Doing the old Holiday bike swop trick advice needed.

What with the exchange rate nearing $2.00 and some amazing prices on
bikes being available across the pond and the occasional really cheap
airfares. I wonder if theres a faq anywhere for how to take an old
banger bike and bring back a shiny new one without being hit by
customs.

Which brand bikes are best value in the states?

Who are the best retailers for price?

If you are going to be cycling around before coming home which
retailer has the greatest number of shops so that any warranty work
before leaving the states can be done at different stores etc?

Do you need to select your bike before hand and paint up the banger
you take over roughly with the same brand and name as the one you are
going to buy?

Can you get away with a bike you gave £5 for at the local tip?
Typically some old rubbish with steel wheels.

Which brands lower the spec of their american bikes?

Plus of course what would be a good place to visit with regard great
scenary with fairly short travel distances and safety (low crime rate)
in the states?

Do cheap hotels/motels mind you taking the bike into your room (not
multistory accomendation)?

Anyone done this before and have a story to tell?

"Martin Wilson" wrote ...
What with the exchange rate nearing $2.00 and some amazing prices on
bikes being available across the pond and the occasional really cheap
airfares. I wonder if theres a faq anywhere for how to take an old
banger bike and bring back a shiny new one without being hit by
customs.

Ride the shiny new bike around for a while so that it's obviously used?

Which brand bikes are best value in the states?

Who are the best retailers for price?

REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) are not necessarily the cheapest, but have
a dividend plan that could be useful if you're planning on coming over here
more than once. They sell an incredibly wide range of outdoor equipment and
clothing. www.rei.com

If you are going to be cycling around before coming home which
retailer has the greatest number of shops so that any warranty work
before leaving the states can be done at different stores etc?

Again REI may not have the "most" shops, but they do have a large number of
shops, and I would expect their repair staff to be at least as competent as
any chain of sports shops, and probably more competent than most chain store
bike repair people.

Do you need to select your bike before hand and paint up the banger
you take over roughly with the same brand and name as the one you are
going to buy?

Can you get away with a bike you gave £5 for at the local tip?

Typically some old rubbish with steel wheels.

Do you really think your customs people are that gullible?

Which brands lower the spec of their american bikes?

Plus of course what would be a good place to visit with regard great
scenary with fairly short travel distances and safety (low crime rate)
in the states?

Most of the UK seems to think that Colorado is an excellent place to visit,
although it's a bit cold for cycling at the moment. What time of year are
you planning on being here, and what do you mean by short travel distances?

Do cheap hotels/motels mind you taking the bike into your room (not
multistory accomendation)?

IME, no.
--
mark

HTH,

Can you get away with a bike you gave £5 for at the local tip?

Typically some old rubbish with steel wheels.

Do you really think your customs people are that gullible?


I have absolutely no idea how gullible customs are. I suppose I'm
thinking of the paperwork. Do they just write down the brand and model
on the paperwork or do they take down other details like a rough
description of gears or even weight. Maybe they just write down '1
bicycle'.


Most of the UK seems to think that Colorado is an excellent place to visit,
although it's a bit cold for cycling at the moment. What time of year are
you planning on being here, and what do you mean by short travel distances?


I'm basically thinking of a holiday without any hiring of cars just
purely travelling by bike to get a taste of america (which I've never
been too before). I'm not into theme parks, I'm more interested in
great scenary and real life america. I suppose a maximum loop of about
300 miles from an airport. Thats the actual length of journey not
distance in a straight line away from the airport. The holiday would
be for about 1 week to 10 days (probably 1 week though).

The holiday would basically consist of;

1) Arriving with naff bike;

2) Buying decent bike and disposing of naff one.

3) Touring for one week.

Not sure of when but thinking of somewhere roughly between febuary and
May.

Do cheap hotels/motels mind you taking the bike into your room (not
multistory accomendation)?

IME, no.

Excellent.

In message , Martin Wilson
writes

Can you get away with a bike you gave £5 for at the local tip?

Typically some old rubbish with steel wheels.

Do you really think your customs people are that gullible?


I have absolutely no idea how gullible customs are. I suppose I'm
thinking of the paperwork. Do they just write down the brand and model
on the paperwork or do they take down other details like a rough
description of gears or even weight. Maybe they just write down '1
bicycle'.


Do C&E take any note at all if you leave the country on holiday with a
bike?

I do know that C&E are pretty wise to people going abroad to buy stuff
and bring it back in.
--
Chris French, Leeds

If you evade paying tax the Health Service, schools, etc. will have just
slightly less money to patch you up when you are hit by a car, to educate
your children, and so on. Wouldn't it be better to pay the tax? I guess you
don't try to evade paying VAT on goods you buy here. Is there really a
difference if you are buying abroad?

Mark Burch


"Martin Wilson" wrote in message
...
What with the exchange rate nearing $2.00 and some amazing prices on
bikes being available across the pond and the occasional really cheap
airfares. I wonder if theres a faq anywhere for how to take an old
banger bike and bring back a shiny new one without being hit by
customs.

Which brand bikes are best value in the states?

Who are the best retailers for price?

If you are going to be cycling around before coming home which
retailer has the greatest number of shops so that any warranty work
before leaving the states can be done at different stores etc?

Do you need to select your bike before hand and paint up the banger
you take over roughly with the same brand and name as the one you are
going to buy?

Can you get away with a bike you gave £5 for at the local tip?
Typically some old rubbish with steel wheels.

Which brands lower the spec of their american bikes?

Plus of course what would be a good place to visit with regard great
scenary with fairly short travel distances and safety (low crime rate)
in the states?

Do cheap hotels/motels mind you taking the bike into your room (not
multistory accomendation)?

Anyone done this before and have a story to tell?

Martin Wilson wrote:

I have absolutely no idea how gullible customs are. I suppose I'm
thinking of the paperwork. Do they just write down the brand and model
on the paperwork or do they take down other details like a rough
description of gears or even weight. Maybe they just write down '1
bicycle'.


How gullible are you? They do their job day in day out. You are an
amateur smuggler. How good do you think you are?

FWIW its nothing to do with the paperwork. Its all to do with you
proving you the bike you are bringing in was bought in the EU or else
they had withold it, confiscate it or charge you a penal rate of tax.
Customs is one of the few places where you are guilty until you prove
yourself innocent.

They ought to do a customs version of that speed camera excuses list.
How many times do you think they've seen the "ride it and make it look a
bit used" subterfuge?

Tony

(who has brought many bikes back through the red channel and had some
interesting chats with the customs officers while doing so)

Martin Wilson wrote:
What with the exchange rate nearing $2.00 and some amazing prices on
bikes being available across the pond and the occasional really cheap
airfares. I wonder if theres a faq anywhere for how to take an old
banger bike and bring back a shiny new one without being hit by
customs.


They don't fall for that one if they stop you and its pretty hard to
hide a bike at the bottom of a suitcase.

Which brand bikes are best value in the states?

Who are the best retailers for price?

If you are going to be cycling around before coming home which
retailer has the greatest number of shops so that any warranty work
before leaving the states can be done at different stores etc?


My favourite is Supergo which has large shops in the LA/Orange County
region and good prices. Performance is a nationwide chain but much less
choice and a lot of own brand stuff. I've also had good results by
contacting the local bike shop for a particular bike I've wanted before
going out there and getting them to get the size, color and any upgrades
I wanted in ready for me to collect.



Do you need to select your bike before hand and paint up the banger
you take over roughly with the same brand and name as the one you are
going to buy?

Can you get away with a bike you gave £5 for at the local tip?
Typically some old rubbish with steel wheels.


Who's going to notice what you take out there? Please Mr Customs
Officer I want you to record my old scrap heap bike so I can bring it back?

Which brands lower the spec of their american bikes?


Lots of them. Many are not only different finishing kits, some are
different bikes altogether under the same name so do your research and
know what you are buying.

Plus of course what would be a good place to visit with regard great
scenary with fairly short travel distances and safety (low crime rate)
in the states?


Go for somewhere like Vermont where Sales tax is zero otherwise the shop
will add 5-10% to the price for local taxes. Vermont is nice cycling
country but not at this time of year.

Do cheap hotels/motels mind you taking the bike into your room (not
multistory accomendation)?

Anyone done this before and have a story to tell?

Quite often but always through the red channel and I've been both
impressed by their knowledge and access to information on bikes and
ability to check the invoice value is about right and amused by their
tales of people's amateur attempts to smuggle bikes in. As one said
"People seem to forget we do this job every day and have seen more
tricks than they can imagine"

Even so if you know what you are buying you can get some really goood
bargains out there even after paying tax and duty (c 35% in total).
Just make sure you are insured for it getting damaged by baggage handling.

Tony Raven wrote:


How gullible are you? They do their job day in day out. You are an
amateur smuggler. How good do you think you are?

Well, they've got you fooled anyway.

James
--
If I have seen further than others, it is
by treading on the toes of giants.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/

in message , Martin Wilson
') wrote:

What with the exchange rate nearing $2.00 and some amazing prices on
bikes being available across the pond and the occasional really cheap
airfares. I wonder if theres a faq anywhere for how to take an old
banger bike and bring back a shiny new one without being hit by
customs.

Well, the first bit of advice is, if planning a customs fraud, don't use
your real name when discussing it in a public forum.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

-- mens vacua in medio vacuo --

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 00:53:34 +0000, Martin Wilson wrote:

What with the exchange rate nearing $2.00 and some amazing prices on
bikes being available across the pond and the occasional really cheap
airfares. I wonder if theres a faq anywhere for how to take an old
banger bike and bring back a shiny new one without being hit by
customs.


I knew someone who was caught trying to smuggle a US purchased laptop into
the UK. It was not a pleasant experience and it cost him a lot of money.
If you consider that a laptop can go into hand luggage and is therefore
relatively inconspicuous a smuggled bike is much more likely to be spotted.

Also, I would think that a bike is of interest to Customs and Excise
because of the excellent opportunity to hide other things in the tubes. I
wonder how many bikes C&E dismantle?

--
Michael MacClancy