Ordering from Analogue Productions to deliver to UK

Anyone ordered records direct from AP US to the UK? If so how did it go?

Even with the high shipping costs it works out cheaper than buying direct from UK stores.

 

I know this wasn't your question, but I usually buy from Scott Nangle. I haven't risked buying from US before but will look into it if you say it is cheaper.

 

I've not bought for a couple of years, but packaging was excellent. I had a customs charge once which held up the parcel at Heathrow for about a week.

Never had to do any returns, so I don't know how that would go.

 

Never bought direct from AP but I nearly always buy SACD (MFSL & AP) from WOWHD. They are cheaper than anyone else I've found and take about 1-2 weeks. The prices listed will have VAT added separately at the end though, so it's 20% more than first appears. But delivery is free and I've never had any import duties added.

 

Out of curiosity how much was the customs charge?

 

I've ordered SACDs from AP in the past, and then from SN. After customs, Scott was far cheaper, and he ships fast, and very well packed.

 

It would have been 15% - the VAT rate - which was £12 on a £80 order . But Royal mail also sting me for £8 "handling fee" when that happens. I do like Am.com's policy of charging upfront for VAT so that it goes through without a handling fee, then refunding if it goes through without a customs charge.

UK customs tend to stop about 1 in 5 small parcels (under £100) so it is a lottery.

 

I'm surprised that one of the big retailers like Juno hasn't set themselves up as a distributor for the US audiophile labels - the prices in the UK however you go about it as an individual are very high, especially as MrCJF says, you are faced with the lottery of VAT charges and the accompanying admin fee.

 

I wanted to buy the latest Jimi Hendrix SACD however AP requires $50 minimum spend excluding shipping and import charges raising the cost to approx $120.

 

I have been buying from Acoustic Sounds for 15 years - very few issues and those that have occurred have been dealt with very efficiently.

However, I would also trying Diverse Vinyl in the UK as they import pretty much all the AP titles, they are a great bunch of guys too. For Diverse you won't pay any import duties but often the price is a bit higher - generally it works out to be around the same but Diverse Vinyl is a bit nearer if you do have any issues.

 

They are usually slow to despatch the order (although I tend to only order when a discount or sale is on, so they could be swamped), so a game of chance with our fluctuating exchange rates as they don’t charge until fulfilled. Once despatched, delivery usually 7-10 days with excellent packaging and then a FedEx customs bill to follow. Scott Nangle is a risky option based on my experience but others would state the opposite - a review of TrustPilot and/or a search on SHF would be recommended.

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions