Got my Smobot!

TheToast

First and hopefully only temperature controller I'll buy. Took a month to reach me in the UK and UK Gov customs added £53 for import tax(!!!!!) but really looking forward to giving it a go. 

I'm off work next week so just need to work out what to cook - maybe my go-to of short ribs, or perhaps pulled lamb. Need to trial it in the day before doing an overnight cook. 

Noticed (and have reported) a bug that the web apppication, when set to celsius doesn't allow grid temperatures to be set below 185c, which makes smoking low and slow impossible. But it works fine when entered via the physical control box. 

Eoin

Did you do the crowd funding stage or just buy?

Stormbringer

£53 ... ouch. 

HeavyG

Why would the import tax be so high for an item like that? Is some of that cost in lieu of the VAT?

Stormbringer

HeavyG said:

Why would the import tax be so high for an item like that? Is some of that cost in lieu of the VAT?

Yep, and also import duties. The irony is that if you take something like that back through the red channel, the customs officers don't give a monkeys.

TheToast

@eoin I just bought it. Annoying thing is I got it in a sale for about $230 but the packing label still said full price of $279, so UK customs charged me more than required. Not much in it but every pound hurts. 

Eoin

Some duty, but not much. 20% VAT and then a handling / clearance fee. Most sellers will help you out with the stated invoice value for bigger items.

Eoin

TheToast said:

@eoin I just bought it. Annoying thing is I got it in a sale for about $230 but the packing label still said full price of $279, so UK customs charged me more than required. Not much in it but every pound hurts. 

Another option is to get it delivered inside the US and then sent on to you as a gift .........

HeavyG

Eoin said:

Some duty, but not much. 20% VAT and then a handling / clearance fee. Most sellers will help you out with the stated invoice value for bigger items.

I recently bought a nice Tanaka gyuto knife from a vendor in Australia and on the invoice they listed the value as just $10 which was nice.

I'm not even sure what the threshold is before any import fees kick in. I get books from Amazon UK all the time and have never heard anything from the customs folks.

TheToast

@HeavyG I think some bigger shops include customs charges in the postage fees, somehow at a lower cost.  I've bought clothes from the US before via the web and I've paid duty at checkout. The £8 Royal Mail handling fee takes the p*ss too. 

I did think about getting it sent to a friend who regularly visits the UK but I didn't want to hassle her - and I didn't do the maths to work out how much it would cost me, which was silly of me. 

Just hope I don't have any problems with it and need to send it back to get fixed!

StillH2OEgger

Congrats! I've been very pleased with mine and encourage anyone in the market for a controller to strongly consider it, especially after the app becomes available.

Eoin

HeavyG said:

Eoin said:

Some duty, but not much. 20% VAT and then a handling / clearance fee. Most sellers will help you out with the stated invoice value for bigger items.

I recently bought a nice Tanaka gyuto knife from a vendor in Australia and on the invoice they listed the value as just $10 which was nice.

I'm not even sure what the threshold is before any import fees kick in. I get books from Amazon UK all the time and have never heard anything from the customs folks.

Usually approx. $20 is free. 

piperpilot

Hey guys, Curtis here from the SMOBOT team.  VAT is a tricky subject.  I have shipped items worldwide for years and it seems like the process/rules are a moving target.  For many years, I posted a low value on the label so that buyers wouldn't have to pay high VAT and customs fees.  The trick is to make it look "reasonable".  Some of the early SMOBOT shipments I listed as $100 which I thought would be a reasonable amount.  Well turns out that certain countries are cracking down (Germany in particular) and will go out and lookup the retail price of an item online.  Not only do they make the buyer pay the full VAT on the retail price (not even including any discounts), they can also file a grievance with US Customs.  Luckily I haven't had an legal issues, but it is considered fraud to list a value other than what a buyer pays.

I have no idea how the values are calculated.  I have a Kickstarter supporter right now that is trying to get his package.  The value listed was $200 but he is still being asked to pay 53 pounds in VAT/Charges...seems like a lot.  I wish the world market would make it easier for sellers and consumers to do business in this global marketplace.

For now we must deal with the fees and charges.  The only alternative is to take the stance that many sellers do and not ship internationally...but to me that isn't an option as we have many happy international users.

Thanks everyone for their support!  I hope this has shed some light on the issues.

Best Regards,
Curtis Pope
The SMOBOT Team

TheToast

@piperpilot Thanks for explaining. I'm pleased you do ship internationally and I wasn't complaining about Smobot - I was complaining about UK Customs!

Some companies do offer pre-paid customs (see Threadless https://www.threadless.com/infoblog/931111/update_international_customers_from_our_warehouse_to_your_mailbox_sooner_without_the_customs_hassle ) but I imagine thats only worth it for larger retail outlets that regularly ship abroad. 

Thanks