (not astronomy) from the usa and i usually get the about 2 weeks after order was placed.

[Steve]

If it was sent it via USPS then it has probably been passed to Parcelforce for the final leg of the journey. If Tax/Duty is owed Parcelforce will send you an invoice, once that is paid they will deliver. Sometimes they ask for payment on delivery. It can be a bit of a lottery.

HTH

[kev 102 42]

Cheers guts i will give them a few more weeks before i reorder from them.........kev

[simon84]

Cheers guts i will give them a few more weeks before i reorder from them.........kev

I hope your not referring to me.....

[kev 102 42]

LOL guys lol

[Capricorn]

Not sure how big but didn't they give a tracking number?

Bits I have purchased from the US have often turned up quicker then bits I have purchased in the UK. Never really had a long wait for any US bits.

[Rossco72]

If it's in customs then it might take a while!

I've had small items from US which have been sent as gift or used with low value and they are usually here in a week.

However anything from a dealer which goes through customs can take ages. I had a Lymax Cat Cooler sent over which took 3 days to get from the dealer in the US to London and nearly 4 weeks to get from London to my house, via an added payment for Duty, and added payment for handling and an added payment to get Parcelforce to deliver (which I had already paid the dealer for???)

[John]

...However anything from a dealer which goes through customs can take ages. I had a Lymax Cat Cooler sent over which took 3 days to get from the dealer in the US to London and nearly 4 weeks to get from London to my house, via an added payment for Duty, and added payment for handling and an added payment to get Parcelforce to deliver (which I had already paid the dealer for???)

Thats my experience as well - the delays (and additional costs !) usually start when the item reaches our shores. Often there is a delay in you being informed that Parcel Force are actually holding an item - I once had to antipate that an item had reached the UK and track it down by phoning around the regional Parcel Force depots until one (about 10 miles from me) admitted to having it. The trouble is that the depots will only hang onto an item for a set time before returning it whence it came (despite their delay in informing the recipient) if it's unclaimed. And when you do manage to get to your item, as well as the import tax, you have to pay a pretty hefty fee to Parcel Force for their "service"

TBH I've given up buying anything more than "Bobs Knobs" from the US now.

[Totnesdave]

Yes, I bought a Meade 5000 24mm SWA on closeout from eBay in the USA (actually Agena Astro) on 24th May, for the equivalent of about 60 quids plus 20 postage, which seems a pretty good deal. It finally arrived on Monday 14th June, with an 18.29 UK customs charge slapped on, but all-in-all still less than half the price of being bought over here, so worth the hassle of import

So that's about 3 weeks, It was USPS, and obviously got snagged in Customs, but also remember the volcano has been delaying some air mail shipments too of late !

As an aside, couldn't believe the size of this thing, it came in a shipping box 8-inches square

Dave

[angusb1]

I had a small item ordered on a Saturday turn up on the Thursday. Something else I ordered the next day from a UK supplier took 2 weeks!

[kev 102 42]

this is the email

Hi,

I apologize for not confirming this sooner.

This is to confirm your order for the following:

$119.00 - PST OCA 1.3x

$ 32.00 - Express mail shipping w/insurance and tracking

-----------------

$151.00 - TOTAL

[wulfrunian]

Do you have any idea what the extra charges are up front, or do you have to wait till your item arrives in the UK and then find out?

[kev 102 42]

i have no idear

[Rossco72]

You will be informed of the charges one HMRC assess the value of your item and calculate the tax. There is guidlines on their web page to give you an idea. But basically you can get hit with duty depending on the value, VAT for the full amount and Parcelforce usually get about £12 for their hassle in taking your money!!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hi Kev,

I've had stuff turn up in a week and some turn up in 3 weeks.

Not much help I know but if its of value then its going to go through customs which will hold it up. If they do then its off to the PO to pay their ticket.

Simon.

Same here. Some stuff took a week while other bits took 2-3 weeks and arrived to me via New Zealand. NZ customs are sticklers for anything passing through and can often hold up things for weeks if not months.

I know this because i have a friend in NZ and she bought some camera lens and they took weeks to pass customs.