I will repost this from a previous line. There are some fine guns on Holts silent auction or unsold lots, some 12 ga, re-barelled, pre 1898 shotguns worth virtually nothing in UK but still beautiful, engraved, functional, interesting. Is there no way to avoid these fees? Couldn't UK just allow them to be put into luggage, as is legal in the US, and transported? Could UK laws be amended somehow to save their industrial art for posterity? Surely some sort of common sense laws could be implemented to redress this injustice.
Gun bought in summer 2025 at Holt's auction:
Hammer:. . . . . . .£400.00
Premium: . . . . . . £120.00
Total. . . . . . . . . .£520.00 = . . . . . . . . . $ . 680.41
Holts associated exporter:
1st Item Non-Licensed 260 GBP x 1.34 = . .$ . 348.40 (reduced for multiple guns)
Cased Gun 45 GBP x 1.34 = . . . . . . . . . . $. . .60.30
Import Duty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$. . . .9.06
Import Tariffs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$. . .76.65
UPS Shipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$. . .75.00 (within the US)
Optional insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $. . .45.00
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $. . 614.41
Totally costs: $1,294.81
So it appears the cost of exporting a £520.00 gun sold in UK winds up totaling an additional 90% of the cost of the gun for an individual.
Last edited by Argo44; 08/04/26 09:39 PM.
