It is a good idea as I suspect that your goods - which will indeed be less VAT - will be cheaper than if you bought them domestically.  Customs will calculate circa 7% (although I've seen a few add ons in my time) on the total declared value (they will add the delivery cost into that).   However, net net you should still be a "winner" vis à vis the UK tax man who's a "sinner".  

Maurice's point is correct.  So you just have to check whether the cost less UK VAT (17%?) plus freight plus the Swiss VAT (7%?) is worth it. 

AND as you come from UK, remember if you buy a bike in CH, the brakes are the wrong way round.  Result for me: over the handlebars a couple of times (which resulted in only one trip in an ambulance). 

If you buy and bring yourself, you never get the full VAT refund (admin charges plus there is a danger of excess baggage charges)

Amy you're buying online which some of the answers did not take into account.  That's indeed the best way to buy in another EU country where the vendor will deduct VAT entirely i.e the full 17.5 so you get goods Ex VAT.  If you physically take the goods across border you will not get full VAT refund as rightly indicated by Paul circa 15% not to mention the other aspects.  Just make sure the UK store can remove the VAT for you, as some smaller specliast establisments might not.  For bike equitment a store that I have liked historically is: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cycle/road-bikes/  for their prices and service and promptness and http://www.evanscycles.com/ is another good one.   As for the point about breaks, well that's a matter of taste - I ride personally à la Européenne rear break on the right.  PS Paul you should have swapped the breaks around the first time you fell!  ;)

I was told that even if you buy cheaper in the UK and provide a receipt, you will be charged Swiss VAT at the local rate but on the local price - i.e., whatever the same article would normally cost in Switzerland. To be honest, I can't quite remember who told me or if I read it somewhere or whether it's just gossip, but I would be interested to know.

I hadn't thought about the brakes being the wrong side - maybe that's why I came off twice last night in the snow!

Rgds

David

That has never been my experience and doesn't ring true  as you'd need an equivalent in the local market to be able to price the imported item.  I have however, see admin costs (over and above the tax calc) that can make the cost of a low value items expensive when all considered... 

I agree with this, although you might also get hit for duty. I have no idea if there is duty on bicycles, but it will apply.

This is certainly the case with cars, VAT + duty comes out just over 10%.

all the best

Greg

I know I should have changed them but you know I thought.  What the heck I am intelligent, adaptable and when in Rome....   And at least three weeks went by before the same thing happened again. 

Fortunately for me and concerned bystanders, my bijke was stolen shortly afterwards.

I think I am similarly adept at French

Thanks all. It seems that the easiest and cheapest option is to buy from Wiggle, who are consistently good, and have confirmed that they deduct VAT. By all accounts I will be charged 7% import but this still represents a significant saving.

All that remains is to get out and test ride a few different brands - as soon as this flippin' snow clears!

I'm not convinced about the benefits of doing this, and I suggest you do the maths carefully for the particular bike you are interested in.

I plan to buy a bike at the start of next year and have been doing the research. And at the moment my plan is to buy it in France and import it into Switzerland. There are other forum threads on the details of doing this, but essentially it's similar to the details above - you get the France (rather than UK) VAT back and have to pay the Swiss VAT to bring it back into CH (or not - I already did this for a cheaper bike and the Swiss customs guy couldn't be bothered to do the paperwork, so didn't charge me at all).

And the benefits of importing it from France are: 1. You buy in person from a French cycle shop just over the border, so you know exactly what you are getting, 2. You don't have any shipping or other charges, 3. The process is simpler than doing the UK thing (I would argue).

(Oh and the brakes are the "continental way around!!)

I guess it's all down to the price comparison, but for what I'm looking at, the prices are no cheaper in UK than in France - so I think the France option is the cheapest and least hassle option.  If on the other hand you get a good price / discount from a UK store then it may be worth it.

Comments from others?  (And sorry if you thought this thread was finished!)

Stuart

Hi Stuart,

Wiggle offer discounts of up to 45% on certain bikes, and it's very common to find 20-35% off a wide range of cycles. The delivery to Switzerland costs 30 GBP, so on a bike costing more than a few hundred I think the saving is significant. Once I've established which brands suit me I'll keep an eye on the site until I see something tasty.

I'm quite new to the area so if you could recommend any bike shops just over the border I'd love to go and price thngs up and test ride. How much is French VAT?

Cheers,

Amy

amy,

if you buy a bike in the UK or france, you'll be reimbursed the VAT from that country when you export the work (just like if you bought a swank handbag in the UK & then flew back to GVA with it, you'd ge the de-tax).

what you WILL pay is the swiss VAT, currently 7.6% (8% as of jan. 1, 2011). i import/export stuff from switz. all the time (not for fun, it's my job)!

my bike is eventually coming from the UK, too, so give me a bell if you want to go for a ride in the spring...

itm, if ever you need the bike shipped & need a rec for shipping co. just email.

best,

robin

Hi Amy

I can only comment on my limited experience. I bought my other bike from Culture Velo in Val Thoiry - it's a  chain / franchise, but I got very helpful advice / service - and in english when I struggled with the french. And when I've been back, I've had excellent service again.  They stock a lot of the well known brands. You can see their prices on:

http://www.culturevelo.com/

The other good point is that if you are paid in CHF and buy in Euro, the current weakness of the euro is in your favour.  French VAT is 19.6%.

I'm not really a fan of the sports chains in France such as Go Sport (also in Val Thoiry) or Inter Sport (St Genis), but the latter do stock Scott and Lapierre, and I know people have had very good service there (Inter Sport) - I think it depends on which salesperson you actually get.  But pricewise, for Scott and Lapierre they are probably very competitive.  Go Sport seem to sell mainly their "own brand" bikes - which I'm not really convinced about.  They may be good, but I haven't seen people riding them out on the roads!

Stuart