Buying a new Hilleberg.

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pete75
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Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by pete75 »

Anyone after a new Hilleberg, try Scandinavian Outdoor in Finland. For example a new Nallo 2 is £620 after they've knocked off Finnish VAT. Postage is free if you choose the eco option. If you're unlucky you will be charged VAT at UK customs. That brings it up to £744 - about 200 quid less than a typical UK price. As an added bonus you gte 10% off your first order bringing the price down to £558, £669 if you're charged UK VAT by customs.
I bought a Nammatj 3 GT a couple of months ago and ended up paying £890 including UK VAT. Usual price here over £1200 and Hilleberg rarely discounted.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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simonineaston
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by simonineaston »

Good Tip - Hillys are great!
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
rualexander
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by rualexander »

Back in 1997 I flew to Sweden and had a week's holiday (staying with friends), bought a Hilleberg Stalon, and flew home again, all for the same price as buying the tent here in the UK
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MrsHJ
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by MrsHJ »

I think you’ll get charged duty as well as vat as it’s over £135. Plus an admin fee. Duty often isn’t a lot but worth checking just in case.
pete75
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by pete75 »

MrsHJ wrote: 15 Aug 2022, 10:46pm I think you’ll get charged duty as well as vat as it’s over £135. Plus an admin fee. Duty often isn’t a lot but worth checking just in case.
There is no duty on import of EU manufactured goods.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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MrsHJ
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by MrsHJ »

pete75 wrote: 16 Aug 2022, 8:12am
MrsHJ wrote: 15 Aug 2022, 10:46pm I think you’ll get charged duty as well as vat as it’s over £135. Plus an admin fee. Duty often isn’t a lot but worth checking just in case.
There is no duty on import of EU manufactured goods.
Yes, i think that should be the case - I wasn’t sure if it met all the requirements which are more fiddly than “we have a free trade agreement with no duty” would imply. It can be worth checking the customs code (geeky moment). In reality a lot of stuff goes straight through and doesn’t get checked. I got some panniers from Germany (last ones in the right colour to match my set) last week and there should have been vat charged by customs but it went through. I got a £200 jigsaw last year from the Netherlands (yes, it’s really large) which should have had VAT and maybe duty charged. But I do know of people who have had charges and I have in the past when importing from the USA.

I try to stick to vendors who deal with UK vat and customs- so I order quite often from Amazon sites overseas and there is a jigsaw company that specialises in brands that are not widely available in the UK and they have got their admin sorted on it but instead of free shipping it’s £20 a time. It is a pain in the neck given how painless buying from europe used to be. I can’t imagine what happened and I’m very glad I’m not an importer or exporter of goods as a small business.
pete75
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by pete75 »

MrsHJ wrote: 19 Aug 2022, 6:59am
pete75 wrote: 16 Aug 2022, 8:12am
MrsHJ wrote: 15 Aug 2022, 10:46pm I think you’ll get charged duty as well as vat as it’s over £135. Plus an admin fee. Duty often isn’t a lot but worth checking just in case.
There is no duty on import of EU manufactured goods.
Yes, i think that should be the case - I wasn’t sure if it met all the requirements which are more fiddly than “we have a free trade agreement with no duty” would imply. It can be worth checking the customs code (geeky moment). In reality a lot of stuff goes straight through and doesn’t get checked. I got some panniers from Germany (last ones in the right colour to match my set) last week and there should have been vat charged by customs but it went through. I got a £200 jigsaw last year from the Netherlands (yes, it’s really large) which should have had VAT and maybe duty charged. But I do know of people who have had charges and I have in the past when importing from the USA.

I try to stick to vendors who deal with UK vat and customs- so I order quite often from Amazon sites overseas and there is a jigsaw company that specialises in brands that are not widely available in the UK and they have got their admin sorted on it but instead of free shipping it’s £20 a time. It is a pain in the neck given how painless buying from europe used to be. I can’t imagine what happened and I’m very glad I’m not an importer or exporter of goods as a small business.
Apparently if the goods have been manufactured in the EU they are duty free, but ordering Shimano parts from Germany will attract duty. USA imports always seem to attract duty and stuff from China never.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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MrsHJ
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by MrsHJ »

It’s not quite as simple. If there are some non eu components then it can push it out of the duty free element.

All that being said duty isn’t generally the biggest charge- it’s the import VAT. Plus there is an admin charge on top if the VAT and duty is calculated by customs and collected from you on delivery instead of being dealt with in advance by the vendor. This is a big burden for the vendor as they need to get a Uk VaT number and account regularly for UK VaT returns (that’s the gist, I’ve never done it as although I’m a tax specialist VaT and duty aren’t my area). All this admin increases the vendor costs and is time consuming etc to administer. Some are doing it though but others don’t have the scale.
pete75
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Re: Buying a new Hilleberg.

Post by pete75 »

MrsHJ wrote: 20 Aug 2022, 8:43am It’s not quite as simple. If there are some non eu components then it can push it out of the duty free element.

All I know is my tent did not attract duty because it was made in Estonia which is a member of the EU. The customs declaration attached by the vendor gave full details of where it was made. So yes it is simple.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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