Talk about rip off Britain

Figment

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I recently had several occasions to need a really decent torch. Yes I know about Mags and have one somewhere but have never got batteries for it or the desire to take a out a mortgage to buy some.
Ah ha methinks my son-in-law has a Dewalt snake lamp that takes the Dewalt 18 volt rechargeable of which I happen to have a couple having recently treated myself to a hammer drill and jigsaw which are both great tools.
Anyway I borrow the lamp and it is a cracker, bright light, lasts at least a couple of hours for a 15 min charge and perfect for hands free operation.
Methinks I'm having one of those and start surfing.
Now apart from the odd auction site bargain you have to fight for it seems the average price is around £40 although I did find one for £20 on one online tool seller only to find when checking out the VAT and postage added another £20.
I then decided to see what our friends across the pond are paying for the same item well!!! talk about rip off Britain.
I found several sites selling the exact same item for $9.99 that is a bloody fiver !!!! and from a reputable US tool dealer.
Even with international postage at £28 dollars the total bill is only £20
Mine is now winging its way from California and expected to arrive within a week of ordering which Royal Mail would take to deliver within UK anyway.
Why oh why are we still being ripped off in most every product we buy and still it is allowed to go on year after year ?
And don't give me that crap about they make more in the states because its a bigger population and more is cheaper rubbish because this item as far as I am aware is made in Germany for both markets.
Now correct me if I am wrong but from my geography lessons Germany is a tad closer to the UK than US for shipping purposes and is part of the same economic community is it not ?
Rant over.
 
Even with international postage at 28 dollars the total bill is only £20

As the cost exceeds the threshold of £18 you may be asked to pay import duty (if applicable) plus Vat and if so the Post Office or courier will add a further tenner to the bill to cover their admin charges so it may not work out that much of a bargain after all.
 
As the cost exceeds the threshold of £18 you may be asked to pay import duty (if applicable) plus Vat and if so the Post Office or courier will add a further tenner to the bill to cover their admin charges so it may not work out that much of a bargain after all.
I believe that threshold applies only to the item price before shipping (is certainly the case with DVDs), which in this case should be $9.99 on the customs declaration
- however once item(s) price exceeds £17.99 the full shipped price is taken into account when slapping on charges
 
I believe that threshold applies only to the item price before shipping (is certainly the case with DVDs), which in this case should be $9.99 on the customs declaration
- however once item(s) price exceeds £17.99 the full shipped price is taken into account when slapping on charges

Thats how I understood it too. How can I poosibly be charged VAT and customs charges on postal costs ?
 
I believe that threshold applies only to the item price before shipping (is certainly the case with DVDs), which in this case should be $9.99 on the customs declaration
- however once item(s) price exceeds £17.99 the full shipped price is taken into account when slapping on charges

I bought a Chinese amp via Hong Kong a few months ago and had VAT/Duty added to the total cost :mad:
 
Yeah definitely includes shipping costs when they work out if VAT/Duty is payable
 
I bought a Chinese amp via Hong Kong a few months ago and had VAT/Duty added to the total cost :mad:
As I said if the item is priced at £18 or greater (before shipping) then VAT/Duty is added and is calculated on the total cost (+ RM/courier handling fee). Cheaper items should not be liable for VAT/Duty.
Yeah definitely includes shipping costs when they work out if VAT/Duty is payable
It doesn't with CDs/DVDs/Games, so I would assume the same with other stuff.
i.e. £17.95 item + £6 shipping = No VAT/Duty
£18.00 item + £1.00 shipping = VAT/DUTY charged on £19.00 as well paying a RM/courier handling fee

should use official monthly exchange rates to work out your order's pre-shipping price as posted at HMRC's website
 
Thanks for the info and opinions guys but at the end of the day even if I do end up having to pay some more on duties etc which I doubt in this low value case, I still stand by my original point.
That is that the difference being charged for the same item between countries is nothing short of outrageous and a complete scandal that it has been allowed to continue under successive Governments.
 
Will it work on 240V bearing in mind USA is 110V? I presume it has a multi-voltage adapter?
 
Will it work on 240V bearing in mind USA is 110V? I presume it has a multi-voltage adapter?

Erm as stated in my original post this is an 18volt rechargeable for which I already have batteries.

Mark I looked at that already and as you say not easy to understand, typical government jargon that tells you everything except what you want to know straight out.
 
.....£17.95 item + £6 shipping = No VAT/Duty
£18.00 item + £1.00 shipping = VAT/DUTY charged on £19.00 as well paying a RM/courier handling fee....
Exactly right.

Whether something is liable for taxes on import is determined by the value of the item on its own.

Once something (on its own) becomes liable - i.e. is worth £18 or more, then taxes are due on the whole invoice value including shipping and insurance.
 
Sony pj vplvw60 UK price £3500. japan price £1700.what the ****
please correct me if wrong but that is the biggest wind up to sony uk buyers.
 
so to summarise.
we live in a country that costs more to buy stuff, we pay more and more in taxes each year for various public services which seem to want us to do more each year, so again we pay more get less, and everything in general increases rapidly except most peoples wages!

i think im going to struggle to afford a 60" plasma the way things are going,

oh and silly me buys a small petrol 4x4 to replace my TDI just as things are getting pricey! :suicide:
 
Snake light arrived today one day later than advised ( probably royal snail working their usual pace ) no charges whatsoever making the purchase a whopping 50% cheaper than UK. not bad considering that 75% of the price paid was postage anyway.
 
even more funny is how cheap it is compared to in the uk despite the fact its nearly travelled across the world, twice! once from the manafacturers just a stone throw from the UK in germany, all the way to the US, and then sent back from the US over here!

shame its not cheaper for us as people to fly from germany to the usa, then back home, than for us to fly within the uk
 
Not the best example but I remember a newspaper printing that it was actually cheaper to fly to New York and eat at Gordan Ramsey's resturant over there than it was to eat in England. Even with the flight on top the food and wine was so much cheaper.

I wen't to the US a while ago, maybe 5 years and I seemed to notice things are the same sort of price, but in dollars, so a £300 pound item costs $300.
 
You could consider a few other things.

More people in America than here. Therefore more people to sell to. Unless you count Europe v USA.

Wages. On average people in America are paid less than here. If this is true then lower wages, lower prices, higher wages, higher prices.

They get cheap fuel as well of course. Then again we have the NHS and they don't. You can debate the merits of both in a seperate thread but if you had just discovered you had something nasty you might still be better off here than there.

Does it matter? We have the Internet now. You can hunt across the country, Europe and the world for cheap prices.
 
I remember an article from about 10 years ago by Quentin Wilson in which he told how you could buy a Rover (not that you'd want too) in Japan & ship it here (including taxes) & still save money on the UK price :eek:

When you consider it was manufactured here, shipped twice plus the fact Japan isn't a cheap country it shows how overpriced some things are here (or how cheap Rover have to sell car's over there :devil:).
 
shame its not cheaper for us as people to fly from germany to the usa, then back home, than for us to fly within the uk

If you are a US citizen I believe it would be, as they pay about 1/2 the price for the same air travel in the UK and EU than we do.
 
I found this example of Rip-off Britain for you all to mull over.

This ride on lawn mower cost me 959€ with a two year guarantee and free delivery from a local supermarket. That's a touch under £740 at the current exchange rates.
It does seem a bit expensive in the UK.
 

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