Hello
I feel that I should respond regarding the pricing of Sonus products in the UK
In an era of world wide on line shopping we can personally purchase just about anything from just about anywhere
However i should point out that the vat paid on import is actually calculated on the total cost of the goods + the cost of the carriage. The duty aspect is actually negligible when compared to this. Although I have worked hard to gain approved shipper status with carriers to keep the freight costs down the cost of shipping larger amounts of products is high being calulated on volumetric weight. This means shipping cost are anywhere between 30% to 50% of the cost of the product. I was recently quoted over £700 to ship a similar weight by a national carrier! this equated to almost 100% of the cost of the product. If anyone would like to get a cost for shipping 150Kg from California to the uk then customs clearance, handling charges and delivery to another UK destination I am sure that you will concur that importing on a commercial basis is a whole different ball game from a personal import via USPS.
In addition the company is limited and vat registered, unlike many of our on-line competitors and as such we have to give Mr Brown 17.5% of the sale price on everything we sell. So in effect HM's Gov collect from us twice. I am not making a "fat profit" as many may imagine
I hope that this clarifies things just a little for you all.
Having done some test "purchases" of small orders from Autopia and compared the carriage costs the UK supplied items compete if you take the vat and other costs into consideration.
eg order 2 x Sonus SFX clay bars from autopia and the total cost is $58.70 including shipping. Add duty and VAT at the uk end and the cost is approximately £41 and you haven't had to pay HMG 20% on top.... CF the on line price is £39.
It would be nice to be able to lower carriage charges as well but again HMG takes 17.5% of "carriage" yet we can not reclaim the cost of postage!
Re the Pro Bucket...... yes the price is a joke! but at least you all looked !! The bucket comes with seat liner lid etc. The travelling dolly costs the same as the bucket and it weighs a ton! I'm going to ask David if he will sell just the buckets lids and insert combo which will be a more sensible £35. I do know the supplier of the system but they won't sell direct to me as they supply Autopia and I do not wish to upset one or the other. I could by direct at US RRP but the cost of transportation means it is not viable.
It does however surprise me that these types of quality goods are not available in Europe....
Having used the Sonus range in my own business I firmly believe these are excellent products and I hope that I may count on your support. To this end I am happy to offer discount vouchers to clubs and groups who wish to purchase from "the UK" despite all its red tape and expensive pricing. Feel free to e-mail me for a 10% introductory voucher code if you want to purchase via my on-line shop.
e-mail to
tpcl@thepolishingcompany.com
