Import duties
This is an understandable worry for people buying an expensive product from overseas! But fear not - for most of our customers it isn't a significant issue.
1. You're not paying anything extra - you're just seeing this cost separately
If you buy a speaker cab or effects pedal where you live, then you will pay the relevant sales tax. And if it was made overseas (often the case, even with local brands) then you'll be paying import duty too. So buying direct from Barefaced, yes you'll see this cost separately but if you buy a similar (but inferior) thing from a shop you'll be paying those costs, it'll just be hidden in the retail price!
2. We won't charge you VAT if you're outside the UK.
We charge our UK customers 20% VAT on our products. We do not charge VAT when shipping to any other countries, this is automatically deducted from the price when you select any other region (although obviously the shipping cost, which is included in the price, increases as the cab travels further). We make everything here in our micro factory in Brighton, UK and everything is shipped direct from here to you. Now that the UK has left the EU we no longer include VAT in the price for EU customers - instead you pay that VAT to DHL when you receive the product.
3. Import duty is v low in many countries.
Our cabs and pedals are wholly made in the UK, so if you're in the EU, there is no import duty (due to the post-Brexit trade agreement implemented in 2021) and the VAT is around 20% (it varies by country). For more EU info, scroll to the bottom!
The import duty charged on loudspeaker cabinets and effects pedals from the UK is quite small, just a few percent in the countries that we mostly sell to (USA, Canada, EU, Australia, NZ, Japan). The other charge that is likely is the sales tax or value added tax (VAT) that is applicable to the country that you live in.
If you're in the USA the total import duty and sales tax is usually only around 5% (no guarantees but that's what we've seen over the last decade).
In Canada it's about 20%.
I can't remember any others of the top of my head but do please let us know what it cost where you live and we'll add more info to this page.
4. Import duty into some countries (much of South America) can be VERY high!
If everyone plays locally made gear where you live, then that's likely to be because the government has imposed very high import duties to encourage manufacturers to set up factories in their country. This isn't the case for most of our customers but please do check before you get a shock!
Further EU reading:
If you'd like to research this more yourself, then our cabs come under the following classifications. The first is for any Barefaced cab which has just one speaker and no tweeter or HF driver (i.e. One10, Super Compact, Upsetter and Reformer):
HS Code 85182100 - Single loudspeakers, mounted in their enclosures
And the second is for all other Barefaced cabs:
HS Code 85182200 - Multiple loudspeakers, mounted in the same enclosure
For both these harmonised codes, the European Union's third country import duty rate is 0%. Yes, that's zero! Even if the UK didn't have an arrangement with the EU then there would be no import duty because our guitar and bass cabs are a zero rated product for import duty. You can click the HS Code links above to read more.