Gaming rig for WoW

AaronFitz

I know this is probably not the right place to ask, however it is WoW related as I will be playing WoW on it, now my question is as followes.
I'm Interested on buying a gaming rig from ebay, off an american company and I personally know the the person I'm buying it from (its family) so I'm getting a ridiclous discount on an item that would set me back over 3000 euro normally so it is as such going to be a gift as over 1000 dollers is being deducted....
Now for the question....Will I get absoultly slated on customs tax on the incomming rig or will I just pay my relative the amount required and just get the item shipped to me?

Even with such a massive discount I cannot afford it myself if I must pay customs and such as I'm pretty much maxing out my budget getting it as it is. So to anyone out there whom can answer my question, will irish customes make me pay for this item?

Ardscoil Ris

AaronFitz wrote: »

I know this is probably not the right place to ask, however it is WoW related as I will be playing WoW on it, now my question is as followes.
I'm Interested on buying a gaming rig from ebay, off an american company and I personally know the the person I'm buying it from (its family) so I'm getting a ridiclous discount on an item that would set me back over 3000 euro normally so it is as suck going to be a gift as over 1000 dollers is being deducted....
Now for the question....Will I get absoultly slated on customs tax on the incomming rig or will I just pay my relative the amount required and just get the item shipped to me?

Even with such a massive discount I cannot afford it myself if I must pay customs and such as I'm pretty much maxing out my budjet getting it as it is. So to anyone out there whom can answer my question, will irish customes make me pay for this item?

Yes, you will get caught for tax. If it's family your directly buying from you could try and get them to mark it as a gift. That might make it exempt from tax, but I know for a fact customs are trying to clamp down on non EU companies marking goods as gifts. You'll be caught for a couple of hundred of euro if it does happen.

AaronFitz

Thanks for the speedy reply, so there is no way of avoiding this? Is the tax based off the weight of the item or the cost of the item? Reason I'm asking is cause my buddy recently got 2 mp3 players from asia somewhere and it was normally 100 euro each but got caught on customs for an extra 30 euro each(not marked as gift).
This is a real down-er tbh, cause even if its marked as a gift is there anyway I can be sure they wont charge the custom tax, can even get my relitive to confirm the item is a gift on phone etc if need be....Bah I was getting such an awesome rig....smashed dreams....

Ardscoil Ris

AaronFitz wrote: »

Thanks for the speedy reply, so there is no way of avoiding this? Is the tax based off the weight of the item or the cost of the item? Reason I'm asking is cause my buddy recently got 2 mp3 players from asia somewhere and it was normally 100 euro each but got caught on customs for an extra 30 euro each(not marked as gift).
This is a real down-er tbh, cause even if its marked as a gift is there anyway I can be sure they wont charge the custom tax, can even get my relitive to confirm the item is a gift on phone etc if need be....Bah I was getting such an awesome rig....smashed dreams....

There is no legal way to avoid this. The EU is a trading zone and it protects companies in the EU from outside competition so that's why there is this import tax.

The tax is not based off weight it based on the cost. Even if you went over to America to collect it they would still charge you import tax.

EDIT: It's actually based on three elements (a) customs valuation; (b) tariff classification; and (c) country of origin.

ronkmonster

You also don't need a 3000euro pc for world of warcraft.

maybe if you're going to play something more intensive too but if it's just mainly WoW you could build a pc for less than 1000 in ireland to play it.

Ardscoil Ris

ronkmonster wrote: »

You also don't need a 3000euro pc for world of warcraft.

maybe if you're going to play something more intensive too but if it's just mainly WoW you could build a pc for less than 1000 in ireland to play it.

Very true.

WOW could be run with even an average PC.

slyph

Pc specs? :P

ronkmonster

WoW works on laptops. its designed to work on 'normal' hardware so you don't need a gaming pc for it.

AaronFitz

It is obviously not just for WoW....I will be playing WoW on it alot of the time, however I will also be playing other more graphically demanding game's such as crysis etc and believe it or not saying WoW isent demanding is such an understatment if you want to get full detail use commands like
/console groundEffectDensity 256
/console groundEffectDist 200
/console detailDoodadAlpha 100
/console horizonfarclip 2112
/console farclip 999
/console characterAmbient
and put all settings up to full, you will see even a processer with 4.0 Ghz quad core worth of power and gtx 260-275 Gfx card with your useual 6gb 1600 Mhz ram start to buckle at the knees fps wise like maybe 20-30 fps in dalaran

The above ofc is irrelevent if your happy to play WoW with 15-30 fps etc but I prefer to play it with 50+ fps in the area's most people would say make their rig go choppy. I build rig's myself but prices off komplett.ie dont compare to getting a rig made in the states even with delievery...however with this custom I guess it works out at a really minimal savings...

Either way thanks for the above replys on the custom tax...A last question would be, anyone know where I could contact customs myself and find out if I get it as a gift and my relitive keeps it off the record would the tax be avoidable? I would like to ask them myself on the parimeters of what can and cannot be taxed in terms of gifts and goods. Thaks to the above people answering on my customs questions, appreciate it.

Ardscoil Ris

AaronFitz wrote: »

It is obviously not just for WoW....I will be playing WoW on it alot of the time, however I will also be playing other more graphically demanding game's such as crysis etc and believe it or not saying WoW isent demanding is such an understatment if you want to get full detail use commands like
/console groundEffectDensity 256
/console groundEffectDist 200
/console detailDoodadAlpha 100
/console horizonfarclip 2112
/console farclip 999
/console characterAmbient
and put all settings up to full, you will see even a processer with 4.0 Ghz quad core worth of power and gtx 260-275 Gfx card with your useual 6gb 1600 Mhz ram start to buckle at the knees fps wise like maybe 20-30 fps in dalaran

The above ofc is irrelevent if your happy to play WoW with 15-30 fps etc but I prefer to play it with 50+ fps in the area's most people would say make their rig go choppy. I build rig's myself but prices off komplett.ie dont compare to getting a rig made in the states even with delievery...however with this custom I guess it works out at a really minimal savings...

Either way thanks for the above replys on the custom tax...A last question would be, anyone know where I could contact customs myself and find out if I get it as a gift and my relitive keeps it off the record would the tax be avoidable? I would like to ask them myself on the parimeters of what can and cannot be taxed in terms of gifts and goods. Thaks to the above people answering on my customs questions, appreciate it.

Customs is clamping down on items marked as gifts. There is no way around it. Sometimes they slip through the net, but due to the size of your import they would tax it. Also, new laws were introduced to clamp down on people doing exactly what you're attempting. It sucks I know.

As for the law on importing goods marked as gifts the law states the following:

"Gifts from one private individual to another up to the value of €45 and commercial shipments up to €22 are usually exempt from VAT. Import Duty is generally applied when the value of the contents exceeds €150. In all cases if the shipment is a gift then the accompanying proforma invoice should clearly state 'Gift' along with the usual details."

I'm sorry to say this, but there is no way around it.

AaronFitz

slyph wrote: »

Pc specs? :P

The rig has the following seeing as you asked:
Case: Antec 1200
MoBo: Asus P6T Dulex v2
RAM: OZC Platinum XTC DDR3 1600 MHz 6GB
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 (OC'ed to 4.1Ghz 24 hr stable)
Power Supply: Corsair HX 1000 semi modular
GFX card: eVGA Gtx 295x2 SLI
Coolers: Water cooled
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar GP 1TB x2 Raid 0
Sound card: Creative X-Fi Titanium SB
Optical drive: LG DvD +- RW
Card Reader: Logisys 52 in 1 (all in 1)card reader

AaronFitz

Ardscoil Ris wrote: »

Customs is clamping down on items marked as gifts. There is no way around it. Sometimes they slip through the net, but due to the size of your import they would tax it. Also, new laws were introduced to clamp down on people doing exactly what you're attempting. It sucks I know.

As for the law on importing goods marked as gifts the law states the following:

"Gifts from one private individual to another up to the value of €45 and commercial shipments up to €22 are usually exempt from VAT. Import Duty is generally applied when the value of the contents exceeds €150. In all cases if the shipment is a gift then the accompanying proforma invoice should clearly state 'Gift' along with the usual details."

I'm sorry to say this, but there is no way around it.

Thanks for the info, but I fail to see how thay can tax an item based on price if my uncle decides to say he sold it to me for 50 euro or just sent it to me with no cost, how are they to know how much the item costs if its not stated or if its stated as 50 euro?

TheDoc

to be honest my pc cost me 750 euro and has had like a few little upgrades and runs wow on 130 fps in wintergrasp.....

Build yourself, ends up way cheaper, you WILL get hit for tax, thats a fact.

I had two eotechs ( rifle scopes) marked as gift and still got stung by tax

Ardscoil Ris

AaronFitz wrote: »

Thanks for the info, but I fail to see how thay can tax an item based on price if my uncle decides to say he sold it to me for 50 euro or just sent it to me with no cost, how are they to know how much the item costs if its not stated or if its stated as 50 euro?

Your Uncle obviously runs a business. When he sells something he needs to update his inventory and create an invoice for tax purposes. He may give you the computer at a discount, but he needs to keep accurate records for the IRS in America. Customs check these forms. They don't just ask your Uncle how much he sold the computer for. Quoting the law again:

"On importation of goods into Ireland from countries outside the European Union, customs entry formalities must be completed by the importer or his/her agent. The appropriate customs entry form is the Single Administrative Document (S.A.D.). The completed S.A.D. must be presented to Customs and charges (e.g. customs duty, VAT), if any, paid by means of a bank draft, money order, postal order, bank-guaranteed cheque or cash to effect release of the goods by Customs. A trader may also be approved to use Deferred Payment arrangements. All necessary documents required to clear the goods through Customs must accompany the S.A.D. declaration form (i.e. invoices, certificates of origin, etc. as appropriate)."

These people aren't stupid :pac:

AaronFitz

TheDoc wrote: »

to be honest my pc cost me 750 euro and has had like a few little upgrades and runs wow on 130 fps in wintergrasp.....

Build yourself, ends up way cheaper, you WILL get hit for tax, thats a fact.

I had two eotechs ( rifle scopes) marked as gift and still got stung by tax

Well I guess I will have to aviod the import then seeing as there is no way I can avoid this tax, and as i stated earlier on, the rig I'm getting works out at about 2400 ish euro. Even if I built it here with the previous mentioned specs I'm talking 2800 and thats with none of the case mods and such I'm getting fact is I was getting this pc way cheaper than I should of being....now I cant... I know I basiccly gota suck it up and make do with my own build but it will prob cost me more and not be near as good ah well.
I'l mention again...Its not just for WoW, I would never buy such a ridiclous spec just for WoW for instance WoW dosnt even support SLI so the 2nd 295 is moot its for everything else too :-)

Ardscoil Ris

AaronFitz wrote: »

Well I guess I will have to aviod the import then seeing as there is no way I can avoid this tax, and as i stated earlier on, the rig I'm getting works out at about 2400 ish euro. Even if I built it here with the previous mentioned specs I'm talking 2800 and thats with none of the case mods and such I'm getting fact is I was getting this pc way cheaper than I should of being....now I cant... I know I basiccly gota suck it up and make do with my own build but it will prob cost me more and not be near as good ah well.
I'l mention again...Its not just for WoW, I would never buy such a ridiclous spec just for WoW for instance WoW dosnt even support SLI so the 2nd 295 is moot its for everything else too :-)

295 GTX x2 doesn't work well. You actually only get a slight increase in FPS.

AaronFitz

Ardscoil Ris wrote: »

Your Uncle obviously runs a business. When he sells something he needs to update his inventory and create an invoice for tax purposes. He may give you the computer at a discount, but he needs to keep accurate records for the IRS in America. Customs check these forms. They don't just ask your Uncle how much he sold the computer for. Quoting the law again:

"On importation of goods into Ireland from countries outside the European Union, customs entry formalities must be completed by the importer or his/her agent. The appropriate customs entry form is the Single Administrative Document (S.A.D.). The completed S.A.D. must be presented to Customs and charges (e.g. customs duty, VAT), if any, paid by means of a bank draft, money order, postal order, bank-guaranteed cheque or cash to effect release of the goods by Customs. A trader may also be approved to use Deferred Payment arrangements. All necessary documents required to clear the goods through Customs must accompany the S.A.D. declaration form (i.e. invoices, certificates of origin, etc. as appropriate)."

These people aren't stupid :pac:

Thanks, I guess thats it then out of the question to import....He dose run the business however in the past he has simply built items at home and sent them as presents for instance this wouldnt actually cost me anything bar for the fact I decided to go all out and ask for a certian spec as I was going to build a new rig anyhow this basiclly means I was going to get a v average build, asked to upgrade to how much I was willing to spend, got a discount of the amount of the rig he was gona send and it would be built at his house independant of the company so as such the unit would be off his business records but I'm guessing it would still apply to his personal records and just equate to the same customs being imposed?

AaronFitz

Ardscoil Ris wrote: »

295 GTX x2 doesn't work well. You actually only get a slight increase in FPS.

I researched this and this is only true for games that dont support SLI or require a program to force SLI to stay on (in programs that dont like SLI)
In games that support SLI you will see a massive fps increase UNLESS your monitor resolution is terrible....you will always see a(good) FPS increase in games that support SLI with a monitor of over 1900x1200 native resolution

Ardscoil Ris

AaronFitz wrote: »

Thanks, I guess thats it then out of the question to import....He dose run the business however in the past he has simply built items at home and sent them as presents for instance this wouldnt actually cost me anything bar for the fact I decided to go all out and ask for a certian spec as I was going to build a new rig anyhow this basiclly means I was going to get a v average build, asked to upgrade to how much I was willing to spend, got a discount of the amount of the rig he was gona send and it would be built at his house independant of the company so as such the unit would be off his business records but I'm guessing it would still apply to his personal records and just equate to the same customs being imposed?

You might get anyway with the VAT, but you would still be caught for the other taxes, like Custom Duties etc.

AaronFitz

Ardscoil Ris wrote: »

You might get anyway with the VAT, but you would still be caught for the other taxes, like Custom Duties etc.

Custom Duties, and it's here I will get slated / fleesed the most amount off the govt?
This is such a balls what ever happened to send what every you want where every you want, if its to protect businesses in europe all I have to say is, if you find a better deal then congrats your an informed consumer who searched the market...You already get a slap on the wrist with post and packaging that should be it in my view....

Ardscoil Ris

AaronFitz wrote: »

Custom Duties, and it's here I will get slated / fleesed the most amount off the govt?
This is such a balls what ever happened to send what every you want where every you want, if its to protect businesses in europe all I have to say is, if you find a better deal then congrats your an informed consumer who searched the market...You already get a slap on the wrist with post and packaging that should be it in my view....

I don't know how much customs duties is or how much you will be charged. The Vat is 21% of what you paid for it.

As for it being unfair? It's annoying, but the country needs it to survive. If there was no barriers to trade well the country could possibly go under.