Buying RAM across borders: import duty, VAT and the real maths
When a foreign marketplace genuinely beats your local price, what customs actually charges on memory, and the traps that eat the saving.
Updated 2 July 2026 · RAMPrice editorial — no paid placement, see methodology.
Memory modules are one of the friendliest categories for cross-border buying: they are small, light, high-value-per-gram, and — because of the WTO Information Technology Agreement — duty-free in every market we compare. The costs that remain are conversion, shipping and import VAT/GST, and they are all estimable.
What each border actually adds
| Destination | Import VAT/GST on memory | Duty | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU (DE/FR/IT/ES) | 19–22% from €0 | 0% | Marketplaces usually collect at checkout (IOSS) |
| UK | 20% from £0 | 0% | Collected at checkout under £135 |
| US | none federal | 0% under $800 | State use tax technically applies; rarely collected on imports |
| Australia | 10% GST | 0% under A$1,000 | Platforms collect GST on low-value imports |
| Japan | 10% consumption tax | 0% | De-minimis relief below ~¥10,000 |
The traps that eat the saving
- Card FX margins. Our conversion uses the ECB-style reference rate; your card may add 1–3%. A multi-currency card keeps the comparison honest.
- Returns. Returning a DOA kit across a border costs time and postage. Weigh that against a 5% saving; ignore it at 20%.
- Warranty geography. Corsair, Kingston, Crucial and G.Skill warranties are generally global, but claims route through the region of purchase.
- Carrier “brokerage” fees. Postal imports are usually cheap to clear; some couriers add handling fees our estimate cannot see. It is labelled an estimate for exactly this reason.
Every cross-border row in the table carries an import badge and an estimate breakdown — the methodology is public on the how we calculate page.
Prices in this guide’s category move constantly — the live comparison is always the current answer, ranked by real landed price to your country.