Campy groupset purchase: UK vs US retailer

cgolvin · #1 12-10-2019, 05:01 PM

I am about to buy a Campy Chorus 12 groupset. I have two possible sources:

UK (Merlin): $882, no tax, free shipping, duty?
US: $925, no tax, $25 shipping

I'd rather give my business to the smaller US shop, plus from what I've heard I think I'm on better ground should there be warranty issues. OTOH, $68 ain't nothing. So I have two questions:

1. Will I have to pay duty? (The US Customs site seems to indicate no for <$1k, but isn't crystal clear)
2. Are there indeed warranty issues with buying Campy from an overseas retailer?

thanks

Clean39T · #2 12-10-2019, 05:31 PM

I've been waiting for six weeks for a shipment from the UK...... First time I've ever had that happen, but it's changing my feeling about ordering from over there.

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Lanternrouge · #3 12-10-2019, 05:36 PM

Campy North American doesn't really deal with consumers on warranty issues, so it's likely any warranty issues that arise will have to be addressed with the shop in the UK.

vincenz · #4 12-10-2019, 05:40 PM

I’ve made many dozens of big orders from the UK online bike retailers over the last decade and was never once hit with duties. Just my data points.

tuscanyswe · #5 12-10-2019, 05:46 PM

For that little difference i would order "locally"

prototoast · #6 12-10-2019, 06:05 PM

I'd 100% buy from UK if it were under $800 and the same price differential. Over $800 and you could be hit with import duties/additional paperwork (which might explain Clean39t's holdup). It might be still worth it if the price differential were large enough, but in this case, I think there may be good reason to order from the US.

Clean39T · #7 12-10-2019, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prototoast

I'd 100% buy from UK if it were under $800 and the same price differential. Over $800 and you could be hit with import duties/additional paperwork (which might explain Clean39t's holdup). It might be still worth it if the price differential were large enough, but in this case, I think there may be good reason to order from the US.

Mine was well under $800, it just got lost..... I'm giving them one more day to sort it out before I contact my credit card company.

A DA9100 group on the other hand arrived in like three days w no duty or hassle - the one I got for my Firefly a couple months ago.

My priorities are changing though - last few bigger ticket items I've taken the hit to support the shops I want to see do well. Buying less, voting w dollars, etc.

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jamesdak · #8 12-10-2019, 06:28 PM

I'd pay close attention to what you are getting from the U.S. source. From my research they usually are short a few parts that you otherwise get from the U.K. sites and when you figure in the rest of the stuff you'll need the difference get's pretty significant.

I'd love to support U.S. sources but I've yet to find one competitive myself.

jamesdak · #9 12-10-2019, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prototoast

I'd 100% buy from UK if it were under $800 and the same price differential. Over $800 and you could be hit with import duties/additional paperwork (which might explain Clean39t's holdup). It might be still worth it if the price differential were large enough, but in this case, I think there may be good reason to order from the US.

I must have several dozen orders from the European sites now in the past 10 years or so. Have never been hit with any duties or extra fees.

cgolvin · #10 12-10-2019, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesdak

I'd pay close attention to what you are getting from the U.S. source. From my research they usually are short a few parts that you otherwise get from the U.K. sites and when you figure in the rest of the stuff you'll need the difference get's pretty significant.

Thanks, I had the same thought and verified with both sources that the groupset includes the unlisted items (cables, housing, brake pads).

AngryScientist · #11 12-10-2019, 07:19 PM

just be aware that right now is really a chaotic time to buy anything mail order, especially something high value that you want in a hurry.

more and more people are buying online, and with the holiday season in full rush, all of the shipping companies seem to be taxed way beyond their comfort zone and are in near disaster capacity level, from what i can see.

i've got a few things in the mail from various sources right now, and i've literally stopped watching the tracking info, it's like a damned circus.

OtayBW · #12 12-10-2019, 07:34 PM

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule for bikes/bike parts is really variable. Check out the HTS #8210 - 8213 to see what you can dig up. If you do get dinged, often it depends on the carrier, and worst case, it will be ~10-15% (but not necessarily on all parts).

makoti · #13 12-10-2019, 08:07 PM

Have you looked at Bike24? I got very nice prices on Campy stuff from them. Got here in a week (East coast)

zmalwo · #14 12-10-2019, 08:26 PM

Merlin always has the lowest for everything. don't know how they do it.

zmalwo · #15 12-10-2019, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgolvin

Thanks, I had the same thought and verified with both sources that the groupset includes the unlisted items (cables, housing, brake pads).

depends on your income but if you make more than $68 and hour after tax then I would say go ahead and go local. a $200ish profit for a local bike shop is like a day worth of work. Keep the money flow in the country! However $25 for shipping is kinda rip off.