UK parts price rip-off?

[Jac]

I agree there is a lot of fried fast food around - and I dont care for their 'bread meals' - but I have always found the quality of fresh food very good - perhaps not up to French standards but better than here.

[Zanda]

The petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/NoVATonBikes/ to reduce VAT on bikes is intended to help decrease the price of parts in the UK. Note that VAT is charged on bike shop labour too.

[hamster]

I visit Holland most weeks with work (why is every meal like breakfast..?) I think that the other reason bike stuff is so cheap is that everyone cycles, the shops have lots of turnover and there are huge efficiencies of scale.

There are two Vermeulen bike shops near the offices I visit, each as big as my local Sainsbury's.

[Paul Power]

The petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/NoVATonBikes/ to reduce VAT on bikes is intended to help decrease the price of parts in the UK. Note that VAT is charged on bike shop labour too.

Yes, you're right that VAT is charged on bike shop labour, provided of course the cycle shop is registered for VAT. For example, if the shop's annual turnover is less than £63,000 (current vat threshold) then they can operate without charging vat on labour.

The real problem I see with VAT is why are safety items such as cycle helmets, which you aren't as yet required to wear by law exempt from VAT while bicycle lights - an essential safety device and a legal requirement subject to vat?

Why also is cycle training - surely a safety necessity subject to VAT while cycle helmets are not?

The bottom line here is that VAT is a complete rip off. Were we to operate our shop in the states you'd come to our cash point with your purchases and then at the point of sale we'd add on the VAT. So you as a consumer know exactly what you're paying Tony Blair or George Bush in tax.

But in the UK, we're required by law to display all our prices inclusive of VAT on our shop floor. My view is that this is simply the government's way of hiding just how much you pay in tax.

Paul Power
www.DutchBikeShop.co.uk

[reohn2]

I visit Holland most weeks with work (why is every meal like breakfast..?) I think that the other reason bike stuff is so cheap is that everyone cycles, the shops have lots of turnover and there are huge efficiencies of scale.

There are two Vermeulen bike shops near the offices I visit, each as big as my local Sainsbury's.

In the Netherlands if you want to buy a bike and you buy new you don't have to pay for it outright,you give the cycleshop owner your State ID number,then the cost of the bike and any accesories bought with it is stopped from you paypacket monthly, and you don't pay tax on it!
Oh to be Dutch!,a very forward thinking nation if you ask me.

[DaveLeighton]

...is common for everything but tax. If you can buy wine, beer, cigarettes, cars, bike parts at much lower prices, it's usually down to tax.

The government wants competition but not when it eats into their revenue when we buy from lower tax economies (it becomes a crime then).

Dave

[hubgearfreak]

germany, holland et al may have cheaper reatail prices.
but the income tax is 45%..NOT 20%

the government here (UK) raises their dosh in other ways.
including business rates

[DaveLeighton]

...add in National Insurance, Council Tax, VAT, etc, etc, that 45% looks pretty attractive...

[hubgearfreak]

...add in National Insurance, Council Tax, VAT, etc, etc, that 45% looks pretty attractive...

except for the fact that VAT is pretty consistant accross the EU

[Mick F]

As another point about prices ...

Now that the US dollar is cheap compared to Sterling, would it be a good idea to buy from US sites?

[DaveLeighton]

...everything is for the best in this the best of all possible countries?

[andwags]

Everything has a price and I think by buying outside the UK when our pound carries more value will eventually come back to haunt us and we will pay by jobs dissappearing, pound losing value, etc. It's the natural balance trying to restore itself.

The sad part of it all will be the effect won't be evident till it's too late.

[MarkC]

As another point about prices ...

Now that the US dollar is cheap compared to Sterling, would it be a good idea to buy from US sites?

Be wary, Mick. I've just bought something from the US. My parcel was identified going through customs and I had to pay the VAT before the parcel company would deliver it to me. On top of the VAT (charged at the same rate as would be levied on similar goods in the UK), I got charged a clearance fee by the parcel company of £8, when the VAT only amounted to £11!

There are those who suggest getting the retailer to "doctor" the description on the customs label, but if you're caught, you as the importer bear the responsibility. Customs can always open packages to check what is inside anyway.

If you're thinking of buying from the US, visit http://www.hmrc.gov.uk and see what you'd be liable for if you were charged the duties. On bikes, it's not just VAT. If you think it's still worth it, then go ahead. Recent articles in Bike Biz suggest that there has been a focus on making sure duties are charged, but then I've got friends who've ordered lots from overseas (outside the EU) and have not been charged a penny.

Ironically, I only ordered from the US because I wanted a helmet in a colour scheme no longer available and it was the only one I could find anywhere. And as it a helmet, I've mistakenly been charged VAT and now have to fill in lots of forms to reclaim what has been an error by HM Revenue and Customs! If I hadn't paid, my parcel would have been returned to the sender.

I'm a supporter of UK bike shops. As I said, I only went overseas because I couldn't get what I wanted and ended up paying the equivalent price had the helmet been available in the UK. Bargains aren't always what they appear to be...

[Howard]

Well,here's my 5 bobs worth.This and all the previous messages all eventually boil down to one thing, politics. It amazes me that this country no longer manufactures anywhere near what it used to but still remains a 'rich country'.That's what we're told. We are now apparently a 'service economy',I'd like someone to explain to me how that works in a 40 year timespan.

If we are now business based,computer led and finance orientated,how on earth do we have the resources to look after ourselves after the effects of a major war or global warming.Fact is,we don't.

The world has shrunk very quickly and people have got very greedy and selfish just as quickly.This is progress apparently.I find the squabbling and me, me, me society that we live in now not only offensive but also deeply sad.I will continue to feel and behave like it's 1975 for the rest of my life.That makes me eccentric....bleedin good job too.

We all need to realise that the way humans are going is self destructive.But then people think they are top monkey on this beautiful planet and lord of everything ,but ignore the responsibility that that post holds.
Carry on(ooer) arguing about prices,countries,service,tax,emigration,immigration,in fact everything...that's why humans ultimately can never fulfill their full potential or responsibilities.

p.s I am human.(cos typing monkeys or robots are a serious possibility) though the reason why escapes me.

[ThomasDylan]

As another point about prices ...

Now that the US dollar is cheap compared to Sterling, would it be a good idea to buy from US sites?

Be wary, Mick. I've just bought something from the US. My parcel was identified going through customs and I had to pay the VAT before the parcel company would deliver it to me. On top of the VAT (charged at the same rate as would be levied on similar goods in the UK), I got charged a clearance fee by the parcel company of £8, when the VAT only amounted to £11!

A while back, I bought a Driza-bone raincoat from New Zealand. They are ridiculously overpriced in the UK and I got it for 33% of retail via mail order. I expected to pay import duty and VAT and I expected to get stung, but it would still be cheaper.

As it worked out, the seller (unbeknown to me) declared the item as a gift and with a value of 50 NZ Dollars (about 20 Quid - a quarter of its value). As a result, it flew through customs and, even with courier delivery from NZ, I got the coat for a third of the UK price. Very good it is too.