First import from the EU

[PeteHB]

I now buy almost exclusively from within the EU because delivery times and charges are so variable. It tends to be a little more expensive and I need to shop around but I have got used to it. The only exception is router bits as it is virtually impossible to get half inch or quarter inch bits in France and also the quality tends to be poor so I will continue to source them via the UK. Axminster have already lost over £1000 worth of business from me since January 1st.

 

[alanpo68]

I now buy almost exclusively from within the EU because delivery times and charges are so variable. It tends to be a little more expensive and I need to shop around but I have got used to it. The only exception is router bits as it is virtually impossible to get half inch or quarter inch bits in France and also the quality tends to be poor so I will continue to source them via the UK. Axminster have already lost over £1000 worth of business from me since January 1st.

Axminster may no longer get your money but they now have their sovereignty.

 

[pgrbff]

Two bandsaw blades purchased from Ian tuff saws before Christmas shipped to my sister-in-law in Felixstowe, I just had them picked up by DPD for delivery to me in Italy. £30 declared value. £20 to ship them and DPD charged me €18 to calculate I owe €7 VAT.
How is this good for the UK economy?
TNT who do the customs paperwork must be over the moon.

 

[pgrbff]

If you mean criminal convictions for people evading taxes then fair enough. If you mean it for the problems being created by leaving the EU, single market and customs union, then no. The referendum was legal, the result was leave and the subsequent two general elections have resulted in pro leave governments. Nothing illegal there and the will of the people has been actioned, eventually.

As for the difficulties expressed on this post, they were entirely foreseeable as a result of the leave vote. We just have to do our best and work with the procedures now in place. Rorschach has, so far found no real difficulties importing from Greece. It is difficult separating whether coronavirus or leaving the EU is the cause of problems, the EU countries were/are concerned about drivers either from uk or returning from uk are bringing the uk strain with them, and who can blame them given what has happened here.

I'm not very academic, but I have some common sense.
The leave vote may be legal but I'm not sure the lies that led to the people voting to leave should be ignored.
I'm happy for anyone to explain to me why I am wrong.

 

[Rorschach]

Two bandsaw blades purchased from Ian tuff saws before Christmas shipped to my sister-in-law in Felixstowe, I just had them picked up by DPD for delivery to me in Italy. £30 declared value. £20 to ship them and DPD charged me €18 to calculate I owe €7 VAT.
How is this good for the UK economy?
TNT who do the customs paperwork must be over the moon.

Well you made several mistakes there. You paid VAT twice for a start.

 

[pgrbff]

Well you made several mistakes there. You paid VAT twice for a start.

I had no alternative, tuff saws no longer ship outside the UK. Rightly or wrongly they have always been helpful and I have faith in, and appreciate the wide range of blades available and the info to help you chose.

 

[Jonm]

I'm not very academic, but I have some common sense.
The leave vote may be legal but I'm not sure the lies that led to the people voting to leave should be ignored.
I'm happy for anyone to explain to me why I am wrong.

Well Brexiteers would argue that there were many lies on the remain side. The main one being at the time of the first referendum In 1975 we were told that the European Economic Community was a trading organisation, nothing about common currency, ever closer union, etc. In this, to my recollection they are correct.

The other issue is that there is no mechanism for proceeding against those who told lies and no political will. We just have to get on with life and hope that it works out Ok. It will take probably10 Years before we will begin to see the overall effect of brexit. Maybe the UK will want to rejoin, maybe not, who knows. It was and still is incredibly devicive. Best to put it behind us and look forward.

Really we should not be discussing this here. This post is about practical issues relating to purchases from the eu, or vice versa.

 

[pgrbff]

I now buy almost exclusively from within the EU because delivery times and charges are so variable. It tends to be a little more expensive and I need to shop around but I have got used to it. The only exception is router bits as it is virtually impossible to get half inch or quarter inch bits in France and also the quality tends to be poor so I will continue to source them via the UK. Axminster have already lost over £1000 worth of business from me since January 1st.

Ebay Italy has well priced CMT, you can also try mobiltecnica website in Italy, again CMT

 

[Rorschach]

I had no alternative, tuff saws no longer ship outside the UK. Rightly or wrongly they have always been helpful and I have faith in, and appreciate the wide range of blades available and the info to help you chose.

Ok, if you are willing to pay those prices then that is your choice.

 

[RobinBHM]

The main one being at the time of the first referendum In 1975 we were told that the European Economic Community was a trading organisation, nothing about common currency, ever closer union, etc. In this, to my recollection they are correct

I can't understand the point you are making, a common currency didn't exist in 1975.

 

[Droogs]

@Jonm , no your recollection is infact faulty. As has been posted of several times on this site (unfortunately in the deleted forums) even the Daily Fail in 1975 explained in many many articles, that the whole purpose of the EEC was for an initial trading block and then had the goal of ever closer political and legal homogenisation of Europe. So no lies by the pro side along those lines then nor now. Lots of very big ones by the leave side.

As for " Best to put it behind us and look forward. ". With the level of feeling and commitment over this issue that is exactly like asking a **** victim to be roomies with their rapist and that is exactly how it will remain, especially as most of those who voted leave will be dead before any real tangible benefits could be seen. Those who voted to remain will always consider themselves to be much worse off regardless of what occurs.

Edit
OK, I am in no way trying to belittle anyone who has had that sort of experience (I in fact know several people who have had this terrible ordeal). I am merely trying to point out how deep the emotional conviction runs in a lot of people. Other examples I could have used are Conferate citizens after their defeat, they (many whites in the South) still harbour resentment over this and it is displayed 4 generations later in the discrimination in the South. There are also the feelings of indigenous peoples who are still fighting in many places for their property and rights and even taking to terrorist action because the emotive feelings are still running very high (ETA, IRA, Serb troops in the 90s, Bosnians Croats, Morocans etc). Some of these are 10 of generations removed from the events and yet we still see conflict because of it.

There is no way in Hades that remainers will support Brexit as a good or the right thing, they may begrudginly accept the current situation and their inability to change things just now but will always harbour a desire/need/want/work towards regaining the rights and privelages they have lost. In fact many would be quite willing for the UK to go down in flames economically (That is not an exageration) if it meant the whole thing failed and the UK had to rejoin the EU and even hope that the people responsible suffer very much. That is how much the divide is between Leavers and Remainers. Remainers feel they have had their futures and opportunities ripped from them by a bunch of narrow minded biggots who wont be around to suffer the consequences of the their jingoistic hubris. that situation is not going to change and no amount of discussion on here about it will make any impact at all.

This thread is about how the new normal is affecting how we trade with our new situation and how it is either easier and more profitable or it is not. So far, I don't see any eveidence that is is a positive thing, except for those who do not trade outside the UKs borders or are involved in playing with large volumes of money where you can make a profit on all the misery and problems this little adventure has caused.

Feel free to remove/change your reactions if you disagree

 

[Blackswanwood]

@Jonm , no your recollection is infact faulty. As has been posted of several times on this site (unfortunately in the deleted forums) even the Daily Fail in 1975 explained in many many articles, that the whole purpose of the EEC was for an initial trading block and then had the goal of ever closer political and legal homogenisation of Europe. So no lies by the pro side along those lines then nor now. Lots of very big ones by the leave side.

As for " Best to put it behind us and look forward. ". With the level of feeling and commitment over this issue that is exactly like asking a **** victim to be roomies with their rapist and that is exactly how it will remain, especially as most of those who voted leave will be dead before any real tangible benefits could be seen. Those who voted to remain will always consider themselves to be much worse off regardless of what occurs.

Hmmm Droogs (and I agree with you that there are wounds that will never heal) ... your analogy is massively disrespectful to **** victims. The two things are massively different.

 

[Droogs]

For many from a clinical psychological perspective, they are emmotionaly the same.

 

[Rorschach]

C'mon chaps, comparing people who voted for Brexit to rapists is pretty insulting.

 

[JohnPW]

For many from a clinical psychological perspective, they are emmotionaly the same.

This probably needs to be in its own thread, but this is an interesting read:

https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-anxiety-disorder-britain-middle-class/Article intro:

Britain’s middle-class Brexit Anxiety Disorder
By Tom McTague
August 17, 2018

[snip]
For Britain’s pro-European middle classes, Brexit is akin to a psychological trauma which has left many unable to behave rationally, according to two leading experts. Far from being hyper-rational observers concerned only with what is economically sensible, many have morphed into the "Remainiacs" of Brexiteer disdain.

They are acting no differently to what psychologists would expect from those suffering from chronic anxiety caused by loss of control and insecurity, Dr. Philip Corr, professor of psychology and behavioral economics at the University of London, and Dr. Simon Stuart, a clinical psychologist, told POLITICO.

In such circumstances, Corr and Stuart said, patients can become prone to anger, despair and rumination, while slipping into polarized "in" and "out" groups, seeking solace in the demonization of the "other," whom they blame for the current state of affairs.

Sound familiar?

While it is impossible to put 48 percent of the country on the couch and generalize about their reaction to Brexit, there are common psychological threads running through the train of emotions many Remainers are feeling, the experts said. And at their heart are questions of identity, power and uncertainty.

To an extent unparalleled in British political history, Brexit has ripped away the veneer of security that the managerial and professional classes enjoyed, throwing — in their mind at least — almost everything into question, from the U.K.’s place in the world to the future prosperity of their children. It is a threat that many find hard to cope with psychologically.

It is also something many of them feel can be blamed on those over whom Britain’s educated professionals usually have day-to-day political, economic and social control — the working-class, provincial, poor and elderly who were over-represented among Leave voters.

According to Corr and Stuart, this emotional response is “standard psychological stuff." To find solace and some level of security amid the disorder, Remainers are following a well-trodden path to polarized group think, dismissing their social "inferiors" who voted for Brexit as stupid, racist and easily misled.
[snip]

 

[sploo]

C'mon chaps, calling people who voted for Brexit rapists is pretty insulting.

That isn't what Droogs said, but, granted, the use of sexual assault as an analogy is a pretty extreme one.

 

[sploo]

Two bandsaw blades purchased from Ian tuff saws before Christmas shipped to my sister-in-law in Felixstowe, I just had them picked up by DPD for delivery to me in Italy. £30 declared value. £20 to ship them and DPD charged me €18 to calculate I owe €7 VAT.
How is this good for the UK economy?
TNT who do the customs paperwork must be over the moon.View attachment 106687

I've always "loved" how (on small value items) the charge to calculate the charge is usually bigger than the charge. Obviously you then pay VAT on the charge, and the charge they charged you to calculate the charge

Would it not have been appropriate for the DPD package to have been declared as a gift (or with some low nominal value) - due to that transaction not being a commercial one?

 

[Rorschach]

I've always "loved" how (on small value items) the charge to calculate the charge is usually bigger than the charge. Obviously you then pay VAT on the charge, and the charge they charged you to calculate the charge

Would it not have been appropriate for the DPD package to have been declared as a gift (or with some low nominal value) - due to that transaction not being a commercial one?

I got told off for suggesting breaking the law earlier in this thread.

 

[JohnPW]

The sister-in-law in Felixstowe sending it to Italy should have been correctly declared as a gift, I would have thought.

 

[Rorschach]

The sister-in-law in Felixstowe sending it to Italy should have been correctly declared as a gift, I would have thought.

Declaring as a gift wouldn't affect the VAT charge.