Maier mud slinger.

[Sooty09]

Being a tight Yorkshire lad I thought I had spotted a bargain on E-Buy. Its a Maier guard which looks just like a mud slinger for $58.49 + $44.79 p&p, this equals £67.74 UK
I have been quoted prices from £99 to £125 for the proper mud slinger so this seems a bargain.
After two weeks its arrived and I forgot to add on import duty and clearance fees, I had to pay £21.50 to collect it from Parcel force so the total cost was £89.14 (there may be fees from PayPal etc yet)
It fits and looks just like a mud slinger, I think they may be out of the same factory.
I don't understand the import VAT etc, I have had lots of camera parts from the USA on China without paying any duty, often with a higher value than the Maier. Must be because the invoice was stuck on the outside of the box instead of a no commercial value sticker,

 

[alanb2]

VAT is a sales tax which is paid on almost everything we purchase, either from a shop down the road, from a shop in the EU or if imported from outside the EU. The rate is 20%, unless charged from another EU state in which case it's the percentage used in that state. VAT is payable on the value of the item plus the duty. Import duty is payable on almost everything imported from outside the EU mostly at a variable percentage rate. Items via the Royal Mail/Parcel Force are customs cleared and the VAT & duty paid by them. Your 21.50 should have been a couple of quid in duty plus about 10 quid in VAT plus the RM's fee which I think is 9.50. If you've got away with it in the past then consider yourself lucky. However there is an agreement that anything with a value under 20 quid is allowed in free as the amount of money collected is not worth the effort - according to HMR&C. You can check with HMR&C web page and find out the duty rate for M/cycle parts to see whether buying from the US is viable, or not.

 

[stonehenge]

I have one and it is very good. Compared with a mudsling it is a little wider (but not much). Good quality and fits well between the ESA connection and the tyre.