French Import Duties on UK Tools & Machinery ?

[Togalosh]

Hello,

Has anyone in France recently purchased tools or machinery from the UK, if so what were the import duties please ?

Also, if Kreg is an American company will that be the actual country of origin & will that add anything to the costs?

I am looking to get a decent router table set up at long, long last & the Kreg kit fits my budget more than the others but I cannot find any details on what I'll be charged over the 20% VAT if I buy from the much cheaper UK shops/sites. The sellers cannot help me, even when they have an Ebay.fr account.. they say that the French customs decide what to charge when it gets to them & that their customers buy blindly... that seems really daft.

Any help would be greatly appreciated... like also recommending a reasonably priced French equivalent of Axi/ WWW/QWT.

Togs

 

[sneggysteve]

It will be the French (EU) decision on import duties into France (EU)

 

[clogs]

Having lived there for 17 years I can assure u that there is little to be bought at even a 1/2 price.....
did look up the axi number but thier site gave no results of what it is......
France is very regional including how they price tools, u can of course get lucky
but mostley even with taxes u;d prob be better of buying elsewhere.....
Look for what you want in Holland, Belg n Gemany.....more choice and within the EU...
If ur south there is always Itay.....Spain and Portu are very expensive for used euipment....
most machines are handed down father to son.....
The poorer southern countries always suffered high prices and little choice....Hope this helps....

 

[clogs]

just a though, what about buying what u want and taking it to peices...
transport the thing over diff trips......
A Transit van full of "junk" might not show.....

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Amazon.de may be your friend. We have stopped buying from the UK because 3 month delay plus random, inexplicable charges make it all a bit tedious. We collected three birthday presents this morning - €15 duty for one, €5 for the next, and nothing at all for the third. All about the same value.

There is a Bulgarian outlet for some Axminster tools: eyewateringly expensive, but at least it's inside the EU. JET BG - Power Tools, Hand Tools, Woodworking, Metalworking & more! . There may be others I don't know about.

 

[Togalosh]

Surely I should be able to simply calculate any costs in advance, how can any trade happen like this ?? French bureaucracy is mind boggling & so so *&^%$* annoying. If I was due back in my van any time soon I would be very happy indeed ... tools & gluten free Speckled Hen top the list. Saying that, I'm not sure we'd return.

Amazon.de doesn't like delivering to the UK or France it seems & suggests .fr... the price is also the UK price but still incl of the UK VAT (so I'd pay the VAT twice) & then a 60 euro surcharge on top of that.. I stopped looking further in case I ordered the damn thing. I have wasted days on this.. FFS.

Anyways, thanks for your help.

 

[Togalosh]

I hope I didn't sound unappreciative of your help.. I am, I'm just quite frustrated by it all as it should be just a straight forward purchase.

As a coincidence on the BBC today they mentioned trade in 900BC Lebanon which they have documents noting import duties for different items.

 

[MikeK]

I am looking to get a decent router table set up at long, long last & the Kreg kit fits my budget more than the others but I cannot find any details on what I'll be charged over the 20% VAT if I buy from the much cheaper UK shops/sites.

If you are determined to buy a Kreg router table, you might want to consider buying from Sautershop in Germany. I was a customer of Sautershop before it became a UKW sponsor and have never had any problems with quality, delivery, or support. I have some Kreg products, but nothing to do with routers or router tables.

Here is the Kreg line of router tables:

https://www.sautershop.com/router-tables/kreg-prs-router-table/
They deliver to France and will use the 20-percent VAT instead of the 19-percent for Germany.

Here is a Kreg distributor closer to you:

https://www.directfab.fr/systeme-de-table-de-fraisage-de-precision-kreg-kreg-p100009427.html

 

[MikeK]

I have wasted days on this.. FFS.

My advice is spend more time researching this before you order something that isn't what you want. I wasted a lot of time and money on my router table journey before finding what I liked.

 

[Togalosh]

Hi Mike, Sautershop looks good & I cannot register with DirectFab just yet as their confirmation email didn't work.. but again, both are 20% more expensive than the UK & money is tight now that I am a "paysang" in France (my own fault entirely & besides the point in some ways) & I want a lot of other extras to upgrade my kit in my new workshop.. It all adds up... but is all this time worth £140?...

There is the complete (smaller) bench top table on Leboncoin for the same price as just the bigger top but it would be a compromise & I hate doing that.

What did your journey lead you to ?

Thanks
Togs

 

[gwreis]

Hi,

Machine Meyer also sells Kreg. They are located in Germany and deliver to France.

https://www.holz-metall.info/shop1/liste.htm?query=Kreg
Dictum sells UJK and have their router tables in stock:

https://www.dictum.com/en/power-too...ional-router-table-cast-iron-table-top-706571
I never had any problems with both companies. I also use Amazon.de and most of the time I can have things shipped to France.

Cheers

 

[Peter Sefton]

Our website is now set up so international customers can buy with all taxes and duties paid at the checkout, so no surprises or extra charges at the doorstep or local sorting office. Also pay in three in a good range of countries, but sorry can't help out with Kreg.

Cheers

Peter

 

[julianf]

Look for an IOSS capable retailer. You will then pay vat at checkout and no further processing charges upon import.

 

[niemeyjt]

Surely I should be able to simply calculate any costs in advance, how can any trade happen like this ?? French bureaucracy is mind boggling & so so *&^%$* annoying. If I was due back in my van any time soon I would be very happy indeed ... tools & gluten free Speckled Hen top the list. Saying that, I'm not sure we'd return.

Amazon.de doesn't like delivering to the UK or France it seems & suggests .fr... the price is also the UK price but still incl of the UK VAT (so I'd pay the VAT twice) & then a 60 euro surcharge on top of that.. I stopped looking further in case I ordered the damn thing. I have wasted days on this.. FFS.

Anyways, thanks for your help.

Perhaps you are too young to remember how France handled the importation of VCRs?

But to the matter in hand - SimplyDuty - Duty and Tax Calculation Made Simple

Contorion : revendeur numérique pour l'artisanat et l'industrie are the French presence of a German site - prices seem competitive - sometime even cheaper than UK.

And look for UK companies like Peter's above - if they are sufficiently customer orientated to get their heads around the new VAT rules then the chances are they are likely to be generally more customer orientated and you will get better service.

 

[Spectric]

I wasted a lot of time and money on my router table journey before finding what I liked.

Totally agree, how many have done that. What you think is a great setup now is only great until you realise it has shortcomings and unless you are willing to accept these and work within the limitations they impose you may be dissapointed. I brought my router table before UKW and it was the Kreg table as looking around it was a good solid option for the money and I put the big Triton router into it. The first item I replaced was the router plate, the PRS3034 used three retaining screws for the insert ring wheras the PRS 4034 used twist lock plates that were much easier and level. It was and still is as accurate as any other router table setup and with plenty of power BUT, repeatability is possible but can be time consuming and if doing mouldings and the like I run more through in one session so that I do not need to come back to make more later and have the issues of setup to match what's already been done. The fence locks very solidly but again not a smooth movement on adjustment and I use a rule with a stop attached to set it. When it comes to height adjustment I have the course adjustment knob on the router and a through table adjuster handle that goes through the top, it works and I accept that it is not as smooth as I would like and again repeatability can be an issue. Once set it locks and does not move but you have to fumble for the locking lever underneath. The fence is good, two halves that use three screws to secure each but the two rods supplied to offset the outfeed half is not good, I now use a shim that fits behing the fence half.

If I was looking for a router setup today and with the info from the UJW forums then it would have been different, it may have cost more initially but not as much as when I undertake the planed upgrade now unless I can get a decent price for the current setup. So what would be different, first thing to address is the issues of adjustment and precision with repeatability also I do not have a large floor space so having a standalone router table is not ideal. My solution will be modular, a move around of existing machines in the area I have and then a different workbench that will accomodate a router table insert. This might be a removable router table section or just the router lift. The router itself would be the AUK router in a Jessem plate with remote variable speed that will deliver smooth precision and all from above the table. The fence would be the Incra but only using the short 430mm positioner. This would be mounted to either a home made plate attachment as shown by Dennis in hooked on wood or the ready made option from Benchdogs, both use 20mm dogs to locate, so now although it may only be short you have a 96mm course positioning option to start with, and when not in use just hang it up out the way and you have your workbench back. As an engineer I think the Incra positioner has really delivered when it comes to precise linear adjustment and then their fence system opens up all the posibilities you could wish for, good bye shims because it has offset adjustment built in plus many other features. At the end of the day you have a setup that you can just use, no thinking of upgrading or modifications and don't be put off by the price, do yourself a spreadsheet and that puts it in perspective when comparing options and also look at router table threads on the forum, lots of info and MikeK has a good example of what can be achieved, best advice is take time to weigh up options and gather information before making a decision.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking: Don't think of them as independant, merge the ideas and concepts to get the best for what you want.

 

[MikeK]

What did your journey lead you to ?

My router table journey took over two years and LOTS of money because I had to balance the building of the shop with work and most importantly, because I had not done enough research before buying. I started with the Triton Workcentre, with the construction saw and router table inserts as a solution for a garage shop. My initial experience with these was good, but the more I used them the less impressed I became. I abandoned the idea of a portable co-use garage shop in favor of a larger shop in my basement.

The next version for the router table was an Incra base, top, LS17 super fence, and the Triton TRA001 router mounted to an Incra plate. Before I could finish building this table, I helped a friend mill some boards using the same router in a similar table that I was building. By the end of the long day, I abandoned the idea of using the TRA001. I sold it and the Incra mounting plate and looked for another solution.

I bought the Incra Mast-R-Lift II from the U.S. and the AUKTools V3 router motor with remote speed control and NVR switch. I am very happy with this setup, and if I didn't have access to the U.S. shipping, I would have bought the router and lift from Wood Workers Workshop.

This is the router table at the end of my expensive journey. I have a build thread on another forum, but will eventually make a new project thread on UKW.

Roy and I were typing at about the same time, and I agree with everything he wrote. Take your time, determine your requirements, explore the market and other solutions, and evaluate the options before buying. I am confident you will save a lot of money in the end, even if you have to wait on the items to arrive. I don't think I have ever seen anyone realize all of the factors in "Good-Fast-Inexpensive" trade-off evaluations.

Whether you choose Kreg, Incra, Jessum, AUKTools, Axminster, or any other brand for your system, understand you will likely be locked into a family of components. I don't think the router plate inserts are interchangeable between brands, and you will have to match the router to the plate.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I think you may find the Axminster plate size the odd one out, I understand the Kreg is the standard American size of 9 1/4" x 11 3/4" or 235mm x 298mm as are our JessEm and Incra plates or lifts, Woodpecker would also be this size.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Spectric]

Yes I think the Axminster / UJK use a metric plate size, the only reason I can think of is to prevent people using Jessem / Incra lifts in UJK products.

By the end of the long day, I abandoned the idea of using the TRA001.

What were your main reasons and what length positioner are you using?

I think if I had been a hermit and not ever visited the northern woodworking show and seen the woodworkers workshop display and not seen the info on these forums I would have not known any different and just put up with what I have, but now I am aiming for a redesign to add what I have seen and know.

 

[MikeK]

What were your main reasons and what length positioner are you using?

I have the LS17 positioner on my router table and the LS25 positioner on my sliding saw so I can use the sliding table to accurately rip material. I can use the LS17 on the saw if I decide I want to upgrade the router later with a larger table. For now, I'm happy with the LS17 on the router table and haven't needed the longer positioner.

My friend's TRA001 was in an enclosed table for dust collection. Each time I had to change the cutter for a new profile, I had to open the enclosure and reach into the enclosure so I could access the router in order to unlock depth adjustment lever and turn off the power switch. Unlike the AUKTools router, which includes two wrenches to change cutters, the TRA001 has only one wrench and relies on an internal locking pin that is engaged only when the router motor is raised to its limit and the power switch is in the OFF position. My knees are not what they used to be, so I quckly tired of cutter changes. The TRA001 is a good router for hand-held use and maybe in an open router table, but not so user-friendly in an enclosed router table like mine.

My friend has since modified his router table to the Incra lift and AUKTools router.

 

[Spectric]

Yes the cutter change can be a real pain, I use the knob to wind it right up so it locks and then change my cutter. The switch is always on, using a remote switch that is easy to get too instead. I have thought of fitting a muscle chuck but now thinking bigger and more major upgrade having seen what Dennis came up with having the removeable fence and really liking the Incra positioner, nice to have precision at the click of a knob. So I don't like half measures and planing bigger.

The LS17 is what I am looking at, 430mm travel is plenty on a table especially if it is attached using 20mm dogs at 96mm. Must admit I was not looking at going this expensive an upgrade but why not, my woodworking has improved in leaps and bounds and so time to change.