Garden Railway Planning/Procurement for post 31st December 2020

[ebay mike]

That really is hard to understand!

It was always a mystery to me too. Shipping of my BR50 was €14 (in a box about the size of the fridge!) and the Orient Express was €11 (the size of a large family suitcase) - both by DHL. The former was despatched on a Sunday and arrived Tuesday afternoon, the latter ordered on Monday and arrived Thursday. Timescales that would put many UK carriers to shame. I found the dearest postage tends to be charged on smaller (parts and spares) items.

 

[Rhinochugger]

Sent some of No1 son's contact lenses out to him in Nigeria by DHL during lockdown - well I think he's still under curfew - 'cos there's no other reliable way. £50 and got there in four days

 

[AustrianNG]

I have been buying brand new track from Modell-land. If you buy a modest quantity it works out at around £4 per foot/300mm.

It is cheaper than second hand track off eBay !
some sellers are asking for around £7 per foot/300mm !

 

[ebay mike]

I have been buying brand new track from Modell-land. If you buy a modest quantity it works out at around £4 per foot/300mm.

It is cheaper than second hand track off eBay !
some sellers are asking for around £7 per foot/300mm !

Perhaps I should increase my prices - I've been charging £3 per foot.

 

[JimmyB]

Perhaps I should increase my prices - I've been charging £3 per foot.

So for £6:00 you would be all but legless

 

[PhilP]

So for £6:00 you would be all but legless

Well I would be, these days.. - Am definitely out of practice!

 

[Zerogee]

So for £6:00 you would be all but legless

Only in Wetherspoons.....

Jon.

 

[Graham Hewett]

I have identified two problems post-Brexit:

1. Unless we remain in the EU customs union (most unlikely if not impossible now), any duty payable will have to be collected by the delivery firm. Experience with ordering stuff from the US shows that not only is there the cost, of course, but there will be some - maybe substantial - delay and that you will have to visit the nearest Post Office sorting office, or maybe for DHL/DPD deliveries, create an account, be notified that the carrier is holding your item and then pay them (I am guessing that this is how they will have handle such items, as I cannot see them using the deliveryman to collect the (often substantial) tariffs that will be payable, and neither has anything like the network of sorting offices compared with Royal Mail and the prospect of driving 40 miles to either Reading or Southampton, in my case, to visit their depots just to pick up a parcel hardly bears thinking about).
2. None of the UK retailers carries anything like the range of brands of a major EU stockist such as Grootspoor or Baumann. For example, AZB catenary, or Koetsch buildings are simply not available here, alas. Ordering from abroad after 1 January will therefore have all the hassle described in 1 above.

Graham H

 

[Portsladepete]

Perhaps I should increase my prices - I've been charging £3 per foot.

If you could wait until I’ve saved enough again Mike

 

[ebay mike]

No problem Pete - I'll put a couple of hundred feet to one side for you.

 

[Portsladepete]

How did you put the emojis in? Sending a pm for expansion plan!

 

[Paul M]

There should be a smiley face on the top of the reply panel, press that

 

[Portsladepete]

There should be a smiley face on the top of the reply panel, press that
[/QUOTE can’t see any smiley faces or any faces!!

 

[AustrianNG]

After much deliberation I have what I need for now. General maintenance items such as track cleaning block, spare pick up skates, Massoth rail clamps, pick up bullets plus spare Stainz to act as a donor for spares are all here on standby for whenever they are needed.
I suppose eBay items from Germany post December 31st will be subject to the lottery of tax - under whatever name they give it so will have to wait and see if I “need” more rolling stock

 

[idlemarvel]

I have identified two problems post-Brexit:

1. Unless we remain in the EU customs union (most unlikely if not impossible now), any duty payable will have to be collected by the delivery firm. Experience with ordering stuff from the US shows that not only is there the cost, of course, but there will be some - maybe substantial - delay and that you will have to visit the nearest Post Office sorting office, or maybe for DHL/DPD deliveries, create an account, be notified that the carrier is holding your item and then pay them (I am guessing that this is how they will have handle such items, as I cannot see them using the deliveryman to collect the (often substantial) tariffs that will be payable, and neither has anything like the network of sorting offices compared with Royal Mail and the prospect of driving 40 miles to either Reading or Southampton, in my case, to visit their depots just to pick up a parcel hardly bears thinking about).
2. None of the UK retailers carries anything like the range of brands of a major EU stockist such as Grootspoor or Baumann. For example, AZB catenary, or Koetsch buildings are simply not available here, alas. Ordering from abroad after 1 January will therefore have all the hassle described in 1 above.

Graham H

I would say ref point 1 a) don't give up hope yet that no deal will be done and b) if that fails there is usually a customs duty minimum value below which no duty is due. This differs from country to country, I think for Australia it is AUD 1000.

 

[Monty]

Current rules for Oz are here ...https://www.abf.gov.au/buying-online/buying-online
Good luck!
Monty

 

[Graham Hewett]

I would say ref point 1 a) don't give up hope yet that no deal will be done and b) if that fails there is usually a customs duty minimum value below which no duty is due. This differs from country to country, I think for Australia it is AUD 1000.

One can but hope, although for goods from the US, I have found there is no lower limit - for a $12 purchase - unavoidable as I had been given an Amazon.com voucher by Oz cousins in the mistaken belief that it was the same as Amazon.co.uk), I then had to pay 25% customs duty, 20% VAT and the PO handling charge of £6.50....

 

[dunnyrail]

I would say ref point 1 a) don't give up hope yet that no deal will be done and b) if that fails there is usually a customs duty minimum value below which no duty is due. This differs from country to country, I think for Australia it is AUD 1000.

Ah that explains why my SloMo never attracted Import Duty, would VAT be due cos I never paid that either?

 

[playmofire]

And import duties even apply on gifts. A friend in the States sent me some custom items he had made as a present and clearly marked them as gifts on the package. He also out on them a value of $100 on which I had to pay import duty etc.

 

[Zerogee]

And import duties even apply on gifts. A friend in the States sent me some custom items he had made as a present and clearly marked them as gifts on the package. He also out on them a value of $100 on which I had to pay import duty etc.

In most cases, at least in my experience, it's not Customs Duties as such - I've never been charged actual import duty on anything coming in from the US, more likely it will be a bill for UK VAT at 20% plus the handling fee that the carrier (Royal Mail, Parcelfarce etc) impose to cover their "costs" for charging and collecting the VAT (and then the VAT on the handling fee that they charge for collecting the VAT.... )
Anything that comes in over about £18 in value - gift, purchase, whatever - is liable to have these charges, IF the parcel is stopped and checked... but as I'm sure we've all experienced, some randomly slip through with no charges because they don't seem to catch every one.

Whatever happens post-Dec 31st, I expect that the worst-case (as far as imports from Europe are concerned) is that we'll have to do the same with them - some will get checked and you'll be charged VAT plus fees, a few will slip through unchecked; to balance this, of course, we won't be paying the VAT at the sender's end, so if ordering from Germany we should buy VAT-free (so not paying the German VAT of 19% as part of the purchase price) but then we will be liable for the UK's 20% VAT plus whatever the carrier feels they can extort from us in charges.

Jon.