Delivery cost for anything is crazy

[Trickz]

Went to order a new part costing just 7 euro from the commencal site but they want 25 euros deliveryis this because of brexit? Sorry been out the loop for a while due to illness

 

[ThierryGTLTS]

Went to order a new part costing just 7 euro from the commencal site but they want 25 euros deliveryis this because of brexit? Sorry been out the loop for a while due to illness

Yes brexit is the worst thing for a long time!
For UK and for Europe.
Delivery times are increased (2 days before, 7 days minimum now)!
And if you add covid problems, it becomes really crazy.

 

[aarfeldt]

I've ordered a new chainring and a set of pedal arms from Germany (bike24).
Delivered within 3 days last week and shipping was 4€.
Very good for me in Denmark
Gotta love EU...

 

[RustyMTB]

At 7 Euro, it's not Brexit per se. Commencal ship from Mazeres, that's a bit under 900 miles from you, so arguably 2 cents a mile is an absolute bargain!

 

[Zimmerframe]

They've probably setup with a standard supplier, like DHL to make things simpler and have a fixed cost upto 10 kg's.

I posted a box to the UK last week. Was about €25 with DHL, UPS or via "La poste". Also had to complete 7 pages of customs forms !

 

[Rusty]

I posted a box to the UK last week. Was about €25 with DHL, UPS or via "La poste". Also had to complete 7 pages of customs forms !

Using post rather than couriers huh?

 

[Zimmerframe]

Using post rather than couriers huh?

DHL and UPS would both pick up from mine (Couriers), but I didn't have much confidence they'd find the house as it's in the middle of nowhere vs the lady at the post office is very attractive.

So in the end it came down to waiting around all day and getting wound up or getting some positive exercise for the retinas/photo receptors.

 

[RustyMTB]

Using post rather than couriers huh?

For the purposes of parcels, the operation will be indivisible. It's probably obvious but the way it will be done is a local depot will be collecting all the parcels daily, transhipping them onto a truck with all the others & that truck will be heading north toward the UK every night where it will swap trailers with one heading south loaded with all the local collections from wherever it has originated & so you have a reciprocal logistics operation.

The Post office will do it the same way as DHL, FedEx, UPS. They all work in more or less the same way because it's the logical way to do these things. The cost of doing this is predictable, so whatever Commencal are charging is hugely likely to cover their costs from whoever they use & add in a bit of profit. That they offer free shipping over 150 euros is indicative that delivery charges are manipulable within the prices charged to end consumers & what the actual costs are is between Commencal & their logistics suppliers only.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I know its a pain on ebay, I used to do 70% of sales to Europe and now its so low it doesnt even count as a proper percantage
they have started an easy euro shipping scheme but its still expensive, I could post stuff for about £4-5 that costs £25 now..

 

[Zimmerframe]

they have started an easy euro shipping scheme but its still expensive, I could post stuff for about £4-5 that costs £25 now..

They started that a couple of years ago. Pre-brexit. I think it was a way for e-bay to just make more money on each sale.

Unfortunately, for us, it meant that things which took 2 days to come previously, and as you say, cost £5-10 postage, suddenly would take 2-4 weeks to come and cost £20-£30 for delivery - if it even came as you suddenly had about a 25% chance of a lost parcel.

It used to cause lots of confusion too as you'd get tracked notifications saying something like "Carlos has signed for your delivery". You'd then spend a week trying to work out where the hell it was and contact the sellers explaining that there was no one called Carlos for at least 50 miles and he didn't sign for it. Only to find later that it was the seller shipping to the e-bay distribution disaster system which is where Carlos worked, presumably with his mate operating out of a rusty MOT failure vauxhall astra estate from the deep dark corner of some industrial park.

Sadly, you were never given the option to use seller direct or e-bay's parcel kidnapping system, so that killed using e-bay uk sellers for us in mainland Europe.

 

[steve_sordy]

EBay's transport system was copying what Tesco, the supermarket retailer, pioneered. Tesco considered that as they were paying for suppliers to deliver to them, they "owned" the service. So they pressured suppliers to allow Tesco to collect where it was cheaper for Tesco. This was a whole new revenue stream for Tesco and they made money at it. Not so good for the suppliers. It was not exactly the same for eBay, but they could see how much money was being spent by their sellers on transport, so they thought that they would have some of that. Great idea, except that when my wheels went missing on the way to Italy, (from the UK), it was left to me to prove to eBay that they had lost the wheels. If I hadn't been able to prove that they had accepted them into their transport hub in the UK, I would have been left to stand the loss. It was a lot of hassle.

 

[apac]

You've all missed the point, Brexit means... Only buy British! Next year we'll all be riding restored Raleigh bikes from the 70's. Like in Cuba with the 1950's cars. Our only export will be hand rolled Cockney cigars.

 

[RustyMTB]

Ebay's set up is nothing like Tesco's Factory gate. Half my working life is spent fending off f****g Tesco & their attempts to put everyone out of business.

 

[steve_sordy]

Ebay's set up is nothing like Tesco's Factory gate. Half my working life is spent fending off f****g Tesco & their attempts to put everyone out of business.

I didn't say it was. I was trying to say that Tesco gave eBay the idea to take ownership of a revenue stream that was not theirs. Obvioulsy I failed, my apologies. I was trying very hard not pour bile on to Tesco. It seems that you have to deal with Tesco a lot right now, despite their new "supplier friendly" manner following their financial disaster. You have my sympathy. They used to be truly predatory and passed this attitude towards suppliers on to other retailers. It was like a cancer. My god-daughter used to work in buying for another big retailer and I could not believe how unethical her dealings with suppliers were. She had only ever known her then current employer and saw nothing wrong with what she was expected to do. The sad thing was that I'm sure that the behaviour was all legal. Was it ethical, was it supportive of the supply chain, was it mutual? None of those.

PS: When I typed supportive above, I inadvertently typed "suppretive". Spellcheck suggested suppurative. Quite apt, I think. Maybe it was a Freudian slip?

 

[emtbPhil]

It's a shit show

I found buying components from the US was cheaper AND quicker.
Some tyres and other bits from Germany/Spain took over a week to arrive - mostly sitting in the customs clearance backlog
3 days direct from north america and cost less.

It's only going to keep getting worse next year too. Combined with fuel and food prices going through the roof.

 

[Trickz]

I only wanted that cable guide that fits into the pivot point screw,I’ve made a poor replacement but it will do

 

[Mikerb]

Went to order a new part costing just 7 euro from the commencal site but they want 25 euros deliveryis this because of brexit? Sorry been out the loop for a while due to illness

no and there is no excuse for it other than the fact they dont give a toss for you as a customer.

 

[Mikerb]

I only wanted that cable guide that fits into the pivot point screw,I’ve made a poor replacement but it will do

I have no idea what specific part you are referring to but it is very unlikely to be made by Commencal.......it will be generic to the cable brand or just generic so go to ebay or Tredz etc.

 

[Mikerb]

It's a shit show

I found buying components from the US was cheaper AND quicker.
Some tyres and other bits from Germany/Spain took over a week to arrive - mostly sitting in the customs clearance backlog
3 days direct from north america and cost less.

It's only going to keep getting worse next year too. Combined with fuel and food prices going through the roof.

most things free from China!! Most things over £20 free in the UK..to the UK.......most things sold via Amazon or Ebay ( regardless of origin) free or v low cost. Decent EU suppliers include VAT plus customs if applicable ( in which case it did not originate in the EU in any case) and totally reasonable shipping.
Whether goods arrive in the UK from Europe or the US the customs clearance process is the same.

 

[Doomanic]

I see the rose tinted Brexshit Specs are back on.

most things sold via Amazon or Ebay ( regardless of origin) free or v low cost.

They manage the tax/duty burden on your behalf. For a fee.

Decent EU suppliers include VAT plus customs if applicable ( in which case it did not originate in the EU in any case) and totally reasonable shipping.

If under £135 inc delivery that's how the system is supposed to work. If over £135 inc delivery they are managing the tax/duty burden for you. For a fee. Don't believe me? Check out canyon bike prices for the UK and Europe...

most things free from China!!

If we (the UK government) hadn't made such a colossal dog's egg of Brexshit preparation we'd have the customs processes and manpower in place to prevent this. It'll be interesting to see what happens on 1st Jan...

 

[emtbPhil]

Whether goods arrive in the UK from Europe or the US the customs clearance process is the same.

Incorrect. Especially after brexit.
I worked writing IT systems for couriers across Europe for 10 years and the e-commerce company I worked for sold over £250mill into Europe.

For a start if you buy from US several couriers can clear customs on the plane. Tax is not charged and you are liable yourself to pay it.

The rules around EU -> UK customs paperwork, and vat charging are such a mess a lot of EU companies just simply won’t ship into the UK anymore.

 

[emtbPhil]

If we (the UK government) hadn't made such a colossal dog's egg of Brexshit preparation we'd have the customs processes and manpower in place to prevent this. It'll be interesting to see what happens on 1st Jan...

100%
People are going to need to get used to seeing this a lot

We haven’t even started to see the worst of the brexit and Covid fallout yet

 

[RustyMTB]

Brexit threads always end up locked. Top & bottom of it is the UK erected trade barriers against its nearest neighbours & biggest partners in order to chase pipe dream trade with the rotw.. Anyone who doesn't see this by now is somewhere between a zealot & a fool & you're not going to persuade them out of the rabbit hole.

 

[Mikerb]

I see the rose tinted Brexshit Specs are back on.
I know some would love the opportunity to jump on bandwagon but it really serves no one. I am interested in how we get the parts we need for our bikes

They manage the tax/duty burden on your behalf. For a fee.
..and no additional cost to the customer. These types of online sales are the best solution for suppliers with no past experience of managing international online sales. So you know see more and more companies using Amazon or Ebay as a far more cost effective way of them running online sales and is worth checking especially for smaller suppliers.

If under £135 inc delivery that's how the system is supposed to work. If over £135 inc delivery they are managing the tax/duty burden for you. For a fee. Don't believe me? Check out canyon bike prices for the UK and Europe...
The latter part being an option. The change you refer to was mostly in relation to charging VAT. VAT has to be charged at the point of sale for items below £135 .The entire process...from July 2021 adopted also within the EU.....is designed to prevent VAT evasion ( which was widespread) and to lessen the load on customs handling/checking multiple low cost/value items.

If we (the UK government) hadn't made such a colossal dog's egg of Brexshit preparation we'd have the customs processes and manpower in place to prevent this. It'll be interesting to see what happens on 1st Jan...

or you could equally say that professional and experienced EU suppliers put many of their EU counterparts to shame. For example Bikester is a German supplier. All goods are shiped from Warehouses in Germany. VAT and any customs due is included in the price ( regardless of value). That process negates the need for checking or charging by customs officers and is how the system is supposed to work. Customs will only do random checks to ensure compliance rather than have to check and process every small shipment . Shipping for non bulky items up to £99 is £4.99.........over £99 its free. Shipping for bikes is £29. Those shipping terms are emulated by many well known UK bike outlets exporting to the EU and elsewhere.

Of course the UK/EU Trade Agreement meant a change of processes and companies had the choice of either implementing those changes or not. Understandably many with only small percentages of their income derived from overseas orders and with no previous experience of exporting ( which applies to a significant proportion of EU SMEs ), and no wish to register for VAT with the UK Inland Revenue, either refused to accept orders from those customers or just rely on ad hoc use of carrier services at ridiculous prices. Both choices amount to the same thing. So just like most things, buy from a professional supplier that actually values your business.

I have ordered bike stuff from Bikester. Good web site, good prices, low cost shipping, no additional charges, and delivery was typical 2 or 3 days longer than Tredz or CRC.

 

[Doomanic]

Or you could just admit that the only quantifiable thing Brexshit has achieved so far is make trading with our closest neighbours more difficult. I suspect your outlook would be somewhat different if you were a fisherman, cheese producer or still of working age with the desire to live and work in Europe.

 

[emtbPhil]

It's not just having to pay the UK Duty and Tax - that was what they had to do before brexit
Now you have to declare materials used, country of manufacture/orign and file extra customs paperwork for every shipment etc.. etc..

You could just sit on a high horse and say every EU company that isn't willing to jump through the new hoops is shit or small. But that's extremely narrowminded.

They all now have an option of doing extra work, that they don't get paid for, including modifying ecommerce systems and potentially changing couriers to more premium ones eating into profit margins, to continue to sell to the UK. Or just... don't. Considering they have the entire rest of the EU and world to trade with without hassle I can't blame any of them for not bothering.
The only other option is to charge larger shipping costs to use a premium courier or cover the extra effort required, then get moaned at on forums like this that you're "ripping people off" over shipping costs.

It's exactly the same the other way around. The UK companies COULD carry on selling into the EU, but they'd lose time, effort and margins to do so. In some cases where profit margins are TINY (electrical goods, computer goods etc.. and I genuinely mean when I worked in that area my staff trade discount was sometimes less than a mcdonalds happy meal) it would mean selling at a loss.
If you're selling clothing with a 60% markup then sure. But arguing that brexit is fine, it's been well managed, there's nothing wrong with the new customs regulations and anyone in the EU that doesn't now sell to the UK is lazy or crap is so narrow minded it beggars belief.

Trust me from the courier side they were still trying to throw IT systems together to meet the new regulations up till the last second.

But as said before... the thread will just get locked as it's now been sidetracked by pro-brexit madness.

 

[emtbPhil]

Or you could just admit that the only quantifiable thing Brexshit has achieved so far is make trading with our closest neighbours more difficult. I suspect your outlook would be somewhat different if you were a fisherman, cheese producer or still of working age with the desire to live and work in Europe.

Personally I'm gutted. I'd love to get out of this country and my longer-term plan was to go work in Portugal or Germany. That seems somewhat unlikely now, it's probably easier for me to retire to san francisco or canada.

 

[RustyMTB]

The numbers:

Trade with the EU down 16% as of October 2021 & likely a flattering figure as the UK has delayed border checks.
GDP down 4% which is a hugely significant fall. Not in Northern Ireland though. I wonder why that might be?
200,000 European nationals left the UK in 2020 amid tightening immigration rules, triggering labout shortages in multiple sectors.
7400 finance jobs lost in London as 400 firms relocate to Europe.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

At this point, as the excusing power of Covid recedes & poised on another precipice of decline, to retain faith in the path we're following is to deny the evidence of one's eyes & ears.

 

[Moderator]

Brexit threads always end up locked.

In this instance, as it's Christmas - the time for friendship, sharing, love and understanding and of course giving (assuming your things came) we will leave this one unlocked.

The thread will be moved to the "lounge" as it's not strictly commencal relevant anymore.

We ask that everyone tries to keep things as level headed as possible. Remember, as BT used to say, "It's good to talk".

If things start to slide too much, the thread will be moved to the wasteland and anyone being overly antagonistic will be locked from the thread.

Seasons greetings to everyone from EMTB forums and lets try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum.

 

[RustyMTB]

7 Euro visa fee for & pre registration required for Brits to enter Schengen area countries from 2022. Happy new Brexit!