In EU and buying from UK

[BillWilliams]

Up to recently I had avoided buying a mandolin from the UK due to the Customs hassles I have had when importing small items from the UK post-Brexit.

I am happy to report that both Eagle Music and Richards Guitars seem to have this sorted as they use a courier firm to take care of the EU importation process. For my recent second-hand Eastman El Rey purchase from Eagle I ended up paying a little more than the UK price but not much. The supplier subtracted UK VAT, UPS paid the Portuguese VAT and charged around 80 euros for delivery and processing. The instrument arrived within 10 days of ordering and I paid the VAT on delivery.

[Anglocelt]

It is good to hear that some Brexit-induced stress points can be eased, and at a reasonable-seeming cost. It would be even better if individuals had access to this kind of service not just well-resourced retailers. I have had plenty of recent grief, delays and high costs importing vintage instruments into the UK and this has had a knock-on effect on imports from the USA too. It seems the UK customs service is under a lot of extra pressure as a result of Brexit with insufficient resources to handle it. Businesses can get some response to inquiries on import delays but not individuals, no matter how much you are paying them.

[Ray(T)]

Good to hear that you’ve been successful. I’ve bought from both (from within the UK of course) but I’ve had no dealings with Richards Guitars for quite a while entirely because their website is so annoying. No sooner have you dismissed one pop-up than another appears. It’s almost impossibe to browse for what you want because of this. For anyone thinking of visiting the shop, it’s probably worth a day out as you can easily wander into the centre of Stratford-on-Avon from there.