This is just personal opinion, but it is one based on a fair amount of experience.
1. Importing in general is a tremendous hassle.
2. You can do it yourself and have it make sense if you're bringing in 3-5 guns at a time AND if they are all made pre-1899.
3. If the gun is made post 1899, bringing it in rarely makes sense unless the gun is a $25k+ weapon. The fixed costs and hassles are so great, it erodes any "bargain" that may have been found in the UK on a post-1899 weapon unless the gun is truly priceless and one of a kind.
4. If you're bringing in pre-1899 guns and you're handling all the paperwork yourself, by the end of the hassle with customs and border protection you will positively be a small-government libertarian minded voter. No one stays a democrat or even a moderate republican once they've experienced customs and border protection's "value-add" to big government bureaucracy. Never have I met more useless people than the front desk folks with a gun and a badge at O'Hare Intl Airport. Those with a soul, a whit, and a sense of customer service are kept away from customers on the 3rd floor.
