Buying Valves Online things to Watch

I like to look at other websites around the world which sell valves/tubes around the world so i can learn what they do well ! I did notice that there are traps around that can cost you money so I thought I would pass on some tips

Here are our tips to save your hard earned cash online :

Sometimes you see what looks like a low price. Here in the UK you need to watch out for the extras at checkout. I have seen some sites show prices without the 20% VAT ( value added tax) added and then they add the cost of shipping on top. So what looked like a bargain £9.00 valve ends up as a £13.60 purchase. A big difference from the £9.00 you thought you were paying
Websites based in other countries might look cheap however there is a BUT. the big”BUT” is that it is much more expensive to post valves even from mainland Europe to the UK than posting from the Uk to the UK. So check the post cost carefully and make sure do not get caught out. I just checked a German website on the price of an ECC83S from JJ and its only £6.10. But the delivery cost is £7.05 ! So the real cost is £13.15. Quite a difference. EU rules changed so that the sending country now charges you the VAT as per their local country unless you are registered for VAT in the UK and give the supplier your VAT number. In times past, you did not get charges the local sending country VAT so it was worth it just to save on the VAT and this helped pay the post cost. Alas – this little loop hole has been closed by the team in Brussels.
Also be especially careful when buying outside of the EU area. The price might look cheap but our wonderful HM Customs is getting much sharper and realising they have been loosing revenue. To be honest you cannot blame them for doing their job right. What has happened to me on buying some personal stuff from the USA for about $20 ( only about £13 in local money), is that the Royal mail sent me a card, this was letting me know the parcel was held till I paid the duty, plus 20% VAT on the product, shipping and duty) plus a few pounds handling fee. I had the inconvenience of sorting this payment out then I could receive the goods. a lot of delay in getting my bits and a lot more expensive than I bargained for.

What do we do?

For the UK market, the price you see on our website is the price you pay – no extras .
For shipments to Europe and the rest of world you can buy in Euros or US $ and this set by the market rates live . Post is charged for shipping is charged very reasonably with costs