Buying online outside the EU

[hillcroft]

I want to buy some Veritas equipment including an inlay attachment and other cutters for a hand router that are not currently available in the UK.
I can buy what I need from Lee Valley. For goods imported into the UK, HMRC tell me that I must pay VAT at 20% and also duty on this commodity at 1.7%
Having done the calculation, and after allowing for conversion from $s to £s and additional shipping charges, it seems that I shall save about 20% on the transaction. In this case, that amounts to a saving about £100.
Has anyone else found it cheaper to buy expensive tools on line direct from the USA or Canada or am I missing something. Advice please before I go ahead and press the button.

 

[marcros]

i bought some incra stuff that worked out cheaper. It was only small items though.

I also got some DMT diamond stones that would have worked out much cheaper, even with tax and shipping, but a mate bought them back for me. Transtint wood dyes are worth getting- you cannot get them here at all.

I am going to Texas next week, and am going to get some pipe clamps. I had my eye on some veritas gear, but the clamps will be more useful for now. Hopefully tap up some colleagues again when they go next.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

You might also find that the parcel service might charge an admin fee to apply the fees! The Royal Mail certainly do, so I would check who the parcel carrier is and what they charge.

Mike.

 

[hillcroft]

Thanks for the advice.
As a foot note, and being a traditionalist, for years I've been getting my globetrotting friends to bring me back tapes and rules in "imperial" only from the US.
To my delight, I have recently discovered that Thanet Tools sell stanley imperial measure tapes for old codgers like me.
Am I alone?

 

[iNewbie]

Has anyone else found it cheaper to buy expensive tools on line direct from the USA or Canada or am I missing something. Advice please before I go ahead and press the button.

Imho - the more you buy the cheaper it may be. I've bought two shipments from LV and saved some money.


As Woodbrain says: Beware the Couriers 'Handling Charge'. Same as RM's.....only, a bigger slap...

One other thing: The UK distributor isn't obliged to help with any warranty issue - if you have one.

 

[hillcroft]

Well I pressed the button and bought a load of goodies from Veritas Lee Valley

The total cost was £610 including Postage, VAT, Duty and a small admin charge.

Had I bought in the UK the equivalent cost would have been £775 approx

I had to estimate the likely UK retail cost of a couple of bits of kit that are not yet available here

So, all in all, a very satisfying result

It does make me wonder why the mark up on these goods is so high here?

 

[RossJarvis]

Thanks for the advice.
As a foot note, and being a traditionalist, for years I've been getting my globetrotting friends to bring me back tapes and rules in "imperial" only from the US.
To my delight, I have recently discovered that Thanet Tools sell stanley imperial measure tapes for old codgers like me.
Am I alone?

No, I'm thinking of buying the Stanley tape and have been trying to look for a Fisco one, to no avail . I have grown to hate the metric system as it makes no sense for woodwork. I want my inches to go both edges of the tape!

 

[iNewbie]

It does make me wonder why the mark up on these goods is so high here?

There's a middle man - a distributor. Figure in advertising/building rent/electrics/wages, etc etc...

 

[speeder1987]

It does make me wonder why the mark up on these goods is so high here?

There's a middle man - a distributor. Figure in advertising/building rent/electrics/wages, etc etc...

I was thinking about this recently, not to do with woodworking tools but electronic equipment such as tablets. It seems to be the same though in that if its say $200 dollars in the states it will be near enough £200 pounds here. So I thought the same as you. But I've just been out to Dubai and its the same price there as it would be in the states. There's vat here, and I don't know how that compares with taxes elsewhere ...... But it just seems a considerable markup and to me very suspicious when it seems to be the same number, just pounds instead of dollars.

John

 

[Sawyer]

Thanks for the advice.
As a foot note, and being a traditionalist, for years I've been getting my globetrotting friends to bring me back tapes and rules in "imperial" only from the US.
To my delight, I have recently discovered that Thanet Tools sell stanley imperial measure tapes for old codgers like me.
Am I alone?

No, I'm thinking of buying the Stanley tape and have been trying to look for a Fisco one, to no avail . I have grown to hate the metric system as it makes no sense for woodwork. I want my inches to go both edges of the tape!

You are not alone! The trouble I've had trying to get an imperial only tape measure. Lufkin make just the thing for about £10, but then Ebay sellers want £59 for shipping from the US. :x

Mod edit- Please do not resurrect old threads. Best to start a new one if required. Thanks.