Service Updates
YES -WE ARE FINALLY SHIPPING OUTSIDE THE UK AGAIN!
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WANT TO SHIP AN ORDER OUTSIDE THE UK?
Due to the UK leaving the EU there are a small amount of products some countries will now not accept. This is mainly dyes, colours, patinas, and alcohol ink, and some other items. They are called prohibited items.
Any products affected have a clear notification shown on its page. Please go to the product page and check the area between the price and the "Add to cart" button carefully before placing your order. If it is a prohibited item to some countries we will list it there, here is an example;
VERY IMPORTANT
If you order an item which is prohibited in your country, our shop will NOT stop you ordering, but if your order is shipped it will be declined entry when it arrives in your country. It will eventually be returned to us, for a charge. Any charges and the original shipping cost you paid for the order would be deducted from any refund we can give you.
Please contact us to check if you are unsure about a product.
SHIPPING OUTSIDE THE UK - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Will there be any extra charges on my order?
If you are in the EU and have ordered from us before, you will see that since Brexit all items are now 20% less as the UK VAT (sales tax) is no longer charged on your order. However, you may have to pay tax and customs charges once the parcel arrives to your country. This would be paid by you, direct to the carrier or local customs office.
Q: How much will I be charged?
We are not able to tell you how much you might be charged, please contact your local customs office for advice before you place your order. It is usually calculated as a percentage of the value of the order and sometimes with a fixed handling charge.
Q: Can I pre-pay the charges when I order?
We’re afraid we can’t pay charges on your behalf. Import duties and taxes are payable to local customs authorities, you will be contacted by them when your order arrives at the delivery address.
Q: Can you put a lower value on my invoice, or mark it as a gift, to avoid charges?
No, we can't do that. It is against the law to declare a false value or description on a customs declaration.
Q: Do all orders get charged in customs? My friend didn’t pay anything?
We suggest you assume you will be liable for import charges on all orders delivered outside of the UK. There may be instances where a parcel slips through custom, but do not expect that as border control has only become stricter since Brexit.
Q: Will I be charged UK VAT on my order?
If your order is sent to an address outside the UK, we will NOT charge UK VAT. To see what you will pay, ensure you are logged in to the site and have a non-UK address as your shipping address.
Q: My parcel has arrived, but I am being charged more than I expected - can I refuse it and get my money back?
Whilst we do not recommend it, in most countries you can refuse the parcel and it should make its way back to us. Please note, there is the risk that your parcel will not arrive back with us, or, that it will take a long time for it to get back to us. We would not be able to refund you until the parcel has arrived safely in a saleable condition with us, you are responsible for the item until it has returned safely with us. We will be charged for the declined order by the courier, that charge will be deducted from any refund we make to you - it is usually around £5.50.
If you have changed your mind about the product, it is sometimes better to accept the parcel and then return it to us yourself using a tracked service. You should usually be able to reclaim any tax paid by putting a claim in with your local tax office, please contact them for advice.
PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT HAVE A SHOP AND CAN NOT WELCOME VISITORS AT THE MOMENT.
COVID SHIPPING AND ORDERING IMPLICATIONS
We guarantee that we will send all orders within 2 working days of them being placed. About 99.8% are still sent the same day, but there may be some delays.
Delivery services are hugely affected from the backlog of a very busy year, followed by a busier Christmas season, and since then, Brexit. For this reason we can not guarantee any delivery times at the moment as they are out of our hands once they leave us. We use reliable delivery services (DPD and Royal Mail) but they are all feeling the strain. Please take this into account before you order.
We are occasionally getting capped on how many orders we can send with our courier, sometime with no warning, meaning we need to hold orders back a day or two.
DUE TO THESE DELAYS, WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT OFFERING OUR NORMAL REFUNDS OR REPLACEMENTS FOR LOST PARCELS, UNTIL 4 WEEKS HAVE PASSED. IF YOUR PARCEL DOESN'T ARRIVE AS EXPECTED, PLEASE LET US KNOW AS NORMAL SO WE CAN KEEP AN EYE ON THINGS.
DPD SEEMS TO BE THE SAFEST OPTION TO CHOOSE FOR NOW.
For information on Royal Mail’s delivery status: https://www.royalmail.com/coronavirus
For information on DPD's delivery status: https://www.dpd.co.uk/content/products_services/covid-19-bulletins.jsp
ARE THERE ANY STOCK ISSUES? WILL I BE ABLE TO GET WHAT I NEED?
If it shows as available to order on our site, it means we have it (unless there is a mistake of course, if ever there was we would let you know as soon as we notice).
However, the pandemic has caused substantial problems for the manufacturing and supply chains. Raw material has increased in price, manufacturing is in many cases more complicated and therefore costs are added, there are less flights - all this means that costs have increased substantially - both the cost of the items we buy, as well as the cost of getting them to us.
Our suppliers have not always got the stock we normally expect. In several cases we have had to wait months for orders to leave the suppliers. Unfortunately there is no way of accounting for this apart from sitting on huge quantity of products - we have increased some of our products where possible, but this can't always be done.
The reality of this will be some price increases in 2021. We are doing everything we can to keep prices competitive and unchanged where possible, by ordering smarter.
