Having a friend in US send bullion to U.K?

[Alymac]

I have a good friend who lives in Florida and wondered about asking him to place an order say for around 25oz of assorted silver for me from Apmex then send them to me in UK after he receives them. 

He is sometimes over in U.K. on business so could even have him bring them over.

Before asking him wondered if anyone could give me a couple of bits of advice.

Firstly in States would he pay sales tax on silver?

Secondly what would cheapest method of me getting cash to him without getting hit for bank charges?

Lastly.....if he say posted it and it was marked as gift/present would it get buy customs okay?

Just want to have it all played out in my head before asking him.

Any help or advice would really be appreciated!

Ally

[JSILVER]

1 hour ago, shortstack68 said:

unless he gets stopped by customs at the airport for a baggage check

Yeah, I think you'd have to declare it. There must be a limit you can bring. I bet its small though.

[BackyardBullion]

8 minutes ago, JSILVER said:

Yeah, I think you'd have to declare it. There must be a limit you can bring. I bet its small though.

Not if he brought britannia's - they have a £ denomination so you can bring up to £10,000 in cash can't you!?

Who knows. 

I just had a big shipment come from a friend in Canada. Whilst not 25 oz of silver there was probably at least 15oz and also a bunch of graphite moulds, some copper bullion rounds and a few other bits and bobs. 

It got ransacked by customs and Border Force...but no charges at all! 

https://youtu.be/FFSAT5WFvJo

This is the unboxing and you can see what fun the Border Force team had with my box!

Best thing to do is to get him to bring it over, schedule his flight to arrive at 5am, never anyone at the customs desks!

[BackyardBullion]

2 hours ago, Alymac said:

Firstly in States would he pay sales tax on silver?

I don't think they have any sales tax on silver - but it may vary from state to state!!!!

2 hours ago, Alymac said:

Secondly what would cheapest method of me getting cash to him without getting hit for bank charges?

Paypal Friends & Family is OK but the exchange rate is not good

Have a look at www.transferwise.com

2 hours ago, Alymac said:

Lastly.....if he say posted it and it was marked as gift/present would it get buy customs okay?

Any gift over £39 is subject to charges (I think) and they will probably at very least X-ray it and then have a look see what it is.

[Niels87]

I just did an order from the US that i need to declare.. 
I bought from this guy before and had no problem. 
All the trouble just for 2oz... 
I hope i ain't going to  have to pay too much. 

[sovereignsteve]

3 hours ago, Alymac said:

 

Firstly in States would he pay sales tax on silver? Some suppliers charge tax to residents in the same state, I believe, but get him to research that aspect first.

Secondly what would cheapest method of me getting cash to him without getting hit for bank charges? If you trust him, bank transfer using Currency Fair or Transferwise. Otherwise Paypal, preferably using a no Fx charge credit card.

Lastly.....if he say posted it and it was marked as gift/present would it get buy customs okay? Almost certainly, if the stated value is below the threshold, but officially they should add the postage cost on  as well. They are highly unlikely to open a package if the goods description matches the value and fits in with the size and weight of the package.

 

[ArthGoch]

16 hours ago, Alymac said:

Any help or advice would really be appreciated!

Ally

Just a heads up in respect of nominated carriers. 

From  my experience DHL are now doing pre customs clearance of all packages leaving from the US and Canada. Thus if the airway bill and/or customs deceleration state a value over the ceiling for zero import tax you are going to have to pay. I have this year had around a dozen packs from the US/Canada via DHL, approximately half I have been able to influence the value declared, while the other half has been declared as full value. All the latter have been hit for tax, (while still in transit) but for the former this has passed OK.  From experience USPS usually attracts the least attention from HMRC/Boarder Control.

 

[sovereignsteve]

3 hours ago, ArthGoch said:

From experience USPS usually attracts the least attention from HMRC/Boarder Control.

Yes nearly everything I've had from the states has been USPS with very little problem.