I want a 8800 GTS 640mb but don't want to pay UK prices

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deadman_uk

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 30, 2003
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I will show you the price of an EVGA 8800 GTS KO 640mb from the cheapest UK website I can find

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=534218

£289.86 ($575.69)

Now I will show you the price of the same card from the American website Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130080

£206.43 ($409.99)

2 cards, almost exactly the same but differ by £83.43 ($165.70)

So what are my options?

- I can't buy from Newegg because they don't ship to the UK

- I don't know anyone from American (that I can trust at least) who could purchase the card and send to me

- I don't fancy paying UK prices.

- eBay sells the 8800GTS at a slightly higher price than newegg but that is the non overclocked version however they do post to the UK (but then how would I avoid custom tax charges?)

So what can I do? As far as I know, nothing... but does anyone have any suggestions?
 
If you buy from ebay...evga wont honor your warranty since it isnt an approved retailer or distributor... so i would also think about that.
 
RussianHAXOR said:
If you buy from ebay...evga wont honor your warranty since it isnt an approved retailer or distributor... so i would also think about that.
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When I said ebay, I mean as new, not used but how would eVGA know that it was from ebay? I could lie and say I got it from a website other than ebay.
 
Also, discussing how to get around import tax is A) Illegal and B) literally impossible if the seller declares the value correctly.

You need to register your card with eVGA in order to recieve the lifetime warranty... Something that might require some sort of proof of purchase.
 
deadman_uk said:
When I said ebay, I mean as new, not used but how would eVGA know that it was from ebay? I could lie and say I got it from a website other than ebay.
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Until they ask for the invoice or receipt, at which point you'll be like "Oh shi. . ." :p
 
Arcygenical said:
Also, discussing how to get around import tax is A) Illegal and B) literally impossible if the seller declares the value correctly.

You need to register your card with eVGA in order to recieve the lifetime warranty... Something that might require some sort of proof of purchase.
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Fair enough, what about XFX and BFG, do they require proof of purchase?
 
deadman_uk said:
When I said ebay, I mean as new, not used but how would eVGA know that it was from ebay? I could lie and say I got it from a website other than ebay.
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If you lie... how will you give proof of invoice for stepup or warranty?
 
If you really want to save money, buy the 320MB version of the card. Other than that, weep in a corner and realise the UK gets reamed on everything.
 
Dont buy EVGA buy like XFX or something. You will have more options down the road.
 
texmaster said:
no VAT in the US ;)
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I'm a brit so bear with me, but I thought although there is no VAT as such in the US, you do pay a tax on all electronics on a per state basis right?

My brother ran into this when buying stuff over there. You pick up something off the shelf thinking you're paying a certain price and then over at the checkout it's higher 'cos of the 'hidden' tax they slap on at the end. Is that right?

So prices listed on all american etailers are without that extra tax.

When it's all said and done, with import duty etc, importing goods from the US ends up only marginally cheaper than buying from within the UK.

FYI:

At ebuyer you can get a £10 discount with google checkout making this Inno3D 8800gts 640mb £220 delivered:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119678

more cards:

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/sear...tUID=2058&intPage=4&bolShowAll=true&intPage=3
 
RussianHAXOR said:
Every state has taxes ranging from 7-9 percent...
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No. . . Maine has a 5% sales tax (7% on prepared food aka restaurants/junk food). New Hampshire, Alaska, and a few other states have no sales tax.

spine said:
My brother ran into this when buying stuff over there. You pick up something off the shelf thinking you're paying a certain price and then over at the checkout it's higher 'cos of the 'hidden' tax they slap on at the end. Is that right?

So prices listed on all american etailers are without that extra tax.
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Yes and no. Sales tax is kind of wonky here in the states. Some states have no sales tax. Those that do can only tax individuals buying stuff from within the state. So if NewEgg, who has a warehouse in New Jersey, sells a product to someone else in New Jersey, there will be sales tax. However, if I buy something from NewEgg, who has no physical warehouse or office in Maine, I don't pay sales tax (to further confuse things, Maine now has a new law that says that I must pay a 5% tax on all items I bought that were not taxed when I do my taxes, so they're now trying to recouperate that lost revenue).
 
Currently, you are not required to pay tax on out of state internet purchases. Since newegg, for instance, has no locations or distribution centers in indiana, where i live, there is no tax. If they did, i'd have to pay 7%, like I pay on everything else I buy here.
 
Oooska said:
(to further confuse things, Maine now has a new law that says that I must pay a 5% tax on all items I bought that were not taxed when I do my taxes, so they're now trying to recouperate that lost revenue).
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Several States have that sort of tax. I believe it's refered to as a 'Use Tax' and it generally applies to normally taxable things purchased in any manner that wasn't taxed. I think it was mainly implemented to help bolster local economies (by discouraging folks from purchasing out-of-state). At any rate, e-tailers generally have lower prices than local retailers so people will still generally save money.
 
There's a few things you have to look at here :

1 - Price difference with shipping : Sure it might be cheaper in the USA, but how much is that card going to end up after buying it and having it shipped? It won't be cheap

2 - Warranty : If you buy it 2nd hand from Ebay, a B/S/T board are you going to get a reciept that will honor it even if it's in the UK?

3 - Shipping time : If you want the card fast, getting one on Ebay from the US/Canada isn't going to be fast even with a priority courier.

4 - Only way to avoid customs charges usually is to label as a gift and $0 value on the card, but if it gets ruined your shit out of luck, or the fellas can feel like assholes, open it all up and see it was made in the USA/Canada and shit all over you for it (I have never seen this happen but it's going from 1 continent to the other and chances are they would open it).


If I were you, I'd look around the UK to see if you can find some decent deals on one. Even though the cost difference is 80pounds ($150 or so) you would probably still be ahead to get one locally, if only for the reasons of low/no shipping cost and warranty. To get one from North America opens up a huge can of worms and an even larger headache.
 
Only way you coudl get around that is to find someone you trust, and ask them to do it for you. You could ask someone with a good seller rating to buy it and ebay it to you, but you will end up paying shipping twice, VAT, and feebay/Paypal fees. By the time you are done you'd be saving like $65; significant but prob not worth the risk and the hassle. Try to find a US seller that is willing to ship international is your best bet; you will likely end up saving $100 if you can get that to work.
 
BAH! Welcome to Denmark where we have 25% VAT on EVERYTHING! Seriously, the UK isn't that bad...
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Yeah, very true...

I'd do a few extra hours get some extra cash together an just buy one, but thats me ;)
 
Well an eVGA 8800GTS 640mb card went on eBay USA for £194 which is approx £60-70 cheaper than in the UK. I would of bidded but eVGA would need proof of purchase which I wouldnt be able to provide.

Scan.co.uk sells the eVGA 8800GTS 640mb for £260 which I may have to buy. Just angers me that I have to pay so much more for the same product!

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=534214

£267 with postage included. I might wait for the ATI cards to come out, then decide.
 
deadman_uk said:
Well an eVGA 8800GTS 640mb card went on eBay USA for £194 which is approx £60-70 cheaper than in the UK. I would of bidded but eVGA would need proof of purchase which I wouldnt be able to provide.

Scan.co.uk sells the eVGA 8800GTS 640mb for £260 which I may have to buy. Just angers me that I have to pay so much more for the same product!

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=534214

£267 with postage included. I might wait for the ATI cards to come out, then decide.
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I paid £247 inc postage for the eVGA 8800 from overclockers.co.uk who arent known for having cheap prices. just watch the special offers.
 
I don't follow how you have no proof of purchase from eBay - just print off the winning page or payment confirmation from Paypal. I've routinely sent printed-off invoice pages from online stores as proof of purchase; I did that a few months ago for a power supply from scan.co.uk, just logged in and printed out the online invoice. eBay is no different. Proof of purchase != receipt. Besides which if you buy from a business seller on eBay they have an obligation to provide you with a 6-month warranty under the Distance Selling Regs.
 
JDAdams said:
I don't follow how you have no proof of purchase from eBay - just print off the winning page or payment confirmation from Paypal. I've routinely sent printed-off invoice pages from online stores as proof of purchase; I did that a few months ago for a power supply from scan.co.uk, just logged in and printed out the online invoice. eBay is no different. Proof of purchase != receipt. Besides which if you buy from a business seller on eBay they have an obligation to provide you with a 6-month warranty under the Distance Selling Regs.
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Well I have heard eVGA don't count eBay but I am not sure. I am still worrying about customs. If I buy a card from ebay USA, and the seller declares it as a gift worth £20 for example, what if customs open the package? They could check the vaule of the card and see it's worth hundreds... that wouldnt be very good.
 
No, it wouldn't - I've been stung importing before, from Japan and Hong Kong. £20 charges on a £45 cable once, as you get charged both VAT and customs duties. In law it's the buyer's responsibility to label the package correctly (!), and they can sieze the package and fine you if this is wrong - even if you didn't get penalised you'd still get stung for the extra tax. Have you tried other EU countries? We have a strong currency meaning importing from those should still be cheaper, but you pay no VAT on goods purchased within the EU if you pay it in the country of purchase instead - where it may well be lower than 17.5%. Jersey or Guernsey are a good bet too if you can find a seller shipping from there.
 
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