It Pays to go Direct

[Waka]

had a call from HID this morning explaining that a parcel had arrived from LV and that she had to fork out 30 GBP for customs and vat.

Oh joy I thought, my LA BU Jointer and fence has arrived, another thing to play with when I get home next week. Total time for delivery was about 7 weeks, so not bad when you consider its riding the high waves.

There has been a lot of speculation in the past about buying direct form the US or Canada, so i thought I'd compare the prices and see if I've made any savings on this purchase.

I can't remember whether the introductory offer of plane and fence was the price that is quoted on the LV site at present, but I am going to use that in this comparison.

Direct from US $225 US, add the carrage of $30 US , using an exchange rate of 1.76 that makes it just over 144 GBP.

vat and customs 30 GBP, so total; for the plane fence came to just over 174 GBP.

This plane will go on sale in the UK for 256 GBP or their abouts, that to me is a significant saving.

 

[orangetlh]

hi waka, hope you can help me out with a few abreviations. I have seen LV so many times but i havnt got a clue what it means, nor LA, just about got LN now though. God you kids and your planes talk!! haha

 

[Chris Knight]

LV = Lee Valley who sell VERITAS tools. Both companies are part of Rob Lee's empire and the LV abbreviation is in fact used erroneously for the Veritas products but no-one seems to mind

LA = Low angle

LN = Lie Nielsen

BUS = Bevel up smoother by Veritas often confused with the LA smoother also by Veritas.

Just to confuse you, LN also make a LA smoother (of a different design) which is also bevel-up but it is not the BUS which this forum in its wisdom, seems to reserve for the Veritas product.

 

[Scott]

So if "BUJ" is Bevel Up Jointer, what's BUPP? (apologies for hijacking your thread Waka - good saving on the plane! )

 

[MikeW]

So if "BUJ" is Bevel Up Jointer, what's BUPP? (apologies for hijacking your thread Waka - good saving on the plane! )

Bevel Up Panel Plane, of course :wink:

And there are more. At least, I think there is...BD, bevel down; BU bevel up; HA, high angle...

So here you go:

"I have a BUPP, which is a LA plane fitted with a HA blade..."

I'm sure someone can be more creative than me, but it can get confusing, especially when more than one or two different companies are mentioned in the same post.

Take care, Mike
who doesn't have a bupp...

 

[Waka]

So if "BUJ" is Bevel Up Jointer, what's BUPP? (apologies for hijacking your thread Waka - good saving on the plane! )

HNFIOTA

 

[Scott]

Bevel Up Panel Plane, of course :wink:

Thanks Mike

HNFIOTA

Ach Waka ma heid hurts already! What the heck is that supposed to mean? :?

 

[Waka]

Have no fear its open to all

 

[Neil]

Thats a great saving, Waka - nice one. I don't think its necessarily always the case, though - the UK price of the Jointer seems way off compared to its BU siblings :-k

Direct from LV (forgetting about duty at the moment, and using Waka's $30 postage charge and exchange rate of 1.76) we have:

BU Jointer - £144
LA Jack - £124
BUS - £122

Compare to UK prices:

BU Jointer - £258.75
LA Jack - £131 (even better, mine was £121 in the Rutlands sale \/) - although on Brimarc it is listed as £143 now
BUS - £144

Its probably not worth ordering the Jack or the BUS direct, especially since you could get hammered for £30 of duty. The UK prices seem fair on these two.

I wonder why the Jointer is so expensive here? :? I've heard that the fence may come with it, but even so this would only add £18.50 to the direct price.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Waka]

Neil

I agree, it doesn't work for everything and normally I probably would have bought in the UK but as it wasn't available (unless your names Alf ). What I tend to do now is check the prices both home and abroad to see if it's worth it.

 

[beech1948]

Waka,
RE calculation of exchange rates. You would not have been given an exchange rate of $1.76 to £1 if you used your credit card. Try redoing your calulation at a rate of $1.56 to £1 or whatever your credit card company used...it should be on the statement.

This would make your planes quite a bit more expensive.

 

[Jake]

Waka,
RE calculation of exchange rates. You would not have been given an exchange rate of $1.76 to £1 if you used your credit card. Try redoing your calulation at a rate of $1.56 to £1 or whatever your credit card company used...it should be on the statement.

This would make your planes quite a bit more expensive.

No way that much difference, credit card exchange rates are generally the best available, much better than cash rates.

 

[Good Surname or what ?]

Waka,

I agree with you - you can make significant savings by going direct.

A friend recently hand-carried an L-N shipment back from the US for me. L-N were great as usual and shipped to his hotel for $12.

I got an exchange rate of just under $1.71 for this purchase. I saved £30 on an L-N large shoulder plane compared with Axminster costs, even allowing for shipping costs.

That saving bought me an L-N replacement blade for my Stanley Bedrock #8. I was happy with my deal so laid out another £17.57 for an L-N chip breaker to match.

Large Shoulder Plane ----------------- L-N Price ($)225 = £131.75, Axminster Price £169

2 5/8 Stanley Blade for #8 ----------- L-N Price ($)50 = £29.28

2 5/8 Chip breaker for #8 ------------ L-N Price ($)30 = £17.57

Shipping-----------------------------------L-N Price ($)12 = £7.03

Total---------------------------------------L-N Price ($)317 = £185.62