Doing it in the cheap - the expensive way

[Kex]

So, decided to change my white pick guard to a black one. Local Fender dealer wanted £49 quid but could buy one in Holland for just £14 plus £8 delivery, no brainer so went and ordered, 10 days (TEN DAYS !) later it arrived. Ut was terrible, no shielding on the back and the shape looked like it had been cut out by a drunken chimp.

No way was it a genuine Fender product, contacted seller who pointed out it said Fits Genuine American Fender, and it did not say it had shielding anywhere on the advert. But I could send it back for a refund less postage, but had to be sent recorded. Which would cost more than it was worth, as no doubt he knew, so in to the bin it went.

So this time i spotted one on eBay by a US based Fender Dealer, genuine item, part number lot, and for just $27 or about £19 plus a fiver for fast postage. OK, so i would have to pay tax and vat, but 20% of £18 is next to nothing right?

Fast (uep just a week from teh US) 7 days and I get a card to say I owe the postoffice £12.00 - turns out the post office now charge a flat fee of £8.00 for collecting the £4 vat and import tax. Talk about rip-off Britain.

I guess I have now learnt me lesson, well, until next time....

Edited May 24, 2016 by Kex

[CamdenRob]

I recently ordered five different cheapie pickguards to try on my MIJ Jazz and not one of them fitted properly...

I had to file them all down at various points and they ended up looking s**t... not as s**t at the original tort obiously but not really what I'd hoped for...

[The-Ox]

have you heard of Tim Allen? He does very good pickguards and is highly regarded

[Marc S]

I recently ordered 2x P scratchplates and a J plate.
The P's fitted perfectly (one on a Squier Classic Vibe, one on my Fender RW P)
Both top quality, with shielding and were about 4 quid.

The J plate doesn't quite fit perfectly - but then, the J is a Bitsa
I can see that with a bit of tweaking, I should be able to get a decent fit from it
The area around the neck pocket needs a very small amount of widening - so if I'm careful with a fine file and some wet & dry....
It's also pretty good quality, and again, was under a fiver including delivery

Sorry to hear of your woes
It's luck of the draw, I guess - but I ordered one plate, just to see how good they were, and got lucky

[Kex]

Thanks Marc, to be honest I was almost as cross about being charged £8 to drive 8 miles to the post office and collect it myself, had it been sent via FedEx et al I would have cost less

[discreet]

[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1464094005' post='3056487']
have you heard of Tim Allen? He does very good pickguards and is highly regarded
[/quote]

If that's Scratch-It, he doesn't do 3-ply guards - just 1 ply and with no bevel. It might not be his site, however.

[KevB]

Axes-r-us do 3 ply pickguards to for fender P's for £18 though OP doesn't state model so maybe no use to him
http://www.axesrus.co.uk/1960-Modern-Bass-Pickguard-p/modernpeebasspg.htm

[Kex]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1464095733' post='3056510']
Axes-r-us do 3 ply pickguards to for fender P's for £18 though OP doesn't state model so maybe no use to him
[url="http://www.axesrus.co.uk/1960-Modern-Bass-Pickguard-p/modernpeebasspg.htm"]http://www.axesrus.c...rnpeebasspg.htm[/url]
[/quote]

THe description says "Occasionally seen with the “eclipse” for access to the truss rod at the heel of the neck, we’ve left our plates blank just to leave your options open, but it’s a very easy job to add the “eclipse” using an 11mm drill bit then countersink to suit." - seriously !!

[dannybuoy]

I don't know when you last imported anything but that £8 fixed charge as been there as long as I can remember (probably 10 years since I got first stung).

[TheGreek]

Sometimes we have to pay for our education....when I bought my Veillette Citron from the States HM C&E charged over £100 to give me what I'd already bought....to quote Mr Daltrey - "I won't get fooled again.."

[Hobbayne]

I was toying with the idea of importing a bass from Japan but decided against it.
This may help you from getting stung again.
[url="http://www.dutycalculator.com/"]http://www.dutycalculator.com/[/url]

[Kex]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1464102237' post='3056568']
I was toying with the idea of importing a bass from Japan but decided against it.
This may help you from getting stung again.
[url="http://www.dutycalculator.com/"]http://www.dutycalculator.com/[/url]
[/quote]

As i keep saying, I knew how much the VAT was and i knew how much the import duty was, my surprise was that the PO charged almost three times that to collect it.

[Ghost_Bass]

I can see the point in paying for a tortoise/motherofpearl replacement pickguard but for a solid coloured one (black/white/pink/...) why not just cover the one you have with adhesive vinyl? If done properly it will look like it's the original colour and can be done for a couple of pounds and a steady hand with a box cutter.

[alyctes]

That EU no-tariff deal works nicely, and will continue to do so until June 23. After that... not sure. It's a shame that the Dutch seller didn't provide anything useful.

[Grangur]

I got a good pickguard for a P, and good service from northwestguitars.co.UK

I'd use them again

[Kex]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1464120201' post='3056772']
I got a good pickguard for a P, and good service from northwestguitars.co.UK

I'd use them again
[/quote]

Wow, just looked at the website, have bookmarked them thanks

[paul h]

I'm waiting for a mint telecaster scratchplate from Aliexpress.

It probably won't fit without some sort of fettling. But then it did cost £2.99

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='Kex' timestamp='1464105187' post='3056592']


As i keep saying, I knew how much the VAT was and i knew how much the import duty was, my surprise was that the PO charged almost three times that to collect it.
[/quote]

As posted elsewhere by Mr Fretmeister:

[I]Think about what they do for that £8

They have plenty of paper work to do - they complete the VAT return to the HMRC on your behalf. They are able to do this electronically and the HMRC are content to allow them to release the item to you when they've done that paper work. On small items they even pay the Vat for you to speed up the process.

If they didn't do it, then when it arrived you would get a letter advising of the item arriving. Then you would have to complete the Vat returns to the HMRC and post them off. Then the HMRC would (in about 6 weeks) write to you to inform you of the monies owed. Then you would make payment.

Then another 6 weeks later you would get permission to have the item and you could collect it.

It might be annoying, but that £8 saved you more than a month of sodding about with the HMRC yourself before the item was officially allowed into the UK.[/I]

[neepheid]

[quote name='Kex' timestamp='1464105187' post='3056592']
As i keep saying, I knew how much the VAT was and i knew how much the import duty was, my surprise was that the PO charged almost three times that to collect it.
[/quote]

It's a flat fee covering the administrative overhead of someone presenting the goods to HMRC, paying the duty on your behalf then collecting the money from you. It's always going to appear extortionate/ridiculous when applied to small value items, but put in perspective it barely covers 1 hour's work at minimum wage.

EDIT - beaten to it, and way more eloquently.

Edited May 25, 2016 by neepheid

[paul_5]

"Buy cheap, buy twice" as my old gaffer used to say.

[LayDownThaFunk]

Ask them to mark it as a gift. No import charges.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1464185932' post='3057334']
Ask them to mark it as a gift. No import charges.
[/quote]

And once again this mis-information appears.

All that marking it as a gift does increase the threshold at which VAT and import duty becomes chargeable to £34.

[Kex]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4][quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1464186803' post='3057344']
And once again this mis-information appears.

All that marking it as a gift does increase the threshold at which VAT and import duty becomes chargeable to £34.
[/quote]

[color=#494949]Imported gifts are subject to different rules and minimum thresholds for the exemption of duties and taxes than imports of purchased goods.[/color]
[color=#494949]A gift is defined by customs as any item which:[/color][/size][/font][list]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]has been sent from a private individual to another private individual [b]AND[/b][/size][/font]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]is for the personal use of the individual or his or her family [b]AND[/b][/size][/font]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]has not been paid for, either directly or indirectly by the receiver [b]AND[/b][/size][/font]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]is of an occasional nature only; e.g. for a birthday or anniversary[/size][/font]
[/list]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4][color=#494949]In the UK for example, if the value of the gifts in the consignment (not including shipping and insurance costs) does not exceed £34 and the customs declaration is correct, [b]duty and VAT will not be paid on the gifts.[/b]

If the value of the gifts in the consignment is greater than £34 then:[/color][/size][/font][list]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]VAT is payable in all cases.[/size][/font]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]Duty will be payable [b]unless[/b]:[/size][/font]
[list]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]the value of the gifts in the consignment (not including shipping and insurance costs) is less than £135 or[/size][/font]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]the duty amount payable is less than £7[/size][/font]
[/list][*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]A flat duty rate of 2.5% applies [b]if:[/b][/size][/font]
[list]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]the value of the gifts in the consignment is less than £630 [b]AND[/b][/size][/font]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]it is to your benefit.[/size][/font]
[*][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]Otherwise the normal duty rate applies.[/size][/font]
[/list]
[/list]

Edited May 25, 2016 by Kex

[LayDownThaFunk]

Bomb.

Dropped.

[4stringslow]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1464178789' post='3057249']
"Buy cheap, buy twice" as my old gaffer used to say.
[/quote]

Yep. Or as Ruskin is widely attributed as saying somewhat more long-windedly:

[i][size=4]“There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person’s lawful prey. It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money — that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot — it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”[/size][/i]