Buying on Ali Express

[Sandozer]

If I'm not mistaken there is still tax to pay when it arrives in the UK and customs get their hands on it and its over 30odd quid? I got stung when I ordered a few floating dip tubes a few months back.

Would like to be corrected by someone more in the know than me.

All depends on the retailer, and the value/accuracy of content he puts on the customs tag. Check before you buy as to their creativeness :) Aliexpress is pretty good, say no more.

 

[Crappyfish]

If I'm not mistaken there is still tax to pay when it arrives in the UK and customs get their hands on it and its over 30odd quid? I got stung when I ordered a few floating dip tubes a few months back.

Would like to be corrected by someone more in the know than me.

Never been stung for any tax for some reason.

 

[obscure]

Generally you will as a minimum need to pay UK VAT at 20%, the courier will also charge a disbursement fee typically these are between £10 and £20, also depending on the courier you may be charged storage fees while the goods are waiting to be cleared.

You may also be charged import duties these can vary hugely depending on the item in question and I have no clue how much they might be.

Some companies do make somewhat questionable customs decelerations I.e. it is a gift below £39 in value, for somethings this might work, but customs officers can and do access packages, and can seize or more likely leavy import fees and VAT based on an assessed value. Despite all this it can still be cheaper to import something directly and you may get lucky and it slips through customs without issue, but it’s worth always factoring in at least the VAT when comparing prices.

 

[trummy]

Bought a carb for a Honda moped off one of the sites, (not sure which one ), and it came faulty. I attempted to contact the seller and never got a response. (luckily I managed to cannibalise and modify the bit I required to make it fit.) So be cautious!

 

[Crappyfish]

Just found this on Google

• a product with a value below €22 will not be checked by customs authorities;
• you will have to pay VAT and postal charges for parcels with a value between €22 and €149;
• you will be requested to pay customs duties, VAT and postal charges for products with a value of over €150.

 

[MickDundee]

The Hop Spider I ordered at the weekend has arrived already. Looks to be a decent build quality and a really good size for decent hop circulation (I just hope it and my wort chiller will fit in my boiler together)

 

[Thatscold]

The Hop Spider I ordered at the weekend has arrived already. Looks to be a decent build quality and a really good size for decent hop circulation (I just hope it and my wort chiller will fit in my boiler together)

If you don't mind could you please share the link?

 

[MickDundee]

If you don't mind could you please share the link?

It was the bigger of these 2:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_dVwlTqC
It says it’s 15cm but mine looks bigger. I’m really impressed.

 

[AdeDunn]

Small, low value stuff they seem to just wave through no bother. But yeah, anything higher value you get walloped with duty, then, to add insult to injury, the courier/Royal Mail will add an even higher "handling fee" onto this that costs more than the duty did.

 

[Justin Dean]

Do not do it, it is either dodgy or takes months and months to turn up or does not turn up, in my experience. You have no recourse or recovery options either

 

[obscure]

Small, low value stuff they seem to just wave through no bother. But yeah, anything higher value you get walloped with duty, then, to add insult to injury, the courier/Royal Mail will add an even higher "handling fee" onto this that costs more than the duty did.

Problem with clearances fees is they tend to be fixed, paying a £20 disbursement fee on a $30000 shipment is one thing (especially since it’s for work and not my money) but when an order is a penny over the De minimis limit and you end up paying £8 or more in fees in order to pay £3 in VAT.

The system Is just not set up for low value personal imports.

 

[Newerbrewer]

I've bought a few small things, including from kegland.

The advice I was given is to only deal with stores who have a rating above 9 and treat the store rating after the decimal as it's actual rating out of ten. So a seller with a 9.5 rating is more like a 5 out of 10.

Everything I've ordered so far has all been perfect, just with long shipping times

 

[MickDundee]

The Hop Spider I ordered at the weekend has arrived already. Looks to be a decent build quality and a really good size for decent hop circulation (I just hope it and my wort chiller will fit in my boiler together)

And the Blowtie came today. When I set it up in the way most diagrams seem to have it set up, the gauge drops to the bottom. Had a quick google and Kegland seem to have it set up differently on their website and when I do it that way it’s much sturdier. I’m desperate for my Fermentasaurus pressure kit to come now so I can test it out!

 

[BlackRegent]

OK - quick update on my personal experience as, like many others in this thread, I was sceptical of the sense of using AliExpress and was concerned that it seemed too good to be true.

My first order was from the Kegland store for 3 x Blowtie 2 (the new ones with the inbuilt gauge), 3 x the new inline regulators, as well as the lid removal tool.

I ordered it on 20 July and it arrived today, 9 days later. Box was fine, if a bit beat up, but everything was separately packaged inside as well as wedged with extra bubble wrap so no issues with damage. The products are definitely the same items and not some clones or knock offs.

Total cost (with postage): £59.51

Total cost if I bought them from UK retailers (before postage): £144 and that doesn't even include the cost of the removal tool as I couldn't find that for sale separately in the UK.

Make of that what you will, but I've got every intention of using Ali Express again. I've got other orders currently processing so I will see how I get on with them.

 

[Braindead]

ive just ordered some leyland stuff for my kegerator through Ali Express.
If it comes its cheap as chips

 

[MickDundee]

OK - quick update on my personal experience as, like many others in this thread, I was sceptical of the sense of using AliExpress and was concerned that it seemed too good to be true.

My first order was from the Kegland store for 3 x Blowtie 2 (the new ones with the inbuilt gauge), 3 x the new inline regulators, as well as the lid removal tool.

I ordered it on 20 July and it arrived today, 9 days later. Box was fine, if a bit beat up, but everything was separately packaged inside as well as wedged with extra bubble wrap so no issues with damage. The products are definitely the same items and not some clones or knock offs.

Total cost (with postage): £59.51

Total cost if I bought then from UK retailers (before postage): £144 and that doesn't even include the cost of the removal tool as I couldn't find that for sale separately in the UK.

Make of that what you will, but I've got every intention of using Ali Express again. I've got other orders currently processing so I will see how I get on with them.

I can’t stop buying from AliExpress.

The very first thing I bought back in June hasn’t arrived yet though despite everything else making it here no problem but the tracking says to contact customer services if it doesn’t arrive by the 7th so I’m assuming that means I’ll get my money back or they’ll resend.

 

[MickDundee]

ive just ordered some leyland stuff for my kegerator through Ali Express.
If it comes its cheap as chips

I’ve ordered:

• Mini keg neoprene cover (not yet arrived)
• Gen 1 Fermentasaurus Pressure Kit
• Kegland Blowtie
• Flow control tap shank
• Beer/gas line cutter
• Hop spider
• Keg spanner

And I’ve spent about £80 in total including postage - in the U.K. the Blowtie, the pressure kit and the hop spider would easily reach £80 before postage. Most stuff has been here within 2 weeks - fastest was 4 days, slowest is the keg cover at nearly 3 months.

Next on my list is a 4 line gas manifold and some in line regulators but I’ll maybe wait until the end of next month for them.

 

[BlackRegent]

I can’t stop buying from AliExpress.

The very first thing I bought back in June hasn’t arrived yet though despite everything else making it here no problem but the tracking says to contact customer services if it doesn’t arrive by the 7th so I’m assuming that means I’ll get my money back or they’ll resend.

Another of my orders is the Brewzilla neoprene parka and the whirlpool arm from Kegland. I ordered them on 20 July also but they weren't marked as despatched. There was a countdown which (so it said) would result in a refund if the item isn't despatched by the time it expires. You can extend the deadline through the website and the app, which I did as I was in no rush. I'm glad I did as it was marked as despatched the following day. The parcel tracking seems very good, which gives you confidence that: (a) the thing you've bought actually exists; and (b) it is genuinely on its way to you.

 

[MickDundee]

Another of my orders is the Brewzilla neoprene parka and the whirlpool arm from Kegland. I ordered them on 20 July also but they weren't marked as despatched. There was a countdown which (so it said) would result in a refund if the item isn't despatched by the time it expires. You can extend the deadline through the website and the app, which I did as I was in no rush. I'm glad I did as it was marked as despatched the following day. The parcel tracking seems very good, which gives you confidence that: (a) the thing you've bought actually exists; and (b) it is genuinely on its way to you.

Yeah my tracking said it had been accepted by the “last mile carrier” on 7 July so ironically it looks like it’s got lost in the U.K. rather than en route from China. This was the Brewmaster store rather than Kegland but I’ve received stuff I ordered after the keg parka from the same store so it’s definitely an issue with its journey rather than the seller.

 

[Braindead]

I need a 4 way gas manifold also.
The kegland doesn't have them.
Malt Miller do one with all the John Guest fitting on too but outta stock