I live in the wrong country

[033614]

Not quite sure where to put this thread, this seems as good a place as any as it is to do with repairing and tools. I getting very jealous of you guys in the US. You can get tools and gadgets that we over here can only dream of. At a price that looks ridiculous to me. For example I saw a 3 in 1 slip rolls/guillotine/box pan folder, I think it was Harbour Freight. Advertised at under $600, enquiries found it was made by a UK company called Baileigh. Not available in the UK was their attitude. It was made for them in Portugal and shipped to the US. About 6 months later I see an ad for them on the net, now available in the UK, ring for price, will be the equivalent of over $1000 here. So I queried the price, nice chap phones me back and says "my mistake, price will be $600, they will be here in a week." He then sends me a price list and the price has now gone up to $1200. A rip off! Lots of stuff you guys get is either not available here or just way too expensive for me. Plasma cutters/Tig welders are just the same and it's too expensive to ship from the US. Competition keeps your prices down, we are losing our manufacturing base (have lost it), so companies charge what they think they can get away with.

 

[jimmyj]

Sounds to me like we need to open an equivalent of Harbor Freight in the UK and get rich while having fun!!

 

[Jeepnford]

Does the UK have import tarriffs and such? We have little to no manufacturing here anymore either. Most of the tools here come from China,even the big names such as Milwaukee. Some of the Harbor Freight tools don't last very long either,I guess that's why they're cheap. Good tools are still expensive.

 

[newbury]

Depends on what you are buying. Look at the range of diesel cars in the US.

 

[033614]

As far as I know there are no import duties, we do have Value Added Tax, levied on any commercial sale except food, childrens clothes and a few other bits. I don't know if VAT would be imposed if I imported from the US. The price they want for the 3 in 1 is PLUS VAT! @ 17.5%. Diesel and petrol (in fact all fuels)are expensive when compared to the US. Petrol for instance is the equivalent of $6.66 per US gallon. (if my maths are correct). Diesel about the same. I know some states have a sales tax, but is it 17.5% ? My whinge is also about the range of kit you can buy, some of which just isn't available here.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Sounds like a business opportunity as they are Franchised I believe. You could start your own Harbor Freight and be in Heaven.

 

[Scotty370]

An Example:Lincoln Electric - AC/DC 225/125 Stick Welder - K1297 - Home Depot Canada

US Home Depot $434- And no, I don't have the answer! True, the currency is skewed, but only 5% or so! ~S

 

[budgie9]

Hi and welcome 033614.

I saw that same situation in the UK before moving to Canada. 10 years ago. Not regretting a single second of that move either. I still see the same, cheaper items when we go down in to Montana for a trip. We stock up there with all sorts of goodies not only tools but larger equipment as well. We find it so much cheaper when buying the gear we need or want. We bring our RV back filled up with all sorts. One only has to look at the JD prices in the US compared to Canada. There is big difference.
May I suggest you get your hands on a copy of the Screwfix catalogue in the UK. They have a lot of cheaper imports and some of the US tools are actually pretty good, compared to what you may find else where. The prices are good and the shipping is reasonable. But you should not expect a lot from some of stuff. As to importing Yes you do have an import duty. You may well get stung by the shipper as well, they charge extra for doing the so called Customs paper work.
There used to be some good quality tool supply companies in the Midlands where I lived. But on my last visit all the of those stores and companies had folded or disappeared. One could only buy tools in places like B&Q where the staff to my mind were worse than useless, at least the ones I came across.
Get out of that dead beat country if you can. You are just working for the state scroungers.

 

[Cami]

@033614: ...but you get 3000 watt tea kettles while we're stuck with 1500 watt models. I seem to recall hearing a story about a fellow taking a small granite surface plate in his luggage to a buddy in the UK; what a friend.

And that dreaded VAT....we only pay %12 at the register in British Coilumbia, but what I liked about the VAT was that it was already included in the price; there was no shock of having taxes added to your total.

@budgie9: My brother got out about a year and a half ago. Aren't something like 1 in 14 people on benefits over there?

@Scotty370: You pay $2.89/gallon for gasoline? My local prices have come down this winter....to ~$4/gallon; depending where you go.

As for the Canada/US price differences, it's across the board. Food, beer, gasoline, cars, everything. I have two associates who moved from Wisconsin and Minnesota and they were surprised at the differences in the cost of living.

There's more to consider, though: What do welders charge in Buffalo? My costs may be large, but my basic shop rate is $75/hour; which puts me, in terms of cost, just below the middle of the pack in my area....and we have a glut of welders here.

Wasn't it George Carlin who said, "We're doing something about inflation: We're raising our prices!"

 

[clemsonfor]

17% taxes thats what you get with a govenment run heath care system that is overused. This is not a political statement just the truth. Back to the topic HF tools. yesterday i bought a $6.99 set of hair clippers on sale at HF to use on the cats long hair for my wife. I did not want my hair clippers used on our cats and my old pair was 3 hours away at the farm. So we get them , i told her they would not be as good as her ones at the vet office she complains they dont work so i take them run them up my arm to see if they cut and they only cut like 5 hairs partially on my arm my good set (still china made from wal mart but a diff quality than HF) would leave a path cut close to the skin with none left. $7 wasted sine the store is to far from my house to make a return trip feasalbe ( i was passing it on my way home not driving there) . I will save them cause i go several times a year for either a certain tool or to get things. Like a fake rotozip and one of those new vibrator cutting tools, they work great for the money probly not as powerfurl but i bought them for a one specific use and they work and i got my moneys worth for the job. Have a 8 gallon compressor that works gr8 for a year of so and nail guns, the compressor leaks a little oil now and then but for a third the price and the little work i use it for should last a while. Nails for air nailers are like half the price as lowes and i have not run into problem with any of the 4 diff. gauges i have used yet. Sorry for the rant just telling you all that stuff is not good.

 

[ray66v]

Not so fast, we can't get Anthisan, in the US.

And Nestle quality street candies, are just starting to be available, in very limited markets.

So, there are trade offs.

Besides some of the Harbor freight stuff is junk; they are doing you a favor not selling it in the UK.

People here like to buy HF stuff because it's cheap. But, it can sometimes, be worse than nothing. I say that, because you figure you have a particular tool, if you need it. So, you don't worry about it. Then, when you actually need the tool, you go to use it, and the tool breaks. Leaving you up a carriage way, without a carriage.

 

[033614]

My main ***** is the variety of tools you have, ie. nailkicker. Never seen anything like it over here. (I understand they are not available at the moment). All the 3 in 1 welders seem to come direct from China and I worry about spares and warranty. Will try to see if Longevity will ship to the UK they look to be a decent buy with all the bells and whistles I would like. I tend to buy cheap small tools like hand grinders, they last just as long as the expensive ones. Taps, dies and files need to be quality and the Net is a good place for older well made stuff. Screwfix are good for some bits but range is limited for the stuff I want, delivery costs are very reasonable. Perhaps it has something to do with volume sales, not worth stocking in a small country when sales will never reach the volume sold in the US. My ***** about the Baileigh slip rolls/guillotine/box folder is they make them in the EU so no import duty, but it seems I am being asked to pay double the price in the US for not shipping them over the pond. I don't suppose things will ever change, we all just struggle on the best we can.

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There is a big difference between what's said, what's heard and what's meant. Speak clearly, listen carefully and think before you speak.

 

[Transit]

Many times I remind the supplier that when I leave the building I take my money with me and it often works.

 

[jas67]

Depends on what you are buying. Look at the range of diesel cars in the US.

You mean, like all 3 or 4 of them?

I definitely have to agree with newbury here. Most, if no all makes of cars are available with diesel engines in the UK, and continental Europe. Here in the US, we have a handful of models from VW, Audi, Mercedes, and BMW (and the BMW's are only their highest price diesel models).

 

[ray66v]

You mean, like all 3 or 4 of them?

I definitely have to agree with newbury here. Most, if no all makes of cars are available with diesel engines in the UK, and continental Europe. Here in the US, we have a handful of models from VW, Audi, Mercedes, and BMW (and the BMW's are only their highest price diesel models).

Thank God there are few diesel cars in America.

 

[newbury]

Thank God there are few diesel cars in America.

Why?
Don't like efficiency?
Afraid of the fumes?
Do you have a diesel tractor and are afraid of the competition for fuel?
I'm not talking about GM bastardized machines, but diesels like my (now gone due to divorce) '79 rabbit that got 50 to 65mpg, and my present JSW TDI that pulls better than 40, if I can keep it under 80.

 

[jas67]

Thank God there are few diesel cars in America.

Why do you say that?

 

[Opti-Mist]

Diesels got a bad rap when GM dieselized a gas engine. I worked on developing diesel engine applications in some domestic compact trucks and had some very nice performance results including emissions, sound levels and other NVH issues. I would have loved to have had one as a personal vehicle but conventional wisdom of the time was that U.S. customers weren't ready for them yet.

 

[AndyMA]

Thank God there are few diesel cars in America.

Why would you say that???

Andy

 

[two_bit_score]

033614, give us an update on how CNG powered vehicles are faring over there. Are they popular? Desirable? Who uses them mostly?