Fractal discount in EU?

I live here in the UK and just bought a new board from Thomann in Germany.

The purchase price was £194 which I paid by PayPal on the Thomann web site. When I got the eReceipt, and at the top (and not very clear) is a text saying that I will be subject to 20% VAT, which I never needed to pay before because EU VAT and UK VAT is applied to the product sales price (i.e. including VAT).

So I received an email from UPS who Thomann use as their courier telling me I need to pay import fees of £69.70 !!!

Turns out on top of the 20% VAT there is a UPS "handling charge" of a further 20% - so my advertised pedalboard is actually going to cost me £263.70 !

I'm sure Fractal Audio would be aware of this as it is a significant price hike of any product being imported into the UK from the Germany using UPS. I'm pretty sure G66 use UPS so maybe they could look into it, because a new Axe FX III would cost a whopping £3650 or thereabouts if this is the case for them as well.
 
bread said:
I live here in the UK and just bought a new board from Thomann in Germany.

The purchase price was £194 which I paid by PayPal on the Thomann web site. When I got the eReceipt, and at the top (and not very clear) is a text saying that I will be subject to 20% VAT, which I never needed to pay before because EU VAT and UK VAT is applied to the product sales price (i.e. including VAT).

So I received an email from UPS who Thomann use as their courier telling me I need to pay import fees of £69.70 !!!

Turns out on top of the 20% VAT there is a UPS "handling charge" of a further 20% - so my advertised pedalboard is actually going to cost me £263.70 !

I'm sure Fractal Audio would be aware of this as it is a significant price hike of any product being imported into the UK from the Germany using UPS. I'm pretty sure G66 use UPS so maybe they could look into it, because a new Axe FX III would cost a whopping £3650 or thereabouts if this is the case for them as well.
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Look at the bright side, you can buy Atomic Amplifire from Anderton's at a fair price because the only distributor in Europe is Anderton's (no longer in the EU) :)
 
bread said:
I live here in the UK and just bought a new board from Thomann in Germany.

The purchase price was £194 which I paid by PayPal on the Thomann web site. When I got the eReceipt, and at the top (and not very clear) is a text saying that I will be subject to 20% VAT, which I never needed to pay before because EU VAT and UK VAT is applied to the product sales price (i.e. including VAT).

So I received an email from UPS who Thomann use as their courier telling me I need to pay import fees of £69.70 !!!

Turns out on top of the 20% VAT there is a UPS "handling charge" of a further 20% - so my advertised pedalboard is actually going to cost me £263.70 !

I'm sure Fractal Audio would be aware of this as it is a significant price hike of any product being imported into the UK from the Germany using UPS. I'm pretty sure G66 use UPS so maybe they could look into it, because a new Axe FX III would cost a whopping £3650 or thereabouts if this is the case for them as well.
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Additional handling charge? 20%? OMG. Never heard of that. That's rip-off.
 
bread said:
I live here in the UK and just bought a new board from Thomann in Germany.

The purchase price was £194 which I paid by PayPal on the Thomann web site. When I got the eReceipt, and at the top (and not very clear) is a text saying that I will be subject to 20% VAT, which I never needed to pay before because EU VAT and UK VAT is applied to the product sales price (i.e. including VAT).

So I received an email from UPS who Thomann use as their courier telling me I need to pay import fees of £69.70 !!!

Turns out on top of the 20% VAT there is a UPS "handling charge" of a further 20% - so my advertised pedalboard is actually going to cost me £263.70 !

I'm sure Fractal Audio would be aware of this as it is a significant price hike of any product being imported into the UK from the Germany using UPS. I'm pretty sure G66 use UPS so maybe they could look into it, because a new Axe FX III would cost a whopping £3650 or thereabouts if this is the case for them as well.
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G66 will pay any import fees.
It will NOT cost more for you now, than before brexit.
 
G66 and Thomann will sell the item without 20% VAT. The VAT and surcharge is then added on and you have to pay that to UPS when your item enters the UK. The surcharge is about 2.5% as well as the 20% VAT.

I bought some Red Sound Elis 8's from G66 recently and I paid G66 the price without 20% VAT. I then paid UPS the VAT and the surcharge before delivery.

This is from the G66 website.

Shipping to the UK and Germany is free of charge for orders over EUR 200. When shipping to Great Britain we don't charge any VAT, the British VAT will be charged by UPS. We are taking care of any duty and customs fees and we are temporarily deducting a 3% Brexit Discount to make sure you won't be paying more than before the Brexit.

And this is from Thomann's website.

Special Rules for our UK Customers​

With the new trade agreement between the EU and the UK, new regulations have been applied to all commercial transactions between the two distinct markets.

As of 01.01.2021 all current prices shown on our UK website do not include VAT 20% (Value Added Tax).
According to the new regulations, the VAT (20%) and additional handling fees will have to be paid to the courier upon delivery with the only exceptions being special VAT-free zones (e.g Channel Islands).

Based on the feedback we have received so far, Government Charges will be collected by UPS and they consist of the 20% VAT plus a small amount for the paperwork involved (usually around 2.5%). There is also an additional amount to be paid to UPS for their service, which is a minimum of 11.50 GBP. As not every order has the same customs requirement, for further information we advise that you check the costs and procedures in advance with the courier locally.

VAT will be added and charged by Thomann GmbH after processing an order only if the net value of the order is equal or less than 135.00 GBP or if delivery will be to Northern Ireland. In these cases, no additional fee will have to be paid upon delivery.

For items exceeding 31 kilos, or heavy goods such as PA equipment, pianos, etc., we have to employ the services of a heavy haulage company. As these new regulations only came into effect a few days before the end of the transition period, delivery by this method of transport to the UK is currently not possible. Further information will be included in our order confirmation email.
Please be assured that with more than 20 years of close cooperation with our UK customers, it is our priority to find new solutions that will allow us to provide door-to-door online prices as soon as possible.
 
Here in Northern Ireland (which because of the vast Irish Sea is farther away than the UK mainland for continental EU vendors) we're in the UK and the EU somehow .... so any VAT is charged at point of sale regardless of the order being under or over £135 AND no handling + service charge will be added by UPS. IE Same as pre-Brexit.

There is no customs checking for goods being sent from Northern Ireland to the UK Mainland (because it's just inter-UK transporting innit) but there is customs checking for goods coming from the UK mainland to NI (presumably in case we 'smuggle' it to the South of Ireland which is separated from the North by what is now by former agreement a non-existent border).

So for a mere 2% service fee (therefore undercutting UPS delivery from EU to UK ... um well UK with exception of NI I mean) I could buy you English/Scottish or Welsh residents anything you want and you could fly or drive over - go have a nice wee holiday with the family to see some Game Of Thrones sites, Giants Causeway and the Titanic centre, get rained on and then call round to mine to pick up your gear and go home with it. Tourism and trade .... way to go.

Maybe my garden shed could be a UK distribution extension for G66? I just know you want to check out my shed Sussi 😉

Only problem would be if an item needed returned to base for repair under warranty the UK (except if NI) owner might be charged customs and excise duties ... but only one way .... 🤪

It's plain mental ....

Just to demonstrate the dumbassiness of it all:

An aquaintance of mine had his refrigerated food lorry impounded for nearly a week as it came off the ferry from England into N. Ireland because there was a discrepency on the manifest declaration ..... most items were fine - no duty needed but then they discovered that some frozen Pizzas had pepperoni pieces that came from Italy (surprise!) and weren't declared properly - or the guidelines weren't 'clear' at that time or sie such nonsense. An entire lorry laid up for nearly a week over some pepperoni bits on top of an otherwise british pizza.
 
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bread said:
I live here in the UK and just bought a new board from Thomann in Germany.

The purchase price was £194 which I paid by PayPal on the Thomann web site. When I got the eReceipt, and at the top (and not very clear) is a text saying that I will be subject to 20% VAT, which I never needed to pay before because EU VAT and UK VAT is applied to the product sales price (i.e. including VAT).

So I received an email from UPS who Thomann use as their courier telling me I need to pay import fees of £69.70 !!!

Turns out on top of the 20% VAT there is a UPS "handling charge" of a further 20% - so my advertised pedalboard is actually going to cost me £263.70 !

I'm sure Fractal Audio would be aware of this as it is a significant price hike of any product being imported into the UK from the Germany using UPS. I'm pretty sure G66 use UPS so maybe they could look into it, because a new Axe FX III would cost a whopping £3650 or thereabouts if this is the case for them as well.
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Not the case, I just bought my Axe FX 3 from G66, I am from the UK. We do not pay EU VAT, and there is a further temporary 3% reduction for UK customers due to G66 taking care of import duties following Brexit. I paid £1854 to G66 after currency charges. I then had to pay UK VAT which was a further £370, bringing the total to £2224.
Compared to the US quoted price where I believe local tax is not shown, and there is a further charge for an extended guarantee (guarantee from G66 is 3 years), I think this is a pretty good price taking into account shipping and any profit G66 will make. I for one am quite happy with the amount of money I have paid, and especially taking into account the fantastic service you get from G66.
 
Ripley said:
Not the case, I just bought my Axe FX 3 from G66, I am from the UK. We do not pay EU VAT, and there is a further temporary 3% reduction for UK customers due to G66 taking care of import duties following Brexit. I paid £1854 to G66 after currency charges. I then had to pay UK VAT which was a further £370, bringing the total to £2224.
Compared to the US quoted price where I believe local tax is not shown, and there is a further charge for an extended guarantee (guarantee from G66 is 3 years), I think this is a pretty good price taking into account shipping and any profit G66 will make. I for one am quite happy with the amount of money I have paid, and especially taking into account the fantastic service you get from G66.
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I wasn't saying it was the case Ripley I was simply pointing out my experience recently with Thomann. I was just making sure that G66 weren't impacted by it thats all.
 
I'm fine not having discounts and black fridays in europe, but I still would not mind an upgrade plan from my 2xl+ :p
 
luke said:
For those begrudging G66 earning the profit they seek, are you posting in this thread via your $1000+ iPhone?
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Not bashing G66 in any way as they are simply awesome, but talking about iPhone price in a FAS forum is pretty funny, considering the Axe-FX III price.

You can definitely compare the top smartphone with the top modeler 😉
 
I don't think anyone is seeking to minimize G66's profit.
I just think many people were wondering why they never had any discounts or "package" deals. Especially when the official supplier (Fractal Audio) themselves have discounts and package deals.

That has been explained in the thread so I think most people understand it better now. But I don't think it's unreasonable for people to wonder and ask questions about it.
 
Tanax said:
I don't think anyone is seeking to minimize G66's profit.
I just think many people were wondering why they never had any discounts or "package" deals. Especially when the official supplier (Fractal Audio) themselves have discounts and package deals.

That has been explained in the thread so I think most people understand it better now. But I don't think it's unreasonable for people to wonder and ask questions about it.
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This is wholly created by the internet and people’s feeling they are owed an explanation. It used to be, either you bought or you didn’t. You did not have the option cast dispersions on the sellers to a vast audience. It’s narcissism run amok.
 
luke said:
This is wholly created by the internet and people’s feeling they are owed an explanation. It used to be, either you bought or you didn’t. You did not have the option cast dispersions on the sellers to a vast audience. It’s narcissism run amok.
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Yes, and the same thing happens in reverse with other products like coffee, theater tickets and pharmaceuticals.

Price differences happen all over the world as a result of local productions, tariffs, taxes, support costs, regulatory issues, and a whole host of other things. Getting upset with the manufacturer isn't going to change it and can be psychologically toxic.
 
luke said:
This is wholly created by the internet and people’s feeling they are owed an explanation. It used to be, either you bought or you didn’t. You did not have the option cast dispersions on the sellers to a vast audience. It’s narcissism run amok.
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Owed? No. But it's not wrong to ask questions. Asking questions as customers is a way for companies to actually know what is desired by their customer base without spending any money on surveys or market research. Asking questions is great.

Demanding or telling them how to do things, that's where it gets out of line though.
 
Tanax said:
Owed? No. But it's not wrong to ask questions. Asking questions as customers is a way for companies to actually know what is desired by their customer base without spending any money on surveys or market research. Asking questions is great.

Demanding or telling them how to do things, that's where it gets out of line though.
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Asking product questions is fine, you however are creating a false equivalency argument about pricing.
 
Ripley said:
Not the case, I just bought my Axe FX 3 from G66, I am from the UK. We do not pay EU VAT, and there is a further temporary 3% reduction for UK customers due to G66 taking care of import duties following Brexit. I paid £1854 to G66 after currency charges. I then had to pay UK VAT which was a further £370, bringing the total to £2224.
Compared to the US quoted price where I believe local tax is not shown, and there is a further charge for an extended guarantee (guarantee from G66 is 3 years), I think this is a pretty good price taking into account shipping and any profit G66 will make. I for one am quite happy with the amount of money I have paid, and especially taking into account the fantastic service you get from G66.
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I’ve just done the same. Every time I’ve bought from g66, their service is absolutely impeccable. A lot of companies could learn from how they deal with their customers. I’d happily pay extra to a company that gives a shit about their customer base :)
 
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