Buying from UK shipping to US. VAT exempt?

I'm looking at buying a snare from Thomann.UK and having it shipped here to western PA. I'm on their checkout page and it's a better price than I can get in the US and shipping is only showing as $40 after I enter all my details. What am I missing? Are they going to add VAT tax after I hit the checkout button?
 
I haven't been charged VAT when ordering model trains from the UK. I think as long as the seller retains proof of delivery to the US (invoice, shipping order, etc.) they can be exempt from charging VAT.
 
Silly me, it turns out their international order site is in Germany. I asked the question in their little chat box and they said I should be fine as long as the order isn't over $800. Don't you know the drum price is $795! haha............. The shipping cost pushes it over $800 though. I'm hoping that's not included when calculating VAT.
 
Thomann UK is actually just the UK versio of the site. Thomann is in Germany so you might find it easier to look up EU to US VAT expenses. The UK VAT on imports is weird right now, so I haven't bought from Thomann just in case.
 
I just went through a process on UPS that shows you your total "landed cost" on a product category (drums) and I'll pay no VAT, no Duty, no fees. They do a whole point to point printout for you with costs if you set up a UPS account. I find it incredible that I can get the drum for a few dollars less than here in the US (there currently aren't any available here) and that the entire shipping cost is $42 and some change! Plus it'll be here Thursday. I'm not complaining.
 
Be aware any importation to the US theoretically calculates shipping & insurance in the declared value of your item. Duties are normally due, but for some reason not applied consistently. Local sales tax is sometimes applied too depending on receipt destination. In other words, experiences vary.
 
I got fined with Dutch import fees and VAT from the UK here in Europe.

You didn't get 'fined', most countries have import duties and VAT.
If I import something from the USA or Europe to the UK I am subject to 20% VAT plus a small percentage of duty. This is 100% normal and often makes buying abroad uneconomical.
 
I meant charged. It's not a fine as in penalty.

Sometimes you get lucky and comes through without them. Mostly not.

We get charged 21% + 3,5% over the total item plus ship price.

So I stopped buying from the UK (and US and other non EU countries) unless it is is really rare or saves money in total.

I also prefer using UpS as they always deliver and show you what you have to pay in taxes because they handle customs too.
 
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I got fined with Dutch import fees and VAT from the UK here in Europe.

This was when I received a package from a private person.

Yes, exactly same story here. I got my brother to sent me some used cymbals from UK and it's now blocked by parcel delivery company (!!!) which forced me to pay VAT 21% of the "cost of content" which they count by how much the insurance was o_O No chance to get any explanation how they come up with the amount which is pretty ridiculous in my opinion.
 
Yes, exactly same story here. I got my brother to sent me some used cymbals from UK and it's now blocked by parcel delivery company (!!!) which forced me to pay VAT 21% of the "cost of content" which they count by how much the insurance was o_O No chance to get any explanation how they come up with the amount which is pretty ridiculous in my opinion.

They take the amount your brother has listed as insurance value. If there is nothing listed, they have thick (probably) digital manuals with prices for everything.
 
I got fined with Dutch import fees and VAT from the UK here in Europe.

This was when I received a package from a private person.
Was this pre or post Brexit? Within the EU there are no Import taxes. There should be no VAT if you buy from a private person.
 
Be aware any importation to the US theoretically calculates shipping & insurance in the declared value of your item. Duties are normally due, but for some reason not applied consistently. Local sales tax is sometimes applied too depending on receipt destination. In other words, experiences vary.

In addition to getting a hard to find drum, impossible in the US, that I wanted, I'm kind of intrigued to see how this whole little episode works out. An experiment if you will. I ran all the numbers and even if I get charged duty, local tax etc., it still will be cheaper than if I were to order a comparable SQ2 snare without having to wait several months to get it. I'll keep everyone here posted how it works out.
 
I got my snare drum today from Thomann in Germany. It's taken me over a year to find one in the finish/size I wanted so it was coming here regardless as to whether I was going to have to pay any import duties or taxes. I'm flabbergasted that I was able to get it for cheaper than I would in the states. I get it that Sonor stuff is made in Germany but it was a good deal cheaper. More than $100. The best part is that I paid no duty, import, or even state tax on the item and it got here in 2 days from Burgebrach, Germany (NW of Nuremburg) to Pittsburgh. Shipping cost? $36 and some change. Shipping service was UPSexpress for those who might take a flier on ordering from Thomann.de

Here's a couple snaps of the drum. Me so happy. ?

8aaa6.jpgDworld 1.jpgDworld 2.jpg
 
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