Merlin Cycles

[houghtonp]

3 hours ago, MORNE said:

They usually phone you before it hits SA, usually when it gets scanned/inspected that side and the info is generated. They always phone me from the same number:

DHL Express Customs jhb:

(011) 923-0398

After they phone you and get your ID and confirm your mail they’ll send you a link to where you can pay online.

i’ve missed their calls before, just phone that number back…give them the waybill and they are usually very helpful.

 

Thanks, I got the call this morning, paid my Duty online and was amazed that no hidden fees were included.
R1984.10 paid to DHL on an order of  R10,814 - equates to 16.5% VAT (R1784) + There was only a R200 forward fee or something to that effect.
In the end I landed my Fulcrum Racing Wind 400 Carbon wheelset in SA for R13676.78
Merlin Cycles had them on sale plus there was a pre-stock take sale that took another 20% off the order total.
Cheapaest I can find them in SA is R20k (on sale) - Very Happy indeed

 

[DuncanCT]

On 9/8/2021 at 10:03 AM, MORNE said:

this is from SARS website. so i guess it depends. They might see 50 items as heading for local market lol. But then just get an import licence. It's free...just paperwork.

• You are allowed only three transactions (of less than R50 000 each) during any calendar year;
• You are only allowed to import goods for home consumption or personal use, not for resale or any other business;
• You must be located in South Africa;
• Your identity number/ Passport number or taxpayer reference number must be entered in the field provided in the declaration form.

 

Interested to hear about people's experiences with the three transactions per year rule. It's really easy to surpass that quite quickly. If things are bought from Amazon, Bike retailer, etc. Unless I'm miss understanding it? Any one had any problems?

[MORNE]

38 minutes ago, DuncanCT said:

Interested to hear about people's experiences with the three transactions per year rule. It's really easy to surpass that quite quickly. If things are bought from Amazon, Bike retailer, etc. Unless I'm miss understanding it? Any one had any problems?

i've done 5 on an ID number before without a hickup. But the value was still under R50k total for the year. As mentioned somewhere here already, even if SARS decides to fine you...I cant think it will be anything crazy on the relatively small amounts we are dealing with. It's not like they are going to fine you R10k on a R2k order. Probably a percentage of the value....and then we are dealing with 0 duty items for the most part so i'm even less inclined to worry about it. 

Maybe they let it slide because of that...but don't quote me on it. 

[splat]

45 minutes ago, DuncanCT said:

Interested to hear about people's experiences with the three transactions per year rule. It's really easy to surpass that quite quickly. If things are bought from Amazon, Bike retailer, etc. Unless I'm miss understanding it? Any one had any problems?

I have done 3 Amazon orders and one from Merlin, but definitely less than R50k in total.
No issues from SARS, but I don't want to pop up on their radar...

Has anyone imported Shimano goods from SJS Cycles ?
They have a massive range of spares over and above the usual components, but I don't know if they are geo-blocked.
Of course, stock is a problem around the world but they look like a useful retailer.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/

[MORNE]

59 minutes ago, houghtonp said:

Thanks, I got the call this morning, paid my Duty online and was amazed that no hidden fees were included.
R1984.10 paid to DHL on an order of  R10,814 - equates to 16.5% VAT (R1784) + There was only a R200 forward fee or something to that effect.
In the end I landed my Fulcrum Racing Wind 400 Carbon wheelset in SA for R13676.78
Merlin Cycles had them on sale plus there was a pre-stock take sale that took another 20% off the order total.
Cheapaest I can find them in SA is R20k (on sale) - Very Happy indeed

 

great. and the best part about merlin is if your order is over 6.5k ish DHL express shipping is FREE - which i'm assuming yours was? If I recall you'd usually pay like R1000 (instead of R450 ish) for a wheelset (under R6500) due to the bulky/volume of the order.

Edited November 3, 2021 by MORNE

[FootballingCyclist]

Are there any additional fee's when ordering electronic accessories like a Garmin Head Unit for example or just the usual fees?

Or is it best to get my sis living in the UK to order and deliver to her address and wait until she lands in Dec?

[houghtonp]

40 minutes ago, MORNE said:

great. and the best part about merlin is if your order is over 6.5k ish DHL express shipping is FREE - which i'm assuming yours was? If I recall you'd usually pay like R1000 (instead of R450 ish) for a wheelset (under R6500) due to the bulky/volume of the order.

Hi Morne, my DHL Express from Merlin was R879

[MORNE]

18 minutes ago, houghtonp said:

Hi Morne, my DHL Express from Merlin was R879

still good for such a bulky order.

To put it in perspective...I recently shipped a wheelset to KZN from Cape Town with 2 days express courier and it cost R750....

[Dexter-morgan]

39 minutes ago, FootballingCyclist said:

Are there any additional fee's when ordering electronic accessories like a Garmin Head Unit for example or just the usual fees?

Or is it best to get my sis living in the UK to order and deliver to her address and wait until she lands in Dec?

I bought a Garmin 530 bundle 2 years ago and paid nothing extra, this was from Evans cycles.

[FootballingCyclist]

1 minute ago, Dexter-morgan said:

I bought a Garmin 530 bundle 2 years ago and paid nothing extra, this was from Evans cycles.

Shotto.

I doubt my Garmin will last till Dec so I may just go this route.

[Adr!@n]

Anybody planning any orders from Merlin in the near future? 

[DirkMarais]

On 9/8/2021 at 8:09 AM, Elvis said:

I am looking at buying some stuff from Merlin Cycles in the UK.  Basically a GRX groupset and Merlin frame.  My question is:  How much import dutys will I pay?  It gets shipped with DHL.  Hava anyone ordered from them?

Hi. I have ordered a crank set from them and service and delivery was fast. One week. Difficult to estimate import duties as it is based on Tarif code and value but for me it wasn't that high and still worth it.

[guidodg]

How do you get Merlin to take off UK VAT when you order? It seems to be included in the price ....

[splat]

2 hours ago, guidodg said:

How do you get Merlin to take off UK VAT when you order? It seems to be included in the price ....

It should be calculated at checkout when you enter your delivery address etc.

Or, if you are just 'window shopping', there is a 'regional settings' drop-down box at the top that you can change your location and currency.