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/ Sprzeda?-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