Hi,

Most makita power tools are quite a bit cheaper in the US. Firstly, would
they work here (assuming they are 110V), secondly some stores will ship to
the UK but not sure of the shipping costs.

Has anyone done this or is it a non starter!

Any comments appreciated.

Jim

How much cheaper? As a rule of thumb add 25% to the USA cost for duty and
VAT as well as Customs clearance charges. Remember that duty and VAT have to
be paid on the total cost including carriage. Unless your are fortunate
enough for the item to avoid Customs then you will have to pay all of these.

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 10:38:34 +0100, "Jim S"
wrote:

Hi,

Most makita power tools are quite a bit cheaper in the US. Firstly, would
they work here (assuming they are 110V), secondly some stores will ship to
the UK but not sure of the shipping costs.

Has anyone done this or is it a non starter!

Any comments appreciated.

Jim


Yes they are and I have done this.

Generally I buy during visits to the U.S. because it

a) saves shipping costs and

b) you have a £145 duty and VAT free allowance on items when you
return through the airport here.

I've found that even if I go over that and go through the red channel
and have worked out the numbers for the customs man and don't have any
booze, that I've been let off or just charged the VAT if it's not too
much.

Duty on power tools is generally 2.7%.

However, on some purchases it can still be worth paying for the
shipping and import. I've used companies like Grainger and Coastal
Tool among others who are geared up for international shipment. I
also compare their shipping prices with what I can get using Fedex or
DHL and simply having the supplier use my accounts. This prevents
them from marking up the shipping costs.

On large and heavy items, the shipping costs by air may be very high,
so it can be worth looking at sea freighting which is a lot less, but
typically takes 2-3 weeks door to door.

In terms of what works - anything that is cordless is fine, although
you will need to get an autotransformer and American power strip if
they have wall-wart chargers. Some chargers are autoranging nowadays.

For mains tools, generally anything with a brushed motor is fine. You
need to take more care with anything with an induction motor. Some
are fine on 50 or 60Hz but will run slower on 50Hz. Others really are
single frequency and will overheat on the wrong one.

Generally for mains tools, I take off the American plug and replace
with a yellow EN 60309 industrial plug since this is compatible with
site transformers etc.

One thing to watch is that some tools have certain components that are
different in Europe to the U.S. mainly to address safety regulations.
So a U.S. 110v one may not be the same as a European 110v one.

For example, I have a Makita LS1013 mitre saw and this has a different
arrangement for the power switch and guard interlocks on the one sold
here.

Another example is that I have a DeWalt portable table saw which I
imported from the U.S. It has a different power switch arrangement
but also has a 5/8" arbor long enough to take a stacked dado set,
whereas the European model has a short 30mm arbor. It's not a
problem since 5/8" blades are available here.

The point to watch is over spare parts. You can get those supplied by
Grainger quite easily. So for example, I bought some brushes for the
DW saw to keep in the drawer when I ordered something else.

I don't necessarily buy from the U.S. on price but also because of
availability of good quality tools that are not available here. For
example, I've bought a number of power tools from Porter Cable - you
can get them here from Rutlands etc. but at vast mark up. Others have
been Porter Cable and Senco pneumatic nailers - similar situation.

So the answer is yes, it can be worth it, but do your research first.
..andy

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On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 11:11:26 +0100, "Peter Crosland"
wrote:

How much cheaper? As a rule of thumb add 25% to the USA cost for duty and
VAT as well as Customs clearance charges.

It's actually nearer to 20% because the duty rates are 1.7 and 2.7%
depending on the item. Entry charges are normally bundled in with
the shipping and if DHL or Fedex are used, they have pretty good rates
in their economy services.

Remember that duty and VAT have to
be paid on the total cost including carriage.
Unless your are fortunate
enough for the item to avoid Customs then you will have to pay all of these.



To pick an example, a Makita 6347DWDE 18v drill driver is $209 from
Coastal Tool. Coastal Tool uses UPS and for this package the
express service for this weight of 22lb is $106. I bought
something of similar weight from them recently and asked them to use
my Fedex account. The cost on that was $45 in shipping on the
cheapest service which took about a week.
So total $ cost was $254

At the current rate of $1.80 that works out to £141.

Add to that 2.7% duty and then VAT and it comes to £170.

Toolnet has the same product for £181.82 +VAT = £213.64

So yes, it is worth it.


Another option is to do a shopping trip to the U.S. and buy a bunch of
items. Much of the airfare can be offset by the duty free
allowance - paltry though it is, and all of the shipping cost can be
saved.



..andy

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Thanks for all the detailed replies - much appreciated.

I would of never thought of the taxes etc, etc. I was after a decent makita
mitre saw, so unless theres a v.decent discount i think the shipping costs
would be prohibative, but i think if im after something a bit smaller and
the tool is OK for the UK electric supply I will give it a go.

Also, I will probably buy something smaller (to fit in a suitcase) if I go
to the US, but as theres so much to buy at a discount the DIY tools might
come last(the girlfriend!!).


Thanks again.

Jim

Also, I will probably buy something smaller (to fit in a suitcase) if
I go to the US, but as theres so much to buy at a discount the DIY
tools might come last(the girlfriend!!).

You may still be liable for duty and VAT depending on how much you spend on
items for your girlfriend

Take a look here before you go to find out what you can, and more
importantly, cannot bring back.

http://www.hmce.gov.uk/public/notice...outside-EU.htm


-gee six jay en

Replace the words with the numbers to email me

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 18:58:34 +0100, "Jim S"
wrote:

Thanks for all the detailed replies - much appreciated.

I would of never thought of the taxes etc, etc. I was after a decent makita
mitre saw, so unless theres a v.decent discount i think the shipping costs
would be prohibative, but i think if im after something a bit smaller and
the tool is OK for the UK electric supply I will give it a go.

I looked at it when I bought my Makita LS1013 saw and it wasn't worth
doing. This saw, because of the solid engineering is pretty heavy
at 21kg. With shipping cost it was coming out more or less even.



Also, I will probably buy something smaller (to fit in a suitcase) if I go
to the US, but as theres so much to buy at a discount the DIY tools might
come last(the girlfriend!!).


One thing to be aware about is that many airlines are now limiting the
weight of a single checkin item to 30kg, so be careful about shoving
too much into one case.




Thanks again.

Jim


..andy

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