ISHIBASHI Music - Japan. Anyone imported a guitar to the UK from them? - > NGD

icu81b4

My continued search for a AVRI early 59 Strat (maple neck) has led me to these guys (I can't find any in the UK) 

I reckon if the guitar costs £1800, Postage will be £100 (as per their estimate) using a company called EMS and import duty and tax is looking to be around  £430

My questions are:- 
1. Has anyone on here used this shop 
2. Has anyone used this shipping company - EMS International shipping https://www.ems.post/en

Cheers

tony99

There's been a few threads on the subject; I think I started one myself.

I haven't used them but general consensus seems to be excellent.

I think your maths on the import / postage seems about right too.

Philly_Q

I've used them two or three times, with no problems at all, but it was at least a decade ago.  I'm almost certain there are people on here who've used them recently.

impmann

Yes. They're great. They organised the shipping and were very swift. Import duty is a little bit of a PITA (and the fact the Royal Fail charge you a fee for doing it... bastards) but otherwise I'd shop with them again, anytime.

fretmeister

Yes - several times. 

Ishibashi has a well deserved excellent reputation.

I think your maths is a little bit low. Vat / Duty is applied to the item AND the shipping cost. If a UK courier is collecting the vat / duty at this end they'll also want a flat fee to deal with the HMRC paperwork.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty.

A safe way to approach it is to take the item + shipping and then add 25% to that.

icu81b4

fretmeister said:

Yes - several times. 

Ishibashi has a well deserved excellent reputation.

I think your maths is a little bit low. Vat / Duty is applied to the item AND the shipping cost. If a UK courier is collecting the vat / duty at this end they'll also want a flat fee to deal with the HMRC paperwork.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty.

A safe way to approach it is to take the item + shipping and then add 25% to that.

Thanks for your reply, I did use the gov website you linked as a reference to get my initial info, but I only guessed an insurance cost at £100, not sure if this will cover it until I start the shipping process. 

RaymondLin

The yen is really weak at the moment, it's £1 to 183 yen last night.  If you are going to get it, there is no better time.

exocet

I've bought from Ishibashi in addition to a Japanese "guitar broker" via ebay. Both used EMS and the customer experience was perfect each time. Just prepare yourself for the VAT

Tall_martin

EMS and import duty and tax is looking to be around £430

How much is a flight to Japan?£800- £1400   

Perhaps not very viable! 2 weeks in Japan at Easter in Chery blossom season was a very good holiday a few years back.

UnclePsychosis

impmann said:

Yes. They're great. They organised the shipping and were very swift. Import duty is a little bit of a PITA (and the fact the Royal Fail charge you a fee for doing it... bastards) but otherwise I'd shop with them again, anytime.

I cannot tell you just how much I'd rather pay Royal Mail a few quid for dealing with HMRC rather than doing it myself. Life is waaaaaaaay too short. 

RaymondLin

Tall_martin said:

EMS and import duty and tax is looking to be around £430

How much is a flight to Japan?£800- £1400   

Perhaps not very viable! 2 weeks in Japan at Easter in Chery blossom season was a very good holiday a few years back.

£1030 for economy for a direct flight if you want to go next February.

A Prem Economy at the end of March 2024 will set you back near £4k !!!

I checked last night lol

fretmeister

impmann said:

Yes. They're great. They organised the shipping and were very swift. Import duty is a little bit of a PITA (and the fact the Royal Fail charge you a fee for doing it... bastards) but otherwise I'd shop with them again, anytime.

It is still a massive faff and it would take an individual far longer than it would take to earn £20.
Not to mention that if you do that crap yourself it will take a month to be dealt with while your item is sitting in a customs warehouse. And that assumes Joe Public gets the form correct the first time and there is no checking / audit.

The fee is dirt cheap for what actually happens. 

RaymondLin

Exactly, HMRC is a fiasco at the best of times, short staffed and all that crap.  Imagine having to invoice each parcel coming into the country, hold it in a warehouse, and wait for each person to pay and release each one by one.

chris78

Yes and yes and they're great.

Over 2k for an AVRI though? Are you sure?

TheMarlin

I’ve not used them for 10 years, but was great at the time. 

PAL

They are great but as mentioned you will then have to be ready for import duty, VAT and the carrier in the UK will charge a 
  handling fee !  Then if there are any issues or you want to return the guitar it will be down to you so could be expensive !
  Good luck.

RaymondLin

I've not bought from them but imported like 3 guitars from the US, same process.  I have also bought a lot of things from Japan, from knives, to Pokemon stuff, games and figures.

After their bill, put aside 25% of that for VAT, fees etc when it arrives.

Jez6345789

Again used in the past and all good
EMS worked well until the hand off to parcel farce their uk agents but they got it sorted and yeah it got to the uk in 48 hrs but a week to clear the dreaded parcel farce handling but again paid them money and it all got done I have had a few Japanese guitars over the tears they never disappoint 

Gizmo

I stay clear of  Ishibashi...way to many guitars there that id need up buying, last thing i imported from the state's came out within a few £ of this site calculation, also watch out for exchange rate fees, if you pay in JPY your bank will hit you for charges...GL

https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/

Your Total Landed Cost Calculation

Value of Goods: 1800 GBP

Duty: 127.3 GBP

VAT: 405.46 GBP

Shipping: 100 GBP

Insurance: 0 GBP

Total: 2432.76 GBP

This was calculated using an exchange rate: GBP:GBP  1

RaymondLin

Gizmo said:

I stay clear of  Ishibashi...way to many guitars there that id need up buying, last thing i imported from the state's came out within a few £ of this site calculation, also watch out for exchange rate fees, if you pay in JPY your bank will hit you for charges...GL

https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/

Your Total Landed Cost Calculation

Value of Goods: 1800 GBP

Duty: 127.3 GBP

VAT: 405.46 GBP

Shipping: 100 GBP

Insurance: 0 GBP

Total: 2432.76 GBP

This was calculated using an exchange rate: GBP:GBP  1

It's best to pay in local currency, in this case, in JPY.  If you pay in GBP then you still pay fees, but instead of the bank, its the fee set by the merchant which is almost always in every instance, more than the fees from the bank.

Don't believe me, go to Amazon JP and add anything to the basket, toggle between GBP and JPY.  And then use XE.com and check the GBP price if you pay in yen.  The JPY price is always less.

pt22

Adding in here I've used EMS to ship some bicycle wheels from China. They were reliable but you may find some delays if and when the guitar hits the first UK/EU country and it passes through customs. It's not really an issue with EMS. The benefit with EMS is you pay them all costs, including VAT and import duty (I believe), and the product flows through easily. At least that was my experience.