Importing from the USA

rbw156 · 25 June 2005, 08:57

I'm looking to import a chartplotter from the USA. Prices are considerably lower, ie I can purchase a chartplotter with a bigger screen, newer technology with more features for the same price as I can buy one in the UK.

I've found out that I need to add shipping to the price (ranges from $40 to $90), then VAT, then duty at 3%. What I can't figure out is how, to who and when I pay the VAT and duty.

Has anyone any experience of this?

MikeCC · 25 June 2005, 09:44

Usually billed by the carrier (eg Fedex, UPS) either COD or invoice.

Zippy · 25 June 2005, 09:50

The big carriers like Fedex, UPS and the like have to pay import duty and VAT on arrival UK. they will then contact you and ask you to stump up the money before they deliver.

Manos · 25 June 2005, 10:58

Use USPS (United States Parsel Service) is much cheaper by the rest you get tracking number and it takes about 3-4 days to gete here. You pay Parcel Forse direct by credit card before delivery of the goods to your home for any charges inmposed by the customs.

Pookay · 25 June 2005, 17:50

As I have found out to my detriment, I posted a thread about my first GPS and subsequently ordered a fantastic bit of Garmin Kit off T'internet.. Dead cheap and turned up the next day as promised.

Took it out to configure the thing and then noticed that rather than a Eurpoean base map it was an Americas basemap - hence F'ing useless for Ribbing in the Solent.. Sent back for refund..

If importing, make sure it got the map you want..

Also you will still get nobbled for the VAT maybe not immediatley but at some time - found this out the hard way too.. About a month later when you think you have got away with it the C&E letter will drop through the letter box. Attached will be a copy of the invoice from the US company and a Bank Giro made out to the amount you her her Madge..

rbw156 · 25 June 2005, 18:31

Does the base map matter if I'm also buying some electronic charts?

codprawn · 25 June 2005, 18:50

Thought the base maps were crap???

Be careful - NOT all the prices are less - Raymarine is no cheaper becuase it is made here!!!

Shooping around in the UK can have some suprising results too!!!

Solent Ranger · 25 June 2005, 19:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbw156

I'm looking to import a chartplotter from the USA.

Why? A chart plotter, is unless you have a really big screen, a waste off time and money. More a toy than a seriuos piece of kit! You'll spend more time trying to see the screen in either sunlight or rain and not see a thing that's going on around you. A standard GPS with a well pre planned route in the set and marked on a chart is far better. Use the rolling road and way point webs on your chart. I got caught out in really bad weather and found the chart plotter I had on the boat was totally useless in a serious situation. I saved my self a load of dosh that day!! Very pretty things to show yer mates - bugger all use when the brown stuff hits the windmill.

codprawn · 25 June 2005, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solent Ranger

Why? A chart plotter, is unless you have a really big screen, a waste off time and money. More a toy than a seriuos piece of kit! You'll spend more time trying to see the screen in either sunlight or rain and not see a thing that's going on around you. A standard GPS with a well pre planned route in the set and marked on a chart is far better. Use the rolling road and way point webs on your chart. I got caught out in really bad weather and found the chart plotter I had on the boat was totally useless in a serious situation. I saved my self a load of dosh that day!! Very pretty things to show yer mates - bugger all use when the brown stuff hits the windmill.

So is a Raymarine C80 a waste on money - or is that screen size ok???

Solent Ranger · 25 June 2005, 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

So is a Raymarine C80 a waste on money - or is that screen size ok???

8.4" at around £1350!! If you got the dosh then find out! Plus of course the chart cartridges.

Pookay · 25 June 2005, 21:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Thought the base maps were crap???

If buying seperate charts -for instance the bluechart stuff from Garmin seperately then no the base doesn't make any difference..

Sadly for cheapskate gits like me and I assumed you as you were thinking of importing from USA for cost reasons - who are on a budget (i.e. cannot afford the $300 per seperate chart) then the base map would have to suffice.

Atlantic basemap is the required one.. The detail is the nads but if like me you get the Americas basemap by mistake then USA detail the nads but Europe is absolute shite... Hence why it went back.

Check out e-bay etc for second hand stuff.. Cost down, all the right gear on it etc etc..

And yeah get a plotter - the one I bought and sent back (but will buy again next month) was a Garmin GPS map76s .

Hand held with mounting bracket, internal aerial but with scope for external aerial and power. Smallish screen but kind of the best of all worlds for me who would use it other than on me boat..

quinquarimarine · 28 June 2005, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solent Ranger

Why? A chart plotter, is unless you have a really big screen, a waste off time and money. More a toy than a seriuos piece of kit! You'll spend more time trying to see the screen in either sunlight or rain and not see a thing that's going on around you. A standard GPS with a well pre planned route in the set and marked on a chart is far better. Use the rolling road and way point webs on your chart. I got caught out in really bad weather and found the chart plotter I had on the boat was totally useless in a serious situation. I saved my self a load of dosh that day!! Very pretty things to show yer mates - bugger all use when the brown stuff hits the windmill.

I hate to sound too candid on the point but what a bunch of bllcks.

Please try talking to guys on big and small vessels who spend all and every day at sea on commercial applications. What you say is that a standard GPS/plotter is better than a chart plotter. ... why, as you still have to enter your points on both but with the chart you have the background to give you some asuurance.

Many years ago on my deep sea courses I was taught that nav aids are such ie. an aid to navigation. From that I learnt all my celestial nav ( cant remeber much now !) but as any good sailor I would welcome all aids at my disposal.

The diff in cost between GPS cum plotter and gps chart plotter is tiny. Thus I can only guess you are caught in a time warp between pureist celestial nav and 2005 map plotters or are too tight for a couple of hundred £.

Above all then if teaching then it must be and to some degree advocate the industry standard.

Cheers

John
www.quinquari.co.uk

DGR · 05 July 2005, 13:34

Pookay - do you really mean the basemap? I tried to use it whilst waiting for the BlueChart software to turn up - I don't think you can rely on it to navigate safely.

At one point we were anchored off a beach 6 - 8 metres of water, and the basemap had us a couple of hundred meters inland!! It was equally 'out' the other way on occasion. For the week we were without the BlueCharts we had to use it just as a GPS, because the maps weren't good enough.

The BlueCharts are great though!!

Dylan...

donutsina911 · 05 July 2005, 14:40

sorry solent ranger, but that, in my humble opinion, is garbage. The reason that commercial and now (finally) military operators use variations on the chartplotter theme is that they present a vast amount of complex data simply and on one easy to view screen. Using one of my (low cost Navman) sets, I can view a whole array of information quickly and without having to refer endlessly to other navigational equipment.

This doesnt mean that I rely soley upon the equipment and in the event of failure we have hard copy back up charts and nav aids (and the ability to use them).

Agree on the price issue in some respects - I installed a C80 display with radar module on my Sealine and all in all it cost over £3k - you live and learn I think is the motto...the Navman on the other hand is about £400 + £150 for Cmap cartridge and is a cracking piece of kit - less time looking at guages and screens and more time at the real world which I think you'd agree is a big plus

Pookay · 05 July 2005, 17:25

Glad the bluechart is good -that prob the best way to go..

How much did it cost in the end??

Neil R · 06 July 2005, 10:24

I've recently invested in a Garmin plotter with Bluechart (CD vesion for a PC, with a download lead and memory card). Previously I'd used a Garmin handheld, which will now become my back-up.

Whilst I support the view that a plotter gives you more options out at sea, better situational awareness etc, the real transformation for me has been at the route planning stage.

What used to take me whole evenings at a time, laboriously marking up paper charts, extracting lat and longs for multiple waypoints, then painfully entering into the hand-held, can now be done in literally minutes with a few mouse clicks, a simple download, and finally a print-off (for 'first-resort' back-up purposes) of the relevant bits. Basically it's put the fun back into it. I can now do most of my pre-planning at work during lunchtimes when it's convenient for me, and I suspect on future dive trips the time saved will occasionally save me from having to turn down the pub trip.

Doing it this way you also get the great 'toy' element of being able to reverse download (back to your PC) the actual tracks followed, and can view these overlaid on the on-screen chart. Great fun! (Might even use these to refine my waypoints).

And the accuracy of the charts I've used appears to have been bang-on so far.

codprawn · 06 July 2005, 13:17

Until recently most authorities were saying electronic charts were not suitable for main navigation etc etc - now I see that the Norwegians are saying PAPER charts aren't suitable as they are too slow to use!!!

lc0021 · 06 July 2005, 22:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solent Ranger

Why? A chart plotter, is unless you have a really big screen, a waste off time and money. More a toy than a seriuos piece of kit! You'll spend more time trying to see the screen in either sunlight or rain and not see a thing that's going on around you. A standard GPS with a well pre planned route in the set and marked on a chart is far better. Use the rolling road and way point webs on your chart. I got caught out in really bad weather and found the chart plotter I had on the boat was totally useless in a serious situation. I saved my self a load of dosh that day!! Very pretty things to show yer mates - bugger all use when the brown stuff hits the windmill.

This is purely a matter of opinion, and I disagree... I find it easier to read a chartplotter on a rib at anything over 20 knots that even trying to open a chart - never mind cross reference between your GPS and the chart - as well as keep an eye on where you are going....