@russ Sadly problems with buying and selling from Europe were all predictable to people who had experience and knew how the system worked but politicians glossed over the truth because they are never ...

It all seems a bit hit or miss when buying from America, not just from Stewmac. Sometimes there are import taxes and sometimes not. I have noticed that the cost of imports from Europe are now about fo...

@mattbeels Daaaaang, that’s some expensive paint! I didn’t really think about it from your other post about SM but doesn’t anyone in the UK have shielding paint?!? I saw some shielding paint on Cus...

Daaaaang, that’s some expensive paint! I didn’t really think about it from your other post about SM but doesn’t anyone in the UK have shielding paint?!? Crimson do it, RS have a spray lacquer, I'm su...

@boo Daaaaang, that’s some expensive paint! I didn’t really think about it from your other post about SM but doesn’t anyone in the UK have shielding paint?!? It‘s a good thing you didn’t get charged c...

so I was wondering if anyone had any recent experience of ordering smaller shipments (less than £135) from them? @jonhodgson Yeah I did and I didn’t get charged any VAT/import tax or whatever you wan...

I think it's nuts too, I'm just relaying what the new rules are.I don't know how they're policing it, if at all.

But for consignments less than that, the seller is supposed to collect the VAT, and then pay it to HMRC, for which they have to be registered for UK VAT and keep relevant paperwork How the hell does ...

@Rocknroller912I'm aware of how things used to work, but the law changed at the beginning of this year (see the link in my original post).Now for smaller consignments the seller (or the online marketp...

@tv101 Has anyone ever managed to order something for less than £135 from Stewmac?? Bah-hahahahaha!

@jonhodgson When I've bought goods from USA and other non EU countries in the past it's the shipping agent which collects the VAT and Import duty on behalf of Customs & Excise + their admin fee, b...

Not only that but you also pay VAT on the duty! Tax on a tax on an imaginary cost!

Wow, that is crazy. I think it's already ridiculous that you have to pay VAT on the shipping charge, but inventing a stupidly high charge so they can get VAT off it is criminal (morally speaking).

Beware of Stewmacs 'free delivery'! HMRC will assess a value for the carriage of about £150 and charge you VAT, duty and admin costs on this. No getting around it, no discussion, no appeal. Pay it or ...

Interesting, according to gov.uk the VAT threshold is only £15 (duty is £135). I guess there's a degree of luck involved as to whether the customs officer dealing with your package can be bothered to ...

Yes, ordered the set of three polishing compounds about two weeks ago and arrived this morning. No issues with customs or vat, but was well below the customs threshold.

Yes, Stewmac aren't cheap, but they have so many cool looking things. But with the Stewmax option meaning there's no postage on individual orders, it becomes reasonable to make small orders. When I fi...

Has anyone ever managed to order something for less than £135 from Stewmac?? 😋 I hadn't realised that the rules for collecting/paying VAT had changed worldwide - I'd assumed it was just an E...

I don't know if this has been brought up here before, but at 11pm on December 31st the rules on VAT for goods imported to the UK changed for the whole world, not just the EU.Basically if a consignment...

I actually just finish a lot of my builds with only shellac. I really like how my (shellac) finishes look and , more important, feel.Now I am not doing a french polish or anything like that, I just pu...