I want a Harley Benton warlock bass , will I have to pay customs handling/import tax etc after 1/21

hollywoodrox

There’s a warlock type bass I would like it’s only about £115 it’s Harley Benton so can only get from Thomann . Does all this brexit nonsense start 1st January spot on ?

I can’t really afford it at the moment I think but will get some Xmas money .

it’s flipping annoying as I used them a fair bit in the 2000s and 2010s 

if you’ve ever bought anything from America you’ll know that customs handling charges ,Royal Mail ,vat and import duty  add loads to the price. Gear4 music do a similar one but the Thomann one seems to be held in much higher regard 

https://youtu.be/8ttE9ULODqk

Funkfingers

hollywoodrox said:

all this brexit nonsense

Let's not start that rigmarole again, please. 

darthed1981

As it stands, probably yes, but on £115 not very much.

Getting it into the country may also take a bit longer as well.

Musicwolf

darthed1981 said:

Getting it into the country may also take a bit longer as well.

This, certainly in the short term.  There are also a few other bits that will need to be sorted out,  WTO tariffs on musical instruments are typically 3.5% (there are all sorts of classifications and sorting out the right code / paperwork will be an additional overhead for businesses), then there are the practicalities around VAT plus sorting out returns so that VAT is not charged in both directions.

Personally I wouldn't be ordering a non-essential item from Europe within the first couple of months of new rules kicking in (there may yet be staged introduction of tariffs and checks to avoid chaos on Jan 1st).  It will no doubt sort itself out in time (business always finds a way) but I would expect some increase in cost going forward.  I'm not sure if we would retain the automatic right to return (under distance selling rules) but again, I'm sure retailers will still offer some protection in order to maintain sales.

End of the day.  We will want to buy stuff from Europe, they will want to sell it to us (as we are a big market), but it will be more difficult and probably more expensive.  The big guys such as Thomann will no doubt set themselves up to deal with it, for the small guys it won't be worth the hassle.

Jeremiah

It's entirely possible that the Gear4Music stuff is made in the same factory as Harley Benton

hollywoodrox

Do you think if I ordered it now I would get it for Xmas and before it all kicks off

Musicwolf

hollywoodrox said:

Do you think if I ordered it now I would get it for Xmas and before it all kicks off

I placed an order with them 25th Nov which arrived approx one week later (a day earlier than forecast).  You're cutting it fine but I would think that you'd make it since I think that they fly stuff out of Frankfurt rather than ship through our ports.

hollywoodrox

Musicwolf said:

hollywoodrox said:

Do you think if I ordered it now I would get it for Xmas and before it all kicks off

I placed an order with them 25th Nov which arrived approx one week later (a day earlier than forecast).  You're cutting it fine but I would think that you'd make it since I think that they fly stuff out of Frankfurt rather than ship through our ports.

Thanks man 

darthed1981

Good luck!

hollywoodrox

I’ve emailed them about if I buy it now will I get it in time 

fretmeister

Thomann prices currently show included EU wide vat.

If you buy it in January you won't get charged that as it will be for Outside-EU export. Instead you will pay UK vat on arrival, with import tax and handling.

German Vat is 19%. So that comes off, then add any postage, and then Vat on the item and the postage. Then 4.4% (IIRC) import tax. And the usual handling fee for the courier to do all the Import paperwork for you and make sure HMRC gets the taxes.

Unless of course the EU decide Vat is also payable on exports. Which I would actually find hilarious.

Bod

hollywoodrox said:

I’ve emailed them about if I buy it now will I get it in time 

With Germany going into lockdown again, I would expect service to suffer.

hollywoodrox

Thanks guys 

hollywoodrox

Yes , heard from them, if I ordered today they said hopefully it would arrive before brexit but they can’t guarantee it as UPS are very busy with the extra load this time of year.  

hollywoodrox

I’ve ordered it. I figured with the import tax + vat + handling charges it should work out around 150 . It’s the nearest thing I’ll get to a new warlock for the price. Did not like the gear4music one , 

the HB one really looks like a warlock and has some great reviews , I liked the look and sound in the above video too 

hollywoodrox

It would look rad with some red pinstripes , I saw a guy do a Rhône’s or something with car tape 

Mudcrutch

UPS has suspended standard deliveries to and from the  UK because of the French.

https://www.ups.com/gb/en/service-alerts.page

I got a delivery from Thomann on Saturday that was due today but the delivery I’ve got down for tomorrow changed to Thursday and now showing as halted.

hollywoodrox

Aww no that’s a shame ,and they said it would be delivered tomorrow between 11.30 and 15.30 
  That sucks

Mudcrutch

hollywoodrox said:

Aww no that’s a shame ,and they said it would be delivered tomorrow between 11.30 and 15.30 
  That sucks

Go and track your delivery and see what it says?

hollywoodrox

I’ve got it down now as will be delivered we’d 30th so that’s pretty cool 

Mudcrutch

Yeah I’ve also got Wednesday 30th now for mine between 9:15 & 13:15.