Saving a few bucks on Blockleys

[Steve Jelf]

I was planning to buy them two at a time to spread the cost over two paydays, but it turns out there's a financial bonus in that. On shipments valued under $800 there is no import tax. Mister Thrifty approves.

[Arbs]

Great tip! I'll be using that. How long do you expect it to be from the time you order until the time you get them? Are you ordering their tubes and flaps too?

[Scott_Conger]

Dan, I ordered Blockley tubes and got them from England in 4 days...I cannot get a letter from Colorado in 4 days. Go figure.

[AndyClary]

Good advice. I recently ordered 4 tires and tubes. Sat in customs for a week and had to pay another 65 in tax and fees. Hopefully they’ll be worth it.

Andy

[Steve Jelf]

How long do you expect it to be from the time you order until the time you get them? Are you ordering their tubes and flaps too?

Apparently the wait time varies. Some folks have received their tyres in three or four days. Others have waited weeks. I assume the company ships all orders promptly, but shipping companies are still having troubles. I expect it's part of the Covid-induced supply system disruption that still causes everything from crackers to tarps to diapers to be out of stock for days or weeks at a time.

I'm getting just the tyres. I don't use flaps, and the tubes I already have are satisfactory. I don't doubt that the Blockley tubes are excellent, but so far the Hartfords have been OK for me. If the Hartfords start to go south I may splurge on some Blockley tubes.

By the way, some may assume that Blockleys, with their superior reputation, are expensive. International shipping costs more than domestic, but the tyres themselves are priced lower than any other clincher for Model T. At the current exchange rate a Blockley 30 x 3½ costs $175.82, a few dollars less than a 30 x 3½ Wards Riverside at $179.

[speedytinc]

"By the way, some may assume that Blockleys, with their superior reputation, are expensive. International shipping costs more than domestic, but the tyres themselves are priced lower than any other clincher for Model T. At the current exchange rate a Blockley 30 x 3½ costs $175.82, a few dollars less than a 30 x 3½ Wards Riverside at $179."

Dont tell no one, but that was the initial reason for the endever. A quality (not display) tire a little bit less than the entrenched supplier.
The project started as a need for personal quality racing tires. Its been a labor of love, not a get rich deal. We are truly fortunate for this fellow car enthusiast.

[AndyClary]

I was looking for a quality tire. My universal drivers wore well but they are made oversize for reasons I don’t know. I haven’t had a problem with the riverside in 30 x3 1/2, but the 30 x 3 tires were way out of balance and wore poorly like the weren’t in the mold properly. I’ve seen this on other cars as well.

As far as price, with customs and shipping, 4 tires and tubes to my door was 1300 bucks. So not a cheap date.


Andy

[Quickm007]

It may nice having some vendor like Lang's, Snyder, Chaffin etc. having Blockleys tires here in North America to order from them and saving shipping as well...

[AndyClary]

Not to be contrary, but I’m more worried about a certain classic tire company getting exclusive rights when they find out the Blockley’s are popular.


Andy

[Reno Speedster]

I contacted them a while back (before I got Covid) and asked about shipping costs but never heard back from them. I will try again.

[Ed Fuller]

So does saving on the import tax offset paying for shipping twice?

[AndyClary]

Good question Ed. The import taxes and fees on my order of 4 tires and tubes was 65 bucks. Shipping and handling was 320 pounds, whatever that comes out to. So I would say that shipping on 2 tires and tubes would be more than 65 bucks. The exchange rate was set by PayPal, I’m sure they padded it a little over the daily rate.

Andy

[Steve Jelf]

At today's rate £320 is $380.80. Andy, were the tires shipped separately, or all as one package?

[AndyClary]

Tires were shipped as two pair and the tubes in a box. Three separate ups tracking numbers. Customs was 21 and change for each order. They held them up 6 days.

Andy

[DHort]

As of today the tires are 150 pounds each. 4 tires are 600 pounds or $707. That should be under the $800 limit before import tax.

If they ship the tubes separately, may be best to order them separately so they are on another invoice. no import tax that way either.

Do they add import tax on just the price of goods or goods + shipping?

Might have to give it a try just to see what they do.

[TRDxB2]

Just a bit uncertain how making separate orders would be less expensive than one. The reason would be the shipping cost of two orders (2 shipping charges, import duty avoided less than $80) vs 1 shipping charge + import duty.
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Can someone post a copy of the import form, I'm looking for the HTC (Harmonized Tariff Code) and exactly how the import fees are being assessed.
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Three tracking codes by UPS, one for each package, and individual import fees for one order? Perhaps, Blockley is manipulating how things are shipped to help on this end Or import fees need to collected per package.
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Here is a link for converting Great British Pounds to United States Dollars
As you can see the exchange rate is schizophrenic so everything depends on when the day customs calculates the fees, not when the order is placed.
https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... gbp+to+usd

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NOTE https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article- ... uage=en_US
The Internal Revenue Service establishes the amount of this tax and CBP collects it on its behalf. To find out if additional taxes and fees are required on the goods you import and the amount, you should contact an import specialist at the port of entry through which the goods will be entering the United States.
In addition to duty and possible excise tax, goods imported into the United States are subject to user fees. The user fee and amount collected by CBP depends on the type of entry and mode of transportation used to bring the goods into the United States. For instance, formal and informal entries are subject to a Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF).
The MPF for formal entries is an ad valorem fee of 0.3464 percent. The maximum amount of the fee shall not exceed $538.40 and shall not be less than $27.75. The fee is based on the value of the merchandise being imported, not including duty, freight, and insurance charges. MPF for informal entries (i.e. goods imported via mail etc.) is a set fee and ranges from $2.22, $6.66 or $9.99 per shipment.

[AndyClary]

I didn’t get a copy of the import fees, just what ups emailed me. I believe the exchange rate is whatever PayPal or your credit card company decides to use on the day of the transaction. All told I believe the Lucas tires would have been cheaper overall, I’m counting on what I’ve heard about the Blockley quality to make up the difference.

Andy

[Steve Jelf]

With the exchange rate constantly fluctuating, and not knowing when it will be applied to your order, it's impossible to know exactly what the real cost will be. Figuring the £149 price between the lowest point and the highest point on the monthly graph above I get a difference of $8.94 per tyre, a low of $166.88 and a high of $175.82. While the price of Blockleys is less than Riversides, the shipping from Britain is enough higher than from Long Beach to make the final cost about 19% more. Based on what I've read about Blockleys, I expect they will outlast Riversides by considerably more than 19%, making them less expensive in the end. Time will tell if I'm guessing right.