Last week I was looking for some items online and realised how much BREXIT has changed how I buy stuff online. I now look up German and French words for finding vendors not in the UK and when comparing prices on CH24 and eBay I now pretty much always see UK sellers as too expensive and not worth the effort. On vintage watches, it doesn't seem like many have adjusted prices to compete with EU sellers.

Also, I have noted how most online sellers make you choose between "United Kingdom" and "Europe" - come on guys, you are still a part of Europe, just not the Union!

How are the UK sellers, collectors and watchmakers on here faring?

 

eBay calls it “continental Europe”, seems more appropriate. But I’m completely with you - avoiding UK sellers for the same reason, with the exceptions of cheap parts that don’t cause import duty. It’s sad really.

 

I think you might be underestimating the impact that being out of the EU is having. Duty is now something we need to think about when buying from EU countries. On the plus side, and I've seen no evidence for this but am speculating, it may be that private sellers are more inclined to restrict sales to the UK to save hassle, rather as we see many US based members here restricting their private sales to CONUS. That will greatly contract the size of the market for buyers, which may mean that prices stay low. Don't know, just a thought.

 

Professionally, I'm waiting 5 days more for packages, and vat is not collected by the UK anymore, so not much change. Personally I don't buy expensive items from UK vendors, I don't want to get hit with a 20% duty + fees.

 

For prospective buyers from the EU, it's double-edged sword, as while the import duties do put a general damper on the temptation to buy from the UK, there will be less competition in auctions for that very same reason.

 

Same here... Our customs people here aren't letting anything pass between their fingers!
So it is more like... Oh a nice watch, seller in the UK... Ok, let's check the price... interesting!... +30% import tax... Let's forget about it

 

I used to order small parts and tools from cousinsuk before brexit regulary, also purchased a few watches in the past years.
In January this year had my last purchase from UK that was a bit nerve wracking, and expensive.. havent purchased anything ever since. Having to add 20% taxes make most deals unattractive

 

In the UK, I feel that the Europeans are less keen on purchasing watches that are being shipped from the UK, which has influenced the way I buy UK watches.

So while Brexit has stopped me from buying watches from the EU, it has made me feel more confident about buying watches in the UK, the demand seems to have reduced because of the smaller consumer base so watches stay on sale for longer and sometimes go for cheaper

I see a watch selling in the UK and I instantly relax a bit

This is based on my personal experience though, so take it with a fistful of salt

 

A cautionary tale: a friend recently bought from an auction site, and 20% import duty was charged by UK Customs. British collectors have had years to understand this would happen, so yes expensive, but no dramas there. Duty was paid, goods released, package received. Unfortunately...
The goods were not good, transaction was reversed, refunds arranged. It happens. But...
the new feature of the whole experience is trying to get the UK tax authorities to hand back their share of the deal that didn't happen. A whole new world of out-of-the-money bureaucratic pain, not properly foreseen, regrettably!

 

"Import duties and handling fees included in price"

Receives invoice from Parcel Force for import duties and handling fees.

Lead times for some of my furniture have gone bonkers, Covid is usually blamed but that can't run for ever....

 

From the CH side, zero difference.

 

In day to day life, no impact whatsoever. I'm in England.

We always try to buy local or from a local distributor so nothing has changed. Out of interest, we bought a fridge, dishwasher, oven and hob from Fagor when we lived in Spain in order to support the local economy but the Spanish guys at work laughed as they were all buying from abroad... Have to admit that the reliability was suspect so not the best choice.

I believe that if you buy any new item in UK then nothing has really changed. If you like to buy new from EU websites then you've obviously lost out as generally you are paying VAT twice, it seems.

Buying used from EU now incurs VAT so better to look to USA which always had VAT and prices are cheaper.

I may have lost a few jobs due to this but, that's life.

For the great majority in UK, I suspect the biggest impact will be when we are allowed to travel on holiday again (2022?) and then people may see some issues.

Cheers, Chris

 

‘Moderators Are Ridiculous’


Life here in the sunlit uplands is perfect, prices stable maybe dropping slightly at the auctions I have looked at.

Sausages no longer available in Northern Ireland, more for me.

Still locked down partially for another month.

G7 performance exactly what you might expect from our band of charlatans.

Apolitical enough mods?

 

Mostly the same experience as @ConElPueblo: now avoiding UK for small stuff.

 

I’ve only had one transaction. My recently sold bb 58. Turns out the buyer didn’t agree with adding local vat or customs charges onto the sale price by DHL so my watch is sat stranded in DHL Rotterdam!

from a personal perspective, I’ve stopped looking at used watches from the EU now as once you add 20%
on top they are priced above what I’d want to pay.

I did enquire about a new watch and they will deduct source vat so you don’t get hit twice however.

 

Being in the UK I am more inclined to look at UK and US watches first since Brexit. I wouldn't discount EU but, as others have said, the tax issue and effect on price is now more of a consideration.

 

I completely stopped buying from UK, previously one of my main sources of watches and related paraphernalia. EBay is particularly annoying, now they collect "import fees" even If seller sends by Royal Mail (no GSP). Totally useless.

 

"All hatches now sealed, sir. We are now totally secure. No-one out there will still be living by the time we emerge."
"But... ?"
"Radiation levels within tolerance, sir."
"You know what I'm getting at! Can't you hear them? Their cries for help? The incessant banging on the hatches!"
"It will get weaker over time, sir. I guarantee, none of those service users will ever be able to make contact with any of us. Ever."

 

Similar to others in the EU I in Ireland have had to cut back on UK purchases. And that applies to everything on eBay, watch purchases and many other sources where we would always have looked to the UK first.

Customs opened a package for one watch I bought to check the value.

certainly building more links with collectors in Europe and switched to Amazon.de