Bikes shipped to New Zealand

Triathlon Forum
1

I have a friend who wants to order a bike in USA and would like to have the bike shop ship it to Auckland. She is wondering if she has to pay any duty when the bike arrives New Zealand before she collects the bike.

Anyone from New Zealand who has ordered a bike from USA before?

thanx…

gary

2

Not from New Zealand but I know importing a bike to England from the US attracted both import duty and our value added tax. I would be very surprised if it didn’t attract some form of duty.

Google New Zealand personal import tax bikes and various versions of that to get an idea I did for here, you might get a telephone number for more specific details but enough should be available to make the decision.

3

NZ Customs will charge import GST at 12.5% of the value of the bike. There is no duty payable on imported bikes.

4

thank you very much. That is great information.

5

may not be an option but air new zealand will fly bikes for free. i did it this past “summer”.

Dan
www.aiatriathlon.com

6

Make sure there aren’t clothes in with it (or at least not listed on the form) as they attract a duty and if you’re really unlucky will apply on the whole package. Some stores declare a value somewhat lower than actual which can cut your GST right back or completely though that is actually not legal. Your friend needs to be sure that it is worth the trouble of purchasing overseas though, oftentimes it is a false economy (unless you want a Cervelo Dual which we can’t get - I told one of my athletes to order one from the states for that reason).

7

she actually wants the Giant Anthem Womens Mtn bike. She checked the price in NZ and it is so much more expensive than it is to purchase in US. So she is considering just ordering from US and have it ship to Auckland. I am just helping her with the logistics so i want to double check to see if she has to pay any duty. So it looks like its gonna be 12.5%. It is still cheaper to buy it in US and ship to NZ. I wonder why the price in NZ is so much higher though!!

8

I think “rare” items are certainly more expensive in NZ. THe more popular bikes are often relatively competitive (after postage and GST). Of course a close-out or sale is different story :slight_smile: Warrantees can also be a hassle… But if the price is good - go for it!