Before I start - this is 'take it or leave it' advice and commens. It is absolutely immaterial what my opinions are about Brexit etc. It is also my first and only experience. I am sure members will post follow up comments of bad experiences. Please feel free to put in your advice.
I ordered a synth early morning of the 9th March from Thomann who are a big company and I guess its worth them dealing with the UK even if it means filling out some paper work. It arrived today (15th March).
Here is the commercial invoice. I paid in GBP £499 and I was not charged German VAT. In the UK the same item is £625.
ADVICE 1 - MAKE SURE THE COMPANY YOU ARE DEALING WITH ARE NOT CHARGING YOU ITS OWN COUNTRIES VAT.
Here is the tracking:
Pre brexit it took 2 or 3 days to get a delivery from this company.
It was a good job I tracked the shipment yesterday on the UPS website, as I found that there was VAT and other charges outstanding. I was informed UPS would deliver and then invoice afterwards. I would imagine this is not a great idea as some people will not want to pay the VAT and UPS would have multiple court cases on their hands.
Negative point - UPS did not inform me via text/email that the invoice was ready to pay the VAT
ADVICE 2 - TRACK YOUR EUROPEAN PARCELS USING THE COURIERS WEBSITE AS THEY MAY BE SAT IN A WAREHOUSE WAITING FOR YOU TO PAY VAT.
I paid the vat noon ish yesterday (on a sunday) - easier than the post office, they even take paypal - and at 9.30 this morning it was delivered here. I dare say IF UPS had informed me (I actually signed up to UPS texts being sent me at different stages of the delivery but I have not had anything), I would of paid the VAT on the 11th and I would of got it a couple of days quicker.
Here is the tracking on the Thomann site, which as you can see does not warn of any import duty to be paid. I wonder how long it would of sat in the UPS warehouse.....
So in the end I paid £129 in VAT and other charges. Which means it was £4 more expensive than UK suppliers. But the UK suppliers did not have stock.
In conclusion - I do not mind paying £4 more than having to wait one month for the restocking of UK supplier. This actually seems a fair way to do it. I would rather give the UK government the VAT than the German government.
I also understand that UPS, the post office and other couriers have to cover the charges needed to clear packages - I do not like it, but I accept it.
Would I buy from Europe again knowing this? YES.
Would I buy the same in stock item from a UK supplier? YES, even if it worked out slightly more. Generally I would expect faster shipping and would rather keep the profit in UK companies.
Across in the UK, we are such a small part of the pinball market. But then again. Pinball as markets go is tiny. So fair play to anyone who imports stuff for other members, if they can make a business out of it and earn themselves a bit then I wish them all the best.
I ordered a synth early morning of the 9th March from Thomann who are a big company and I guess its worth them dealing with the UK even if it means filling out some paper work. It arrived today (15th March).
Here is the commercial invoice. I paid in GBP £499 and I was not charged German VAT. In the UK the same item is £625.
ADVICE 1 - MAKE SURE THE COMPANY YOU ARE DEALING WITH ARE NOT CHARGING YOU ITS OWN COUNTRIES VAT.
Here is the tracking:
Pre brexit it took 2 or 3 days to get a delivery from this company.
It was a good job I tracked the shipment yesterday on the UPS website, as I found that there was VAT and other charges outstanding. I was informed UPS would deliver and then invoice afterwards. I would imagine this is not a great idea as some people will not want to pay the VAT and UPS would have multiple court cases on their hands.
Negative point - UPS did not inform me via text/email that the invoice was ready to pay the VAT
ADVICE 2 - TRACK YOUR EUROPEAN PARCELS USING THE COURIERS WEBSITE AS THEY MAY BE SAT IN A WAREHOUSE WAITING FOR YOU TO PAY VAT.
I paid the vat noon ish yesterday (on a sunday) - easier than the post office, they even take paypal - and at 9.30 this morning it was delivered here. I dare say IF UPS had informed me (I actually signed up to UPS texts being sent me at different stages of the delivery but I have not had anything), I would of paid the VAT on the 11th and I would of got it a couple of days quicker.
Here is the tracking on the Thomann site, which as you can see does not warn of any import duty to be paid. I wonder how long it would of sat in the UPS warehouse.....
So in the end I paid £129 in VAT and other charges. Which means it was £4 more expensive than UK suppliers. But the UK suppliers did not have stock.
In conclusion - I do not mind paying £4 more than having to wait one month for the restocking of UK supplier. This actually seems a fair way to do it. I would rather give the UK government the VAT than the German government.
I also understand that UPS, the post office and other couriers have to cover the charges needed to clear packages - I do not like it, but I accept it.
Would I buy from Europe again knowing this? YES.
Would I buy the same in stock item from a UK supplier? YES, even if it worked out slightly more. Generally I would expect faster shipping and would rather keep the profit in UK companies.
Across in the UK, we are such a small part of the pinball market. But then again. Pinball as markets go is tiny. So fair play to anyone who imports stuff for other members, if they can make a business out of it and earn themselves a bit then I wish them all the best.
