***** Pictures of things we bought in July 2012 *****

crinkleshoes said:
Not designed as a dig, a genuine question:

What's the desire to own something like that on UK roads? It's not an off-roader & doesn't have a tow bar... seems like the vehicle has no purpose other than to be "big"?
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Derek W said:
easier to take dead bodies to be buried than a smaller runabout car :p
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See Derek's response ;)

basically my 'fun' car is a BMW 335i, tuned up a little, and it's rank in the winter. I don't live in the city centre, travel a lot with work and have lots of friends and family waaay up north. As an example where my mum stays you pretty much need something other than a bm to visit during the winter months. Plus, as for size, I use it to carry a lot of stuff and people quite often. So it pretty much ticks all the boxes. I'm not planning on taking it into a field or up a mountain!
 
crinkleshoes said:
Which is the point being made.

So we automatically get at least VAT added on top of US prices.

There's normally an import tax & random bump on electronics.

So the point being made is... at £199, Google are doing a heck of a good job getting the prices so close to each other...
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But why should we have US prices and then VAT? It's made by ASUS which manufactures in Taiwan so there will be import tax + other costs getting it to the US too.
 
Fair enough :)

I can see the reasoning there...

I think my view of them is just a bit skewed with the large number of them around here, somewhere it's utterly ridiculous to own something like that.
 
crinkleshoes said:
Not designed as a dig, a genuine question:

What's the desire to own something like that on UK roads? It's not an off-roader & doesn't have a tow bar... seems like the vehicle has no purpose other than to be "big"?
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Big cars just tend to feel more luxurious, the trim tends to be a higher standard, seating tends to be more comfortable.

Also the range can be remarkably good, not sure about that car specifically but something like a rav 4 has mega range. Not sure if thats just because they have bigger fuel tanks though.
 
Moothead2 said:
But why should we have US prices and then VAT? It's made by ASUS which manufactures in Taiwan so there will be import tax + other costs getting it to the US too.
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So the manufacturer don't lose money by selling it here?

The VAT goes to the government... not a manufacturer, supplier or retailer.

Those in the states that do apply sales tax, will have to pay it...

We're in the same boat, effectively.

That doesn't make it nice for us... but we have an option... move.

Google have done their best to make the prices match as closely as possible, which seems rare lately... with most electronics being ~ £0.90=$1.00

And it's cheaper to import from Taiwan to US than it is from Taiwan to UK. Plus the import taxes for the US are significantly lower than the UK. I imagine Google have a better margin on them in the US than they do in UK.
 
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crinkleshoes said:
Which is the point being made.

So we automatically get at least VAT added on top of US prices.

There's normally an import tax & random bump on electronics.

So the point being made is... at £199, Google are doing a heck of a good job getting the prices so close to each other...
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Import Tax is only added if it arrives at Customs and they check it, then you will get screwed.

There are some companies who have "ties" with HM Customs where they will add VAT and what not for UK customers if they are US based, but think this is pretty rare.

If you select the right shipping option, then it flies right into the country, bypassing custom checks, therefore avoiding all the added fee's.

Therefore if X costs Y amount in the US, you only pay Y amount plus the shipping charge.

I buy things from Japan all the time with parcels worth all over £100, by all rights... I should be getting charged Import Tax, but I don't. The only time I ever did was when I selected EMS shipping, which is the fastest shipping option (works out to be slowest in the end, since it gets delayed by customs lol.)

Mind you, it doesn't always work, it depends on the shipping options you can select when buying something, sometimes it's cheaper or equals the price to just buy it here, I also believe there is luck to importing items outside the EU on if you going to get hit with extra charges or not.
 
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crinkleshoes said:
Fair enough :)

I can see the reasoning there...

I think my view of them is just a bit skewed with the large number of them around here, somewhere it's utterly ridiculous to own something like that.
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Eames said:
Big cars just tend to feel more luxurious, the trim tends to be a higher standard, seating tends to be more comfortable.

Also the range can be remarkably good, not sure about that car specifically but something like a rav 4 has mega range. Not sure if thats just because they have bigger fuel tanks though.
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Crinkleshoes - I wasn't offended or anything :p but honestly I didn't buy because it's a big 4x4 lol, it's a not as huge to drive on the roads as it may look tbh, but the luggage / carrying capacity is excellent, and reviews have said it's good in the mud and snow, ideal for what I need.

Also the biggest reason for getting it was the price, a trade in at a mate's garage = total win for me :)

Eames also has a point, larger vehicles tend to soak up the bumps, feel comfy etc etc.
 
IronWarrior said:
Import Tax is only added if it arrives at Customs and they check it, then you will get screwed.

There are some companies who have "ties" with HM Customs where they will add VAT and what not for UK customers if they are US based, but think this is pretty rare.

If you select the right shipping option, then it flies right into the country, bypassing custom checks, therefore avoiding all the added fee's.

Therefore if X costs Y amount in the US, you only pay Y amount plus the shipping charge.

I buy things from Japan all the time with parcels worth all over £100, by all rights... I should be getting charged Import Tax, but I don't. The only time I ever did was when I selected EMS shipping, which is the fastest shipping option (works out to be slowest in the end, since it gets delayed by customs lol.)

Mind you, it doesn't always work, it depends on the shipping options you can select when buying something, sometimes it's cheaper or equals the price to just buy it here.
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Ah, so now you're advocating tax evasion... enjoy the jail time when you get caught :p
 
I've switched to safety razor shaving this month (thanks Manly Shaving Thread!)

shaving.jpg


The safety razor, cream and brush were first, followed by the stand and the aftershave lotion and I've just fitted the mirror that arrived yesterday. Mirror seems like a bargain. There was a black rust-like mark on the mirror surround - perhaps that's why they're going so cheap, but Astonish took it off.
 
crinkleshoes said:
Ah, so now you're advocating tax evasion... enjoy the jail time when you get caught :p
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No not at all, you misunderstand or I didn't really explain it well enough.

Import Tax is only added if HM Customs checks the parcel when it arrives in the country, since it's impossible for them to check every parcel that arrives, pretty much all the time you will escape the extra fee's, unless in my experience you select the fastest shipping option you can get like EMS, then that's paiting big red X on the parcel for them to check it and then charge you fee's.

If you select a other shipping option, which is slower, like SAL or Air Mail, which can take 1 to 7 weeks. (Really takes 1/2 weeks) then that's fine.

In the end you are doing nothing wrong.
 
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Moothead2 said we were being robbed in the UK.

We aren't.

In the US the price of the 16GB Nexus 7 is apparently $249 plus sales tax.

In the UK the pre VAT price is £165.83 which is ~$258.30.

We're hardly being ripped off in the UK if you look at the pre tax price.

Hopefully you can understand my point now.
 
I don't think I've paid import tax once on anything I've bought from Japan/USA.


Surveyor said:
Moothead2 said we were being robbed in the UK.

We aren't.

In the US the price of the 16GB Nexus 7 is apparently $249 plus sales tax.

In the UK the pre VAT price is £165.83 which is ~$258.30.

We're hardly being ripped off in the UK if you look at the pre tax price.

Hopefully you can understand my point now.
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Fair enough. We're still being sucked dry by the Government though :p.
 
crinkleshoes said:
Depends on the state, only 50-60% of states have a sales tax.

Also, only 6 states apply a sales tax to online purchases.

So buying something like that direct from googles website, unless you're in one of those 6 states... will be tax-free.
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Didn't know that. Always a pain the first time I went to NYC, having the exact change ready as I didn't know all the coins then finding out the price had gone up thanks to sales tax :mad:
 
Surveyor said:
Moothead2 said we were being robbed in the UK.

We aren't.

In the US the price of the 16GB Nexus 7 is apparently $249 plus sales tax.

In the UK the pre VAT price is £165.83 which is ~$258.30.

We're hardly being ripped off in the UK if you look at the pre tax price.

Hopefully you can understand my point now.
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Ah I see, I guess them prices are pretty good for us then.

Really odd through, normally the price difference is pretty big.
 
IronWarrior said:
Ah I see, I guess them prices are pretty good for us then.

Really odd through, normally the price difference is pretty big.
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Exactly why I say Google have done something good by levelling the market a bit, can only hope this spills over in to other things too.

However... there could be another reason for it.

Either the US price could have been increased to match costs in other markets. Or they could have averaged out the extra costs across all markets in to a common price.

The latter is probably the most likely.

Meaning the UK are benefitting for once, however other countries could be paying more to subsidise us... woo!

I'm thinking of ordering one of these... have an ipad 3, but very tempted by the nexus 7 :D
 
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