Digikey UK site and UPS Brokerage /VAT charges

[Mike Harrison]

Can anyone confirm or refute my recollection that when Digikey launched their uk.digikey site, their
advertising stated that both duty AND brokerage charges were included?
I may be mis-remembering this, but I do usually have a good memory for this sort of detail.
Does anyone have one of the first UK printed catalogues they sent out?

It appears to be the case now that UPS are adding a charge, of the order of 2-3%, and the DK site
warns of (unspecified) brokerage fees.
However UPS invoice does NOT list any fees seperately - they just show a VAT
amount.

After some time on the phone to HMRC and UPS, the extra amount in the VAT figure on
the UPS invoice appears to not be a brokerage fee, but VAT on the 'Free shipping' charge ( on
orders >Ł100).
HMRC also suggested that there may be an element of VAT on the duty which is included in the Digikey
UK prices.
I have requested a VAT breakdown from a recent UPS invoice to see the actual figures.

As I'm VAT registered, I'm now happy that I've been claiming the correct input tax so it's not a
problem for me, however I would encourage any non-VAT registered customers or potential customers to
take this up with Digikey as it is effectively a hidden charge for them.

What is a little worrying is that Digikey are no longer claiming to include brokerage fees, so I
wonder if these may sneak in at some time in the future.

 

[martin.shoebridge]

"Mike Harrison" <mike@whitewing.co.uk> wrote in message
news:287cq2hmvcj0b2a521hmto1p0cmsgijtes@4ax.com...

Can anyone confirm or refute my recollection that when Digikey launched
their uk.digikey site, their
advertising stated that both duty AND brokerage charges were included?
I may be mis-remembering this, but I do usually have a good memory for
this sort of detail.
Does anyone have one of the first UK printed catalogues they sent out?

It appears to be the case now that UPS are adding a charge, of the order
of 2-3%, and the DK site
warns of (unspecified) brokerage fees.
However UPS invoice does NOT list any fees seperately - they just show a
VAT
amount.

After some time on the phone to HMRC and UPS, the extra amount in the VAT
figure on
the UPS invoice appears to not be a brokerage fee, but VAT on the 'Free
shipping' charge ( on
orders >Ł100).
HMRC also suggested that there may be an element of VAT on the duty which
is included in the Digikey
UK prices.
I have requested a VAT breakdown from a recent UPS invoice to see the
actual figures.

As I'm VAT registered, I'm now happy that I've been claiming the correct
input tax so it's not a
problem for me, however I would encourage any non-VAT registered customers
or potential customers to
take this up with Digikey as it is effectively a hidden charge for them.

What is a little worrying is that Digikey are no longer claiming to
include brokerage fees, so I
wonder if these may sneak in at some time in the future.

A lot of stuff from Digikey will give savings of 60%+ if bought from the USA
instead of the UK operation. Even allowing for shipping, duty and vat, there
are still savings of 30%+
Strange but true.

 

[Lostgallifreyan]

Mike Harrison <mike@whitewing.co.uk> wrote in
news:287cq2hmvcj0b2a521hmto1p0cmsgijtes@4ax.com:

Can anyone confirm or refute my recollection that when Digikey
launched their uk.digikey site, their advertising stated that both
duty AND brokerage charges were included? I may be mis-remembering
this, but I do usually have a good memory for this sort of detail.
Does anyone have one of the first UK printed catalogues they sent out?


It appears to be the case now that UPS are adding a charge, of the
order of 2-3%, and the DK site warns of (unspecified) brokerage fees.
However UPS invoice does NOT list any fees seperately - they just
show a VAT amount.

After some time on the phone to HMRC and UPS, the extra amount in the
VAT figure on the UPS invoice appears to not be a brokerage fee, but
VAT on the 'Free shipping' charge ( on orders >Ł100).
HMRC also suggested that there may be an element of VAT on the duty
which is included in the Digikey UK prices.
I have requested a VAT breakdown from a recent UPS invoice to see the
actual figures.

As I'm VAT registered, I'm now happy that I've been claiming the
correct input tax so it's not a problem for me, however I would
encourage any non-VAT registered customers or potential customers to
take this up with Digikey as it is effectively a hidden charge for
them.

What is a little worrying is that Digikey are no longer claiming to
include brokerage fees, so I wonder if these may sneak in at some time
in the future.

In short, it's a middle-man taking advantage of the strong pound sterling
relative th e US dollar. It doesn't matter how they dress it up, they do it
because they CAN, it's as simple as that. The reason it wasn't happening
before is that if they tried it would cost them sales, which kind of proves
the point. If Digikey weren't responsible for it, they'd have found another
system to carry them that didn't hit their customers, and in turn,
themselves. Taking it up with Digikey won't do a thing unless you vote with
your feet, and start buying elsewhere. Again, this is purely a means to
make money out of a s situation, and unless that situation changes to make
it unviable, it will continue.