Shipping from Germany

[43rdRecceReg]

Perhaps I've missed some discussions on the topic so far, but I thought it worth mentioning the shock I got, recently, when ordering a Schumo part from Axel's Modellbau
I'd say, on average the typical small box of bits would have cost in the region of 14 Euros previously. That's around £12, but obviously charges will always fluctuate slightly.
I have to say, though, that my most recent order has attracted a charge of £35 for post and packing.! The item itself, an M4 travel barrel lock, is only valued at around 20 Euros. I'm just wondering whether I'm going to be sent the full-size WW2 item!.
Yes- I was a mug, but once bitten...

Needless to say, I can't fritter funds like this and, much as I've benefitted from buying parts, and even a full-option Tamiya Tiger 1 (which cost less to post!!) from Axle's in the past- I won't be a customer in the future.
Am I right in thinking, that bits can still be had from Germany via eBay UK at reasonable postal rates? Yes, I understand, there may well be customs duties and more to pay on items above a certain value. I'm talking about spares and accessories in the main.

[Kaczor]

Welcome to Brexit.

[Jofaur86]

I don't know if after Brexit?
I confirm, that for France it is the same, 15 € shipping for a 5 € piece, think carefully if necessary before. And if not in stock, no need to send email to know the deadline? never answer. Is this due to the fact that only Schumo distributor?

[Son of a gun-ner]

Just been on the Heng Long Panzer de site, the shipping would have only been 12.90 had they had the part you require.
Sadly this tax stupidity wasn't predicted by anyone. And it would appear that some sellers are putting up their handling portion of their shipping and handling to an excess, maybe they are trying to put us off from purchasing from them.
Technically they should remove their version of vat like they would for the states, but then add ours on, but I've noticed they keep theirs the same, then load us with the handling charge to cover it.

[tomhugill]

I don't know if after Brexit?
I confirm, that for France it is the same, 15 € shipping for a 5 € piece, think carefully if necessary before. And if not in stock, no need to send email to know the deadline? never answer. Is this due to the fact that only Schumo distributor?

15 euros seems about right, the minimum unless you got it in an envelope was about that pre brexit

[Kaczor]

Yep, I had issues with Axel's customer service also. Fortunately thanks to PayPal protecion they returned my money back. And I wonder why if it's such huge demand for Schumo parts, they not make more of them. I.e. Sherman details.

In case of shipment cost - on Polish forum we often make "group orders" when buing something abroad. One person order and we split shipment cost depending on the number of people. Even with additional delivery cost inside Poland it's still much cheaper. With Polish salaries, those delivery cost are even more significant

[Son of a gun-ner]

I know Lego isn't the same thing.
But I made a rather large order on a site called Brick Owl on the weekend, the seller was in Norway, when I got to the paying stage, I noticed that all the prices that already had Norwegian vat added had been put up another 20% on top, and the shipping charge to the UK suddenly more than doubled from what it was within my basket, then add the PayPal conversion to euros fee, I cancelled the order out of principle.

[john1970]

If you go on axel's site put a random part in the basket and play around with the postage drop down menu the UK charge is the same as Australia and more expensive than the US.
asiatam still charge the same so do Atak model

[HERMAN BIX]

Just so you all feel less aggrieved, what the exchange rate $AUD against the ( insert your local currency) again
Oh yeah , waaaaayyyyy better
So Shhhh & be happy you even can get the stuff in the first place .

[Model Builder 4]

Asiatam who are also in Germany Roy have always had a less than attractive postage charge. It's ok if you are putting a decent size order together but when you only need 1 item that will fit into an envelope they still wanted nearly 20€ for postage on an item that was around 5€ to buy and that was a couple of years ago now so it could well be more at this time. I would buy a lot more from them if that wasn't the case

Cheers, Lee.

[43rdRecceReg]

If you go on axel's site put a random part in the basket and play around with the postage drop down menu the UK charge is the same as Australia and more expensive than the US.
asiatam still charge the same so do Atak model

One shock was quite enough, John. , but thanks for the additional info. Leaving the EU didn't mean physically shifting these islands into the South Seas, however.
That massive increase simply can't be fair, or right. Those are NASA rates for postcards to Mars.

[jarndice]

As I mentioned in an earlier post Banggood are refusing to post some products to the UK and certain German dealers will not post to the UK at least for the present,
I think some European dealers are waiting for the dust to settle before getting back into dealing with UK buyers,
Once they know what tax or extra paperwork if any to apply then trade will resume but don't expect it to be cheaper.
The high rates charged by the dealers who are selling into the UK is probably all about protecting their collective ar*e's in case their or the UK tax office come looking for more money.

[lmcq11]

No matter what i order from Axel's for shipping to Canada, the shipping cost is 36EU... A few spare track links is 36EU.... Three complete 1/16 scale tank kits in large boxes is 36EU total I have learned to bundle up and save a fortune for unbeatable shipping costs.

[Jofaur86]

there is "modelbauseidels" which is cheaper, price and shipping costs, but no longer send to France? for supposedly European security issues (vigipirate) is the explanation given) ?? but only do Tamiya.
i don't know if it is the same for england or poland ??

[jhamm]

Hi,
shipping to uk has become more expensive after brexit, because customs declaration ist neccesary and administrative costs are charged.
now DHL cost: package up to 2kg - insurance up to 50,-€ - tracking = 12,89€
before brexit it was arround 8,-€

[Dr Phibes]

Hello 43rd,
Those are extortionate charges for post and shipping and, frankly, where I come across this I quite simply take my business elsewhere. Recently, I have been re-stocking parts and accessories and expanding my small RC tank collection.
I have been purchasing from a number of sources including, as an example, RCTank.de in Germany and the service has been outstanding. I was a little apprehensive because of the recent political developments across Europe but, in fact, I need not to have worried. On one occasion I ordered a collection of small parts for Panzer III build which came to around 80 Euro. The post and shipping (small package) was about 12 Euro. On another occasion I ordered a full RTR Panther G and a number of parts coming to over 500 Euro. Delivery via DHL to my door in about 6 days cost 37 Euro for shipping (big parcel of course) which I thought was quite reasonable (I have paid as much for domestic P&P on similar size and weight items ).
Given the present situation I thought this was very very good indeed, and a lot less hassle or cost than I anticipated.

Other orders with RCTank.de have been similarly dealt with so I can happily recommend Dominic as at least one supplier of all things RC tank that is not playing the same game some might (and I only say 'might') be playing. Such is life, so they say!

[Guido Henn]

Hello,

The cheapest package ( until 5kg) with tracking and insurance from Germany to Great Britain costs 26.99 euros with DHL. Sending goods by Deutsche Post costs 7.00 euros, but you cannot send large items there; it is insured for up to 20 euros.

A serious businessman will ship with DHL, because if a delivery goes missing, he is liable.



Before you continue discussing, you should put yourself in the shoes of the consignor. What would you do?


with regards,Guido

[Afrikakorps]

Just noticed this thread, and I have to agree with Herman, you should all see see just how expensive it is to ship to Australia !
Example:
(butterfly screw set 6.5€ + postage 50€ + import duty 10% )
Just imagine paying ( Brexit or no Brexit ) 62€ or 53£ or US$73 for such a small item.

Think yourselves lucky that you can even get your items.

[Saracen]

I recently tried to order a metal 3D printed part from a company similar to Shapeways, but they would only ship to the UK if the buyer was a VAT registered company.

Adrian.

[abramsky]

Hello
There is my 5 cents in in this discussion...

I am not surprised by the decisions of these ( usually small ) companies.
This is because small businesses, without the support of lawyers, are not always able to find their place in the new regulations, and they are de facto forced to associate with an intermediaries ( lawyers and tax advisers ) who (due to the new VAT regulations on islands) will register their company in the UK and represent them at the UK Tax Office. Not everyone wants to do this and incur additional costs.
Below is a description of such a situation:

Example 3. Sales from your own online store directly to a consumer in the UK for less than £ 135
Direct delivery is exempt from customs duties and import VAT in the UK. VAT is charged in Great Britain on a point-of-sale basis. In practice, this means that the seller should register for VAT in the UK, issue an invoice with the British tax and pay it to the British tax office. There are no thresholds here from which the German (Polish) seller is subject to this obligation. Thus, the very first B2C sale in the territory of the UK will trigger the obligation to register for VAT in the UK.

The full article is here:
https://jadzynlt.pl/2021/02/11/ Sprzedaż-wysylkowa-do-wielkiej-brytanii/
For those who do not speak Polish fluently. Use google tarnslator or translate button

My advice. Buy on eBay. There, the vat is charged automatically for each transaction and the seller does not have to register in the UK for VAT ...

I hope I helped

Btw. 50% of Britons voted for Breit. Did no one tell you it was going to be an expensive divorce