Thread: £15 extra!!!

Just going to rant for a bit.

Just got a letter from parcel force here in UK as I'm waiting for a Tony Miller strop which I ordered quite a while ago. It's been waiting in the depot for about a month now and I only just got the letter today saying I have to pay VAT on it. I had to pay £8, which I was expecting to pay, but I wasn't expecting to have to pay an extra £8 in f ing holding fees!!! SO that's £16 onto of the price of the $26 delivary . Don't think I'm going to be buying anything from outside the UK for a VERY long time!!! I'm glad I got the Heirloom #1 BEST Wide 3" Vintage Honey Brown Hanging Strop ($64.95), otherwise I might not thin kthat it was worth it.

BTW, I'm not trying to say that I think Tony Miller was misleading or anything, just incase someone thinks so.




Steven

Sorry to hear that Steven,

I have also looked at buying things from the UK and shipping always seems to be overly priced..

At least we don't have VAT..never heard of a holding fee for getting a parcel delivered to anyone..

Sorry to hear of your additional expense, but at least you got a TM Heirloom best strop that will last forever...

I need to get some goodies from Tony too..

I think it is just a case of bad luck. It seems they get picked out at random.
My friend and I both bought the same item from different sources in America I had to pay £12.00
import duty and he didn’t pay any Same product!
Tony

It's just bad luck. I've had razors come through with values of $385+ marked on the customs form, and not been charged anything. In fact the only thing I've been charged for recently was 2 pucks of Tabac soap which I got stung about an extra £17 in tax/duty/fees for!

I think with the exchange rate like it is at the moment though, even if your package gets stopped and you get stung - it still usually works out cheaper than buying the same think from the UK. In the case of Tony's strops, there isn't really any comparable product remotely close to what Tony charges - they're all way more expensive (and inferior!).

I got stung a couple of times as well. The holding fees also include customs brokerage fees that you pay to the postal service as they initially cover your duties. It almost doubled the price of the abrasive powder that I bought from Keith and added a nice sum to the razor I bought from Tony.

I just received Heirloom #1 BEST Wide 3" Latigo Premium Strop today myself and I must have been lucky as well. No taxes, but what ashtonish me the most is the free beginner strop second that is larger than the latigo premium strop. And the included manual is a good start for a newbie like me .

For the guys in Canada I am on a border town and I have a "system". I can't get trucks through customs but small items like razors and soap and the like I have never paid customs or brokerage fees or the freakin GST for that matter. There is a small hook but it is only a $5.00 U.S. hook. I won't put the details here because I just learned that the director of homeland security and Stephen Harper (Our Prime Minister) are on an all out blitz to get all the shaving supplies they can at the border. Ugly Basds.
Once I got the items into Canada, I would have to forward them on from here which is also an expense but cheaper than the $35.00 brokerage fee.
Anyway thats my tale!
Donald

Donald, I'll definitely have to talk to you about that when I order either or both RW/LL customs... On a good note, I wouldn't get taxed on Vlad's Hazmat Transportation Fees

I bought a Jagger brush from the UK and had it sent to California for about the same price that a C&E brush would have been over the net(from the US). They are them same brush except mine doesn't have the C&E logo.

Is it the "brokerage fee" that is making the C&E products seem so expensive in Canada?

Most countries allow for importation of a product at a reduced import tax if the item is incomplete. As an example, leave the AC plug off an electrical device.

Rick

You think that's bad? I bought the very same strop only to have my cat gnaw a hole in the leather handle!