# UK to USA Shipping & Import Duty



## wildjim (Jan 27, 2010)

I am interested in ordering some archery equipment from a UK website (Alternative Sporting Services)

Has anyone else ordered and shipped a riser and limbs from UK to USA and are willing to share their experiences?

Are any import duties or other unseen charges applied after the sale?

Thank You. . .


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## dkard (Sep 25, 2004)

*uk to US*

There are no import duties on Archery EQuipment sent to the US for Personal use. 

I have ordered from Alt Services in the past with good luck. PAckages arrive usually within a week of shipping.

dave


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

Same here. No duites and no delay. I got a little nervous when tracking kept reporting that my package was in customs in NY. That turned out to be a tracking problem as my order arrived before it cleared customs according to the system (can that be?). I bought a riser and barebow weight kit in two separate orders. And when my weight kit order was stolen out of my mailbox, they unexpectedly replaced it (without me asking). I have had good luck with Alternative and would order from them again if I could not get the product locally or from Lancaster.

While investigating how long packages can get held up in customs I stumbled across message boards of folks asking similiar questions. Day after day they were getting the same annoying status that I was. It turns out their issue was a bit more concerning than late arrival -- they were transporting marajuana seeds and were afraid of getting caught. What a challenging job our customs agents have.


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## wildjim (Jan 27, 2010)

I live about an hour from Lancaster and I have ordered from them already but Alternative Sporting Services in UK carries a few different products not available at Lancaster.

I've ordered a couple small items (Cartel fletching jig and glue) and awaiting delivery. I am also considering a riser and limbs but want to be sure it will not get snagged at customs ; )

Local shops do not have "any" target equipment or even recurve related items, all are geared towards compound bow and hunting equipment : (


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## DariusXV (Feb 18, 2009)

Jim, 

I've ordered a few risers from Alt.Services and they are a fantastic company to deal with.

It is true that the shipping is a little expensive, but some items they have I have not been able to find elsewhere. (maybe I was lazy, but I looked pretty hard)

I've placed about 4-5 orders with them and have had no issues. 

I hope your experience is the same!


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## K31Scout (Sep 17, 2003)

I ordered a riser and limbs from them with no problems. Shipping was around $30 but I saved over $100 on the items. Good company.


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## maxwell9699 (May 3, 2009)

Hi 
Some input from the UK. You might want to check out some of our other shops. Quicks archery, Bow Plus, Centre shot, Bowsports, Wales Archery, Merlin. Perris. All are excellent. Two points to remember we do not have any bow hunting in the UK so all the shops are target focussed, secondly the pound sterling is very low against the dollar so the exchange rate should enable you to get some mega deals.


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## BloodyCactus (Feb 15, 2010)

several of those places don't ship outside the EU or dont accept non uk visa cards... or they want a pain in the tush, direct bank transfer. Alternatives was the easiest of the lot to deal with when I checked all this out


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## sadarcher (Jun 29, 2005)

Make sure to get a shipping quote first and make them stick to it. I ordered an aluminum string jig from Alternative that weighed 8 lbs. They charged me $60 shipping for a steel one that weighted 16 lbs. Immediatly when I got the emailed invoice I tried to cancel but they wouldn't respond even though they were still there for the day. After it shipped and finally responded they told me that's what it cost for a 16 lb package.

When it arrived it was clearly marked 3.8k or 8 lbs, half what they charged me. When I contacted the owner and told him they charged me for a steel not aluminum jig, it got ugly and he refused to give me a credit and started to hurl insults at me. I just couldn't believe they wouldn't make good on their mistake but with that type of response the overcharge appears less than accidental. I just don't understand why the guy wouldn't try to do the right thing and keep a new customer. His comments were so vial I couldn't believe it. I said nothing that deserved that type of response but asking for a credit really set him off. I guess we're spoiled here in the US with the customer being taken care of when wronged.

I later found someone else that ordered the same jig along with other items at the same time and same area and was charged half what they charged me.

Bye the way, the Spig string jig is a piece of junk. I wrote a review about it if anyone is interested.


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## dkard (Sep 25, 2004)

*shippiong*

Their new website gives you the price of shipping as you put things in the cart. 

I always had good luck on shipping charges with Alt Services. Comparable to other US sites and they were shipping overseas.

dave


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## scriv (Jan 31, 2008)

*additional charges*

I have had good luck with alt services. VISA will charge you a 1% sur churge for an international transaction. d


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## wildjim (Jan 27, 2010)

It seems mostly good experiences with ASS and UK to USA delivery charges.

I just needed a little insight and reassurance before I spend a $1000 or more.

I'll test the waters with small orders first, I have two items in transit ; )


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## Big.Dave (Dec 13, 2009)

sadarcher said:


> Make sure to get a shipping quote first and make them stick to it. I ordered an aluminum string jig from Alternative that weighed 8 lbs. They charged me $60 shipping for a steel one that weighted 16 lbs. Immediatly when I got the emailed invoice I tried to cancel but they wouldn't respond even though they were still there for the day. After it shipped and finally responded they told me that's what it cost for a 16 lb package.
> 
> When it arrived it was clearly marked 3.8k or 8 lbs, half what they charged me. When I contacted the owner and told him they charged me for a steel not aluminum jig, it got ugly and he refused to give me a credit and started to hurl insults at me. I just couldn't believe they wouldn't make good on their mistake but with that type of response the overcharge appears less than accidental. I just don't understand why the guy wouldn't try to do the right thing and keep a new customer. His comments were so vial I couldn't believe it. I said nothing that deserved that type of response but asking for a credit really set him off. I guess we're spoiled here in the US with the customer being taken care of when wronged.
> 
> ...


I would not complain about that price of shipping the royal mail has changed its prices for shipping parcels outside the uk and any thing tracked over 2kg will cost at least £59 which is about $90 I think you got a deal there.


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## greennock (Dec 13, 2007)

Big.Dave said:


> I would not complain about that price of shipping the royal mail has changed its prices for shipping parcels outside the uk and any thing tracked over 2kg will cost at least £59 which is about $90 I think you got a deal there.


2kg is 4.4lbs. So you think paying $90 to ship a riser or set of limbs is a good deal? Why would anyone in the US buy from Alternative if they're going to pay an extra $90 just for shipping? 

I attempted to buy some limbs from Ebay UK and the quote I got from several sellers was about $20-30. Looks like if Alternative is charging $90 they are really giving US customers the SHAFT. Glad you pointed that out to us. I was considering some Sebastian Flute limbs from them. I'll look at Lancaster instead. You saved me a bunch of hard earned dollars.


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## MickC (Feb 26, 2006)

the reason you are saving a bit of money is that the US imposes a tax on archery equipment that is sold in the USA to help support wildlife preservation or something like that.
by buying outside the USA you are not supporting the archery ecosystem.
granted you get products cheaper but at the cost of not supporting local businesses.

Alt is great to deal with and have a ton of products but still... Lancaster and local stores are at an unfair disadvantage so factor that into your purchasing decision.

That being said, it is unlikely to stay this way long and you will see an 11% tax on all imported products in the very near future.

http://www.bowhunting.net/artman/publish/PapaBear17.shtml

PS. I have no affiliations with any archery store, but want people to be aware that the tax was meant to support the art and while I neither endorse it or reject the Tax (I am not an American and it doesn't support directly) it does have its uses.


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## MM1354 (Apr 13, 2005)

FYI, shipping on a set of limbs from Alt. Services, is $40 thru their parcel post. I brought a set of limbs from them recently. MM1354


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## wildjim (Jan 27, 2010)

MickC said:


> the reason you are saving a bit of money is that the US imposes a tax on archery equipment that is sold in the USA to help support wildlife preservation or something like that.
> by buying outside the USA you are not supporting the archery ecosystem.
> granted you get products cheaper but at the cost of not supporting local businesses.
> 
> ...


I am a reseller of many other items in the US ; )

Alternative Sporting Services in UK is cheaper to buy from even with shipping than local shops or even Lancaster Archery.

I am noticing no achery shop in the area sells any target equipment so I may become a reseller of target archery equipment soon ; )


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## wildjim (Jan 27, 2010)

I just received my second order from Alternative Sporting Services.

A Samick Masters riser, limbs, and other archery necessities.

The Parcel Force shipping is fast and went through New York customs like a cool breeze.

No extra import duties. It seems orders under $2000 go through without a problem.

The only extra fees are the currency conversion from the credit card company which is a small insignificant percentage fee.


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## strcpy (Dec 13, 2003)

greennock said:


> 2kg is 4.4lbs. So you think paying $90 to ship a riser or set of limbs is a good deal? Why would anyone in the US buy from Alternative if they're going to pay an extra $90 just for shipping?


Because you can often get higher end parts up to 200+ dollars cheaper? It may suck having a great deal of the 200 eat up with overseas shipping charges but it is still cheaper. I can get the W&W apecs prime and tf apecs limbs cheaper with all that than I can *wholesale* from Lancaster. 

Plus Lancaster doesn't keep a great deal of that stuff in stock and doesn't seem to be willing to order it. I rarely got the limbs I wanted - usually 2 pounds heavier or lighter or not the right length, Altservices orders the parts for you.

Can't blame Lancaster - Olympic Archery just isn't big enough in the US to justify keeping that stock and relationship with the suppliers. It is in the UK and I'm sure that's why the price is cheaper too - the probably order orders of magnitude more Oly Recurve items (I have to note compound - especially hunting equipment - is MUCH more expensive for I am sure the same reasons).

I would definitely check prices out at both, Altservices tells you their shipping up front before you place the order and can change drastically based on how they end up having to ship it.


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## wildjim (Jan 27, 2010)

greennock said:


> 2kg is 4.4lbs. So you think paying $90 to ship a riser or set of limbs is a good deal? Why would anyone in the US buy from Alternative if they're going to pay an extra $90 just for shipping?
> 
> I attempted to buy some limbs from Ebay UK and the quote I got from several sellers was about $20-30. Looks like if Alternative is charging $90 they are really giving US customers the SHAFT. Glad you pointed that out to us. I was considering some Sebastian Flute limbs from them. I'll look at Lancaster instead. You saved me a bunch of hard earned dollars.


Its not $90 to ship. Only $53 to ship the whole order.

I saved $150 on the riser, $160 on the limbs and everything else is less expensive.

Do the math. . .

Also the selection is better.

If that wasn't enough already the dollar is strong against the pound right now!

I'm sold!


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## Pop Alexandra (Jul 1, 2018)

wildjim said:


> Its not $90 to ship. Only $53 to ship the whole order.
> 
> I saved $150 on the riser, $160 on the limbs and everything else is less expensive.


Not bad. Quite affordable considering the value of the order.
*____*
Alexandra from W2C


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## Chaoscreature (Jan 5, 2020)

Don’t forget to order target faces when you order from Alt Services. High quality 40cm and 3-spot faces are only 10 or 20 cents!


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## rsarns (Sep 23, 2008)

As long as you have no warranty problems. ALt SS is a pain in the butt. Had a set of Uukha’s twist. Took 8 weeks to replace under warranty. A set of W&W blew up, still waiting on replacement and had I not went directly to W&W I might still not have an end in sight. Never had an issue with Lancaster. Learned my lesson with the Uukha’s but had already ordered the W&W before that. Never again.


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## 6bloodychunks (Oct 26, 2005)

11 year old thread BACK FROM THE DEAD hahaha


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## DrRoadrash (Oct 25, 2020)

6bloodychunks said:


> 11 year old thread BACK FROM THE DEAD hahaha


Yup it's alive, it's alive. They didn't even see COVID coming.


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## strugglesticks (Dec 26, 2017)

I have ordered 3 times from Alternativess. Limbs, limbs/riser, and limbs. They all three arrived faster than domestic orders do.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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