Buying from em3ev?

Does anyone have any experience with purchasing stuff from em3ev.com website? They seem to have very competitive prices on BBSHD and 52V batteries and although website mentions 'local support in UK', the only contact option is a form on the website, and that seems a bit dodgy. At first glance looks like they are sourcing from China, does this means duty & taxes or some other extra fees which I should be prepared to pay as well? Or what's listed on the website is indeed what the final price will be?

Any feedback would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Hmmm...

No physical address, telephone number or email - the only contact is via their web form.

The "Terms and Conditions" button doesn't do anything.

Those things would mean an absolute no-no for me.

As I was writing this Anotherkiwi posted that they have an "excellent reputation", but that by itself wouldn't mitigate the negatives.

The only +ve is paying by Paypal, which is relatively safe.

Thanks, does anyone know how much tax and duty is charged for ebike kits and batteries? Are we talking 10%, 20%?

With that in mind their competitive pricing does not seem be that competitive anymore... plus I recon if a defect product is sent, even if Paul sends a free replacement I’d have to pay tax and duty on it as well - not ideal?

Sounds like one would be better off buying from someone local like eclipse, any luck with shopping with those guys? Is there someone else you’d recommend here in UK?

Thanks, does anyone know how much tax and duty is charged for ebike kits and batteries? Are we talking 10%, 20%?

I paid £22 tax on a £567.41 purchase (BBSHD + extras) a few weeks back, shipped using DHL. I got off lightly and suspect I should have been charged more.

Edited August 22, 20187 yr by danielrlee

Thanks, does anyone know how much tax and duty is charged for ebike kits and batteries? Are we talking 10%, 20%?

 

With that in mind their competitive pricing does not seem be that competitive anymore... plus I recon if a defect product is sent, even if Paul sends a free replacement I’d have to pay tax and duty on it as well - not ideal?

 

Sounds like one would be better off buying from someone local like eclipse, any luck with shopping with those guys? Is there someone else you’d recommend here in UK?

Have bought expensive items from both vendors and both very trust worthy. But I bought stuff from EM3EV years ago, when imports slipped through the custom duty net regularly. Not a lot gets through these days, as the couriers have tightened up their procedures.

I had a defective clutch in a MAC motor that I bought from Paul at EM3EV and he sent a replacement quickly and without fuss.

The Eclipse guys are ok, pretty competitive pricing, but a little slow on correspondence. Haven't had to make any warranty claim, so no idea what they're like there.

They seem to have very competitive prices on BBSHD and 52V batteries

if this is your first conversion, think you may need more support and even expect accidental damage to the kit. Of course, the next time you convert a bike, you will be more comfortable on those issues.

Buying from China is cheaper, there is no doubt about it, but if you need to return something, you have to pay for postage and wait for it to come back. Airfreight is very expensive, sea freight takes months.

Hi there

Have you also considered Unitpackpower.com? They are based in China, they also have a support base in Germany, not UK but Europe, a tad closer. They, I believe are a tad cheaper than em3ev and they 100% can be trusted. I've just had a 52v 28ah triangle pack made for Me, which got to Me here in the UK in 12 days. Make sure you ask for branded cells though. My pack was made up of LG MJ1 cells.

PS; I also believe Unitpackpower are the only guys who supply the battery in a hard plastic case. Good luck.

Does anyone have any experience with purchasing stuff from em3ev.com website? They seem to have very competitive prices on BBSHD and 52V batteries and although website mentions 'local support in UK', the only contact option is a form on the website, and that seems a bit dodgy. At first glance looks like they are sourcing from China, does this means duty & taxes or some other extra fees which I should be prepared to pay as well? Or what's listed on the website is indeed what the final price will be?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated. Many thanks.

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I paid £22 tax on a £567.41 purchase (BBSHD + extras) a few weeks back, shipped using DHL. I got off lightly and suspect I should have been charged more.

I have checked gov.uk pages and if I’m looking at the correct code (commodity code 8501200030) the duty for ebike motor kits is 2.7% (same for batteries) which works out to be around £22 on £800 purchase. So it seems like you have been charged (somewhat) correctly.

But that's just duty paid, I'm not sure if VAT should be charged as well, if so then at 20% rate it would be about £160. So overall approximately 25% uplift from the original purchase price, unless there are some other taxes as well?

Could be that you've just been lucky not to be charged VAT but I can't imagine they are that inefficient in collecting taxes since they already stopped your package and charged duty? Could it be that VAT is simply not applicable?

I would also not hesitate ordering more stuff from EM3EV, Paul and Joseph, who I think works remotely from Ireland and may well provide the UK support, are top guys and will always answer e-mails and provide help if needed.

I have only ever been charged VAT + courier collection fee ( which is often more than the VAT) on stuff from china in the £50 - £1000 range in the last 2 years. Never any mention of duty.

I’ve ordered from EM3EV, once and if I hadn’t seen a lot of posts and Youtube, info there website with no trading address etc, doesn’t inspire competence. A physical address maybe create more sales.

Appreciate any company in China, that are buying from does the address really matter? Been trading for years and do apparently manufacture rather decent batteries, etc.

Hi, I have queried this with guys from em3ev and got the following response:

For European countries, North America, Australia and New Zealand, we use the direct shipping method (battery-fed shipping) for orders containing battery packs. This means that the shipping company pays the import duties and any taxes that the customer must pay should either be quite low or else there will be none at all. Though we cannot give an 100% guarantee, as far as we are aware, no one who has used the direct shipping method has yet had to pay import duties.

If they can be trusted it looks like only the taxes need to be paid upon collection, though apart from VAT I'm not aware of any other taxes applicable, so not sure if that's just VAT?

Strangely enough after reading some posts it seems like hardly anyone had to pay VAT, is there anyone here who had a different experience with buying kits/batteries from China and ended up paying VAT + some other taxes?

rolex from china no problem

rolex from usa forget it as wont get past customs same for other items there will be import fees.

i have never paid any duty on items from china no matter the price.

rolex from china no problem

 

rolex from usa forget it as wont get past customs same for other items there will be import fees.

 

i have never paid any duty on items from china no matter the price.

No taxes or VAT either?

nope and most of the time also free postage yet if i wanted to send anything back it would cost so much there is not much point tbh.

i buy more stuff from china than anywhere else and get more hassle from uk sellers

From China expect to pay duty if shipping is Fedx , DHL.

They usually send invoice a few weeks after delivery, expect £20 -£30.

From China expect to pay duty if shipping is Fedx , DHL.

They usually send invoice a few weeks after delivery, expect £20 -£30.

Thanks, that aligns with what danielrlee said he paid recently and what Jonathan from em3ev said about possible ‘small taxes’ to be paid. He also mentioned duty is covered by the courier.

My only worry is VAT which at 20% is the biggest expense and I’m really surprised to see no one seems to be charged it. Good news!

FYI more correspondence from Jonathan on this subject:

The chances of paying import duties are low. We cannot guarantee that you won’t have to be taxes. However, so far no one using the direct shipping method has had to pay. It is very likely that it will be the cost of the parts plus the shipping and there won’t be any additional fees.

China, does this means duty & taxes

Did you ever make a purchase?/pay or not pay tax?/how much?/actual cost of purchase? and courier used? if not no worries.

I am looking at maybe sourcing a battery from china, I have looked all over and found some great prices and ways to avoid TAX etc using EU warehouse and such like, however if I can stick with my original battery form then I can continue to use my old batteries on a dual voltage controller....

TBF I got charged once with a controller from aliexpress, the actual cost was £30 the seller declared 20USD which at the time worked out at pence over the £15 allowance so I was charge £3.00VAT and £8.00 royal mail handling charge luckily it was a good product still going strong 6 months on.