Buying Stuff From Europe

Good article
Looks to be about the same as ordering from elsewhere in the world now. Bear in mind, as well, that you'll get an import charge bill from the Post Office, DHL etc BEFORE they deliver. If you don't pay the VAT on top of the tariff and on top of whatever the deliverer charges as admin they won't deliver the item, they just send it back.
Also, you'll need to pay these charges on items that are going to be sent back to the owner without getting any refund. I used to do work to items sent from the US, Australia etc. and then, once the work was complete, send it back to the owner. I had to add the import charges to the work as these were not recoverable.
So, moral is, support your local Spiderman and not theirs.

 

Yup, I got that info from Motolegends which reflects two of my recent attempts to buy bike stuff from the EU.

I always try to replace fixture and fittings on my Hondas with the genuine article. They are 30 years old so finding parts is difficult and the EU is a useful source. I often use CMS in the Netherlands, so when I needed 5 replacement fairing fixtures I duly chucked them into my CMS basket. Total cost of parts was £20. Cost of shipping £20.50!! I cancelled my order.
I contacted CMS. I was told shipping costs have been increased now that we are no longer in the EU. Our government slaps 20% VAT on the cost of goods AND shipping. The shipping companies have to add a bit to cover their extra handling charges (form filling). They couldn't be specific about import duty but said there was a possibility the UK government would add it on before I would receive the goods. I have since checked this and the answer is import duty WOULD be charged because the goods are made in Japan. So I have no real idea (without a lot of research) what my £20 worth of parts would have ended up costing me until they arrived.

I was browsing the interweb this week, as you do, and spotted a used bike jacket I liked the look of. At £135 it looked like a reasonable deal. Then I spotted it was in France. Shipping was £27 and UK buyers had to contact the seller before purchase. So I did. I was told (with lots of apologies) that shipping to the UK has now more than doubled. So the jacket is now £162. Apparently eBay now automatically adds on VAT, which the seller was unhappy about and again apologised for. So if I want the jacket it is now over £190.

Tariff-free trade eh? Who read the small print?

 

XL Moto state on their website that they will be responsible for custom and import charges, I have just placed an order with them - we will see whether it is delivered without extra charges!

 

That's all well and good providing your local Spiderman has what you want. Which, in the case of the jacket I mentioned, he didn't.
Don't forget, even if you can find someone selling what you want, if they've had to import from the EU then prices have gone up. David Silver, the Honda spares chap, imports Japanese-made stuff from CMS in the Netherlands. Some smaller items on the David Silver website are now four times the price they are on the CMS website eg. a tiny plastic washer is €0.50 over there but £2 over here. Not great if you need 6 of them.

 

Very interested to see how this turns out. If you're quick maybe you could get them to slip few of the Honda fairing fixtures and fittings I need into the box, then you could post them on to me. Cheers.

 

Do you know the part numbers if so try your local Honda dealer. I have done that in the past when looking for odd bits and pieces for my 1981 CB900F but come to think of it they come from Holland or Belgium so if not in UK may not be cheaper than DS.
Sorry I think it's too late to get any extra's added on to this order!

 

I reckon I know all the part numbers of both my Hondas by now, they take a lot of looking after. My local dealer isn't interested in small orders. The last time I asked, many years ago, he said try David Silver. Like you said, just about all 'old' model parts are imported to the UK from the EU.
Fastline Superbikes in Preston bring in stuff direct from Japan but, again, they're not interested in small orders, not until it gets into the £100's.
Looks like I'll be planning a smuggling trip to Holland when the restrictions lift.

I'm sure the wonderful trade arrangements which our government said were going to be hugely beneficial to us are any day now going to come to fruition and make us all better off. At the moment they're potentially making me significantly worse off. If anyone can tell me where, in the world of motorcycling, I'm going to save money I'm all ears.

 

Peachy (sarcasm).

 

I am slightly baffled, as often I am.

Now that’s irrelevant right now.

But I don’t understand how I can buy electronics components from China Land and have never been charged an extra bean.

But buying from our neighbours using ethical employment practices generates charges?

The world has gone mad...

We need to rebalance the relationship with China. I am sure there are lots of other up and coming countries we could encourage to take their place - albeit with better human rights and climate philosophies.

 

Simple solution - buy British.

 

I quite agree. I was in our local custom builder shop a while back. Chatting over tea he said that just about everyone is buying from the net these days, saving money. There used to be 4 or 5 working in his shop, now there's only him. Soon he'll not be able to support himself on what he can do by himself working 7 days a week.
Thankfully I'm now retired, but having to work for myself for the last few years (no job so I had to) I was earning less than minimum wage by the end.
I'll happily pay the extra few quid any day to help my local businesses out.

 

I would love to see a government backed Buy British campaign, Union Jack carrier bags etc. I’m also a fan of buy local.

 

Well I’m doing my first ‘post brexit’ purchase which is an engine for one of my bikes. Paid for it mid January and still waiting as it’s had one return journey to Italy already. Time will tell

 

That's must be well pasta the expected delivery date then Eric.

 

Think the drivers sat nav turned wrong way at the spaghetti junction

 

No doubt he'll Rome around a bit before he finds his way.

 

Someone is takin' da Pisa..............

 

It was on the News the other day. The driver had his wife and six year old son with him for the trip. When they stopped for a pizza the boy went missing. Three days and three nights they wandered the Arno Valley in Tuscany shouting his name "Giacomo, where are yoooooooo". Then finally, just as the sun was rising, the mother heard that sound that Italian mothers just love....
"Mam am ere" !

 

............ here we go again!