Auroras back in stock

[ChristianFletcher]

I cannnot actual find the link to buy the product on the website can anybody send me a link for this.

What is the actual part number for the low cost converter.

Regards Christian.

[Station X]

Do you mean this?

http://www.auroravideosys.com/converter/

It's in the very first post in this thread. For UK use you'll need the SCRF405A.

[ChristianFletcher]

No I meant the link to buy it. But its sorted now.

Thanks Chris.

[garfy]

Hello,
I bought an Aurora on September 22nd and it arrived today.
Parcelforce did there usual rip off routine with £5-14p Gorden brown fund and £13-50 for the parcelforce bar bill.
I sent a tube to Ameria for regunning for my Bush TV62 in January it came back in June.
They charge me £35-00 then lost it and to cut a long story short, in July they found it again and charged me £42-00.
I just paid up as i did not want any more hassle.
Regards
Garfy.

[chipp1968]

thats interesting about the tube , seams reasonable price , Must have to pack it up very well?!

[garfy]

Hello Chippi,
Yes i double boxed it and the weight was just a little over 10Kg`s,and postage to America was £106.
It was sent to Hawk-eye tubes but they had an accident with it while regunning, but they managed to replace my tube with a new type American one which is a 14BAP type.
It`s the same except it does not require an ion trap and the heaters are 600Ma instead of 300Ma.
This cost $250 and postage by air freight was $88.[Total of £210]
So it went accross the Atlantic and back and all was fine UNTILL it came to Coventry where it got lost.
Getting back to the subject of the Aurora,this wieghs nothing compered to the Tube i sent at 10KG`sand yet the costs are crazy in proportion.
Regards,
Garfy.
PS Parcelforce only charged £8 fee and the rest of the cost £42 was VAT.

[evingar]

PS Parcelforce only charged £8 fee and the rest of the cost £42 was VAT.

IMHO that is simply outrageous
I'm beginning to wonder if the "BVWS parts Department" idea could be applied here. ? i.e. the BVWS importing a job lot on a commercial basis. I'm sure a lot of folks wouldn't mind paying a bit more for the Aurora in exchange for a certain and quick delivery and a known fixed price. I'm sure if they were imported commercially, the cost in postage and tax would be nowhere near the figures mentioned here !

[ppppenguin]

Unfortunately most imports are subject to VAT at 17.5%. So an item costing £240 imported from anywhere outside the EU will be charged £42 VAT. The handling fees don't look too bad when the VAT is much larger than the fee.

Bulk imports will keep down the postage and fees but you can't do anything about the VAT.

[Station X]

Originally Posted by ppppenguin

Bulk imports will keep down the postage and fees but you can't do anything about the VAT.

Bulk imports of auroras would mean only one VAT/ Import Duty collection fee (£13.50 according to garpy) though, or is this on a sliding scale depending on value?

[ppppenguin]

Originally Posted by Station X

Bulk imports of auroras would mean only one VAT/ Import Duty collection fee (£13.50 according to garpy) though, or is this on a sliding scale depending on value?

When I (and others) had an Aurora via Parcelfarce the VAT was actually substantially undercharged but the fee was £13.50. Via Royal Mail the VAT was about right but the fee was much lower. With a bulk import I have little doubt that the full 17.5% VAT would be levied on the entire batch but there would only be one handling fee. I don't know how the handling fee is calculated (flat? weight? value?) but I don't think there's much gain to be had from bulk imports of Aurorae.

[Station X]

From the Parcel Force website:-

We have two levels of clearance fee for import parcels. There is a charge of £13.50 for express parcels imported through the EMS (i.e. International Datapost equivalent) and GLS (i.e. Euro 48 equivalent) networks and also for high value standard parcels (valued at over €1000). For all other import parcels, an £8 charge will apply.

So if ten Auroras were imported and the clearance fee per unit would be £1.35, a saving of £12.50. Of course the individual auroras would then have to be repackaged and posted on in the UK. This would eat into the £12.50 saving.

[tubesrule]

Does anyone know if the VAT is on finished goods only? I know in some countries they do not put such high tarrifs on parts or sub-assemblies, so it is possible to ship pieces and have the final assembly done locally? Perhaps there is something here to explore, possibly having them built in the EU.

The only other way is to continue to drive the price down since the VAT is based on value. I can easily get the cost down by doing larger production runs instead of the smaller ones I'm doing now. The problem is with having inventory, and therfore cost, sitting around for to long. I don't want to do a 100 piece build only to have it sit around for a couple of years. If I had a better feel for the demand, this would be much easier to forecast, but that is always very difficult to predict. For instance, what is the demand at the current price? What would it be at $250? At $225? Is there a magic number I need to get to that would balance the production costs with the expected demand?

Just thinking out loud.
Darryl

[Sean Williams]

Hmm, a crafty way of avoiding import duty would be to ship the unit as a kit of parts.

How about having the board out of the case, to give a 3 piece kit?

VAT will be charged on all imports that show commercial value, as sadly HMG wants their share....

CHeers
Sean

[Station X]

Originally Posted by Station X

Hmm, a crafty way of avoiding import duty would be to ship the unit as a kit of parts.

Wouldn't the components used in the kit be subject to VAT?

Incidently I'm told that imported radios etc. made before about 1950 are zero rated for VAT. They have to have the tariff code 9705000090 put on the customs slip.

Commercial gods are exempt if worth less than £18 and gifts if worth less than £36.

[tvden]

although I have a domino convertor, which is I would add excellent, I have been thinking about buying a Aurora as it has a built in testcard which is handy and cuts out buying a testcard generator, and will also do chan 4, I dont mind paying for the Aurora unit but when aprox another £50 quid gets slaped on it makes me think twice !!! den being tight

[chipp1968]

I think i wss lucky at £16 then

[bobsterkent]

I got mine on Friday and it cost me £18:35 at the Parcel Farce depot, thats VAT and the handling charge in total. I must say it works really well on my TV 12

[ppppenguin]

Originally Posted by tvden

I dont mind paying for the Aurora unit but when aprox another £50 quid gets slaped on it makes me think twice

Has anyone really been charged £50? I though the maximum was about £30 which is actually fair, even if you don't like the rules. Anything under £25 and you have done OK. most of us seem to have paid £16 to £30.

[evingar]

This is really strange, I know I have said this before but I still believe it to be true. I order pinball parts from america on a regular basis and have only been caught once for duty.

I think you have been lucky! I have ordered some odd things from eBay from the US and "got away with it" - but I noticed that if I ever ordered anything twice from the same place, I always get “stung” the second time! I suspect some kind of register is made

[garfy]

Hello,
When i order things like DVD`s from America the post office deliver them with no charge whatsoever.
They handle weights up to 20kg`s then parcelforce take over.
So why do things like the Aurora end up going through parcelforce?
Confused,