Shipping charges post Brexit - up to date information?

[carlsim]

I know this has been discussed many times on many posts, I was looking at a bass on this forum in the EU and wondered about current charges for importing?

 

I was hoping someone could shed some exact light? Shipping charge + VAT on the item + courier admin fees? Is that correct? On a bass worth £250 - any ideas how much? 

 

Just wondering from someone who might have previous up to date experience? There are many posts from early this year which have scathing comments but I know things have settled down now...

 

Any thoughts lovely BC'ers?

[greenolive]

Yes , I have recent experience with this after importing a bass from Germany a couple months ago 👍

 

I was charged VAT , a small customs handling charge and of course a charge from the courier ( fedex/TNT in this case ) , which came to about 24% of the cost.

 

So on your £250 bass , expect to pay around £310 in total ( the shipping cost is also charged with vat etc too 😉 )

 

Hope this helps 

Edited November 2, 2021 by greenolive
More explanation

[Downunderwonder]

Rather too much on a £250 bass.

[mcnach]

2 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

Rather too much on a £250 bass.

 

The thing is, it's not really a £250 bass because that does not include VAT. VAT will have to be paid regardless, the only question is whether that happens at source, or afterwards, so the price is always 250+tax, if you know what I mean? 

 

It tends to cost a bit more buying from the EU than from the UK, but not THAT much more. Sometimes it even works out cheaper, although it's rare, but I noticed a couple of instances back in February, at Thomann (Germany).

 

 

[Downunderwonder]

10 minutes ago, mcnach said:

It tends to cost a bit more buying from the EU than from the UK, but not THAT much more. Sometimes it even works out cheaper,

New suffers from shipping from further away and customs clearance charges. The likes of Thomman have got their customs clearance down to the actual cost of someone ticking a box, and super deals on shipment. Being new there's only one lot of VAT. They are making sales.

 

All that goes out the window on used stuff brought in privately.

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

The thing is, it's not really a £250 bass because that does not include VAT. VAT will have to be paid regardless, the only question is whether that happens at source, or afterwards, so the price is always 250+tax, if you know what I mean?

 

That depends on whether it's new or second-hand. If it's a second-hand bass worth £250, £310 is quite a lot to pay.

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, mcnach said:

The thing is, it's not really a £250 bass because that does not include VAT. VAT will have to be paid regardless, the only question is whether that happens at source, or afterwards, so the price is always 250+tax, if you know what I mean? 

 

If it is a second hand bass sent from a non vat registered source, such as a private individual, the price is actually £250, but if you are buying from outside the UK you have to pay an additional tax on it that wouldn't exist otherwise (ie, if it was in the uk or pre-brexit). 

the £250+Vat only applies for a VAT registered business.

[mcnach]

I completely missed that this was a used bass not new from a shop...

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, mcnach said:

I completely missed that this was a used bass not new from a shop...

You should hand in your 'I am a bassist I can read utilizing context to establish facts not in evidence card'.

[Newfoundfreedom]

Yup. 

 

On new stuff it doesn't make a massive difference as you'd be paying the vat either way, but the extra shipping charges for customs clearance are a pain.

 

It's the used market that's now pretty much defunct, unless you're getting something at a ridiculous bargain price. The cost is now automatically 20 percent higher by adding the vat. That's before you even start with shipping and customs costs. 

 

There have been two basses on here that I would have bought over the past couple of months if it hadn't been for the gift that keeps on giving. 

[BlueMoon]

46 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

There have been two basses on here that I would have bought over the past couple of months if it hadn't been for the gift that keeps on giving. 

I'm with you there!!!

Not a GAS killer, but reduced my enthusiasm somewhat.

[Doctor J]

It has basically eliminated any prospect of buying anything used from the UK. There have been a few basses which probably would have found a new home had it not been for the extra taxation making an attractive looking deal far too expensive.

 

Even trying to buy small items, such as pickups or preamps, has become needlessly difficult. I had two sellers on the forums here refuse to sell to me because they were intimidated/frustrated by the prospect of having to complete paperwork to post outside the UK.

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

There have been two basses on here that I would have bought over the past couple of months if it hadn't been for the gift that keeps on giving. 

 

So there is an advantage to it then

 

[Downunderwonder]

25 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

It has basically eliminated any prospect of buying anything used from the UK. There have been a few basses which probably would have found a new home had it not been for the extra taxation making an attractive looking deal far too expensive.

 

Even trying to buy small items, such as pickups or preamps, has become needlessly difficult. I had two sellers on the forums here refuse to sell to me because they were intimidated/frustrated by the prospect of having to complete paperwork to post outside the UK.

Hang in there. I furnished most off my pedals out of the US. The first few sales were problematic to convince sellers of the ease of filling in a simple customs form and posting off like normal. Once the ball was rolling I had no problems pointing to previous easy dealings.

[carlsim]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Certainly has made me think about whether it is worthwhile...👍👍