National hives from China

[local_beekeeper]

National hives from China, under £40 - wondering if there are any good?

 

[oliver90owner]

Not a clue. Few details to go on, or are we supposed to just guess?

 

[wightbees]

Also add shipping of which you add to cost of product then import tax goes onto total cost .Cant remember the amount now,maybe about 20%

 

[moor141]

If its the same one I looked at it looks ok but minimum order is 300 units.

 

[drstitson]

"it looks ok but minimum order is 300 units."

perhaps slightly too many for the Smart to manage!

 

[The Cumbrian]

Also add shipping of which you add to cost of product then import tax goes onto total cost .Cant remember the amount now,maybe about 20%

Last time I had anything to do with importing something it was VAT (assuming the item is due to have VAT paid) plus 6% so if that is still the same it would be 26%

 

[winmag270]

any chance of a link to the item in question?

 

[For want of a better word]

Bought one for evaluation for our honey co-op

Chinese cedar... nearer to deal.
Floor, brood 2 X Supers QE Crownboadr and roof.. flat with galvanised steel cover
floor was useless ( described as OMF) no mesh
entrance block fitted into slot in brood
roof had no vents
The QE was a work of art wooden dowels......
Assembly instructions also very interesting.. somewhere between top space and bottom space!

With all duties etc worked out at just under £150 not IMLVHO a bargain !

Of course this was from one manufacturer

 

[susbees]

"it looks ok but minimum order is 300 units."

perhaps slightly too many for the Smart to manage!

You'd have enough to build it a garage with cosy ranks of Italian imports down each side?

 

[susbees]

"it looks ok but minimum order is 300 units."

perhaps slightly too many for the Smart to manage!

You'd have enough to build it a garage with cosy ranks of Italian imports down each side? On second thoughts....

 

[drstitson]

Italian hives way too heavy to lug about in hand luggage - even flat packed the 25mm pine throughout means a lot heavier than cedar.

Perhaps ICHI should consider ordering some flat packed dadants though - €40 euro and just shipping to worry about.

 

[Winker]

Last time I had anything to do with importing something it was VAT (assuming the item is due to have VAT paid) plus 6% so if that is still the same it would be 26%

i import a lot of camera kit from Honk Kong, its VAT you pay when you import something, nothing else. If you're charged any surcharge over the top of VAT then its the carrier who is putting the surcharge on you, not the UK customs

You can get around paying VAT on an import if the company slips in a note to say that the goods are a present to you and not bought by you. But that’s breaking the law and you could end up in court on TAX avoidance then offered the England mangers job once your cleared. Your risk!

 

[drstitson]

Winker - WRONG. goods ordered from outside the UK attract Import Duty (at anything from 0-85%) and THEN VAT (at appropriate rate for the type of goods) based on the total of cost, postage and duty. HOWEVER -

You may have been lucky and had things labelled as being on zero rated categories for duty - again illegal if misrepresentation. or just ordered relatively cheap items.

From HMRC website:

value:

£0-£15 VAT & DUTY FREE
£15.01-£135 VATABLE BUT DUTY FREE
>£135 VAT & DUTY PAYABLE

BUT DUTY waived if <£9.

Gifts upto £40 (excluding those attracting excise duty eg booze or fags) are VAT FREE.

 

[The Cumbrian]

i import a lot of camera kit from Honk Kong, its VAT you pay when you import something, nothing else. If you're charged any surcharge over the top of VAT then its the carrier who is putting the surcharge on you, not the UK customs

As I said the last time I had anything to do with it that is how it was. The tax incidentally was not a surcharge by the carrier it was an import tax paid directly to HM govt along with the VAT and yes it was from China.

Things have obviously changed.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Customs, or it could be the Post Office, also tends to add a handling charge.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...ntent&id=HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document

 

[Ely]

Forget foreign crap. Not just in beekeeping but in everything. Support Britain and British companies its about time Britain started being more loyal to itself

 

[drstitson]

Finman excepted of course.

 

[oliver90owner]

Finman excepted of course.

Ooh, that could be nasty, dependent on how you read it - the exception being foreign or cr*p. Finman is foreign, isn't he?

RAB

 

[drstitson]

rab - sorry for any lack of clarity on my part. i'd read the original as implying that everything foreign was crap rather than referring to a crap subset of foreign.

Does the DTI (or whatever it is now) foist "BUY BRITISH CRAP" campaigns on potential foreign markets?

Did anyone get to see the British Crap Pavillion at The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai????

 

[The Cumbrian]

Forget foreign crap. Not just in beekeeping but in everything. Support Britain and British companies its about time Britain started being more loyal to itself

Basically I would agree with you but there are things which aren't available in this country.