Ordering from the states

[Andy]

I would like to order some guauges from the US, as the prices in the UK are not so competitive.

I have tried Aircooled.net, but they do not supply Autometers.

Are there any companies that anyone can recommend who do mail order and ship to the UK, and who are cheap, and sell Autometer gauages?

[Chris Percival]

Have to spoken to Tim @ HSL racing (sales@hslracing.com)? He imports autometer stuff, and should be able to get you a reasonable price (tell him I sent ya!).

Don't forget you have to add import duty to stuff which puts the prices of import stuff up..

[Andy]

Thanks, for that

Had a look on their web site, seems to be slightly cheaper than other UK sites.

I will give him a ring when decided which one I want.

I have ordered stuff from the states in the past, and you have to be pretty unlucky to have to pay import tax.

[Chris Percival]

I was unlucky! :) It all depends on what the displayed value of the contents is on the packaging...

[Andy]

OK

The members from the states could be very useful if they were to buy the stuff for us, and then send it in brown paper bags (sounds dodgy) but you get the picture. Could earn them commision as well.

[Chris Percival]

Good in theory, but posably risky as I think postal companies will only cover the package with insurance up to the displayed value, or minimal insurance if value is not displayed.. I think thats how it works anyhow!

[stkmtr]

The 2 largest distributor of gauges here are Summit and JEGs they have all the autometer gauges you could ever want and they are the most competetive-Shawn

[Bill W]

I ship a lot of parcels (non-VW stuff) from the States, quite often to England. The best way I've found is to have your items shipped express mail. Despite what the customs form may show as value, parcels are automatically insured up to a value of $500.00 and if it should become lost your shipper only needs his copy of the invoice to file the insurance claim, as the part of the customs form the U.S. Post Office keeps does not show value.
The only problem I can forsee is that if your items are delivered damaged, the customs value shown could have a bearing on how much insurance you can claim. On the bright side, out of the many hundreds of International parcels I've shipped via express mail, none have ever been lost or damaged.
Only EXPRESS MAIL is automatically insured up to $500.00 With either regular airmail or surface mail, insurance is an additional form, and should probably match the declared customs value.

[Andy]

I take it Express Mail is considerably more than regular mail?

[Bill W]

Oddly enough, there's very little difference. I just looked into the USPS website @ www.usps.com and the postage for a parcel weighing two pounds shipped to the U.K. via Express mail (automatically insured for $500.00) would be $28.75 USD. Airmail parcel post for the same parcel would be $26.60 including the added cost of $500.00 insurance, and oddly enough, parcel post via surface mail is the most expensive of all @ $29.60, again insured for $500.00 (Insurance for $500.00 is $6.60) The cheapest option is economy letter post (surface mail) @ $6.30 but insurance is not an option with this method, although it can be registered for an additional $7.50 for a total of $13.80 and, if registered, you can only collect a maximum of $40.45 if it should become lost. Though because of this, you only need show a value of $40.45 on both the customs form as well as the registered mail form. In any case, it's not a good idea to have anything showing the full cost paid for the item included with your parcel should customs decide to inspect the parcel. Some sellers may be reluctant to help you dodge the Queens tax collector, but it doesn't hurt to ask.