Loco1hobby

[Themetropolitainline]

Thank you David, i received my MicroAce Shinkansen 0 today and what o lovely model.I also received the Eurostar 8 car set so now just waiting for the kato turntable and other bits and pieces.What a fantastic service and received these items in just over a week with no import or vat to pay.

[keitaro]

No worries Themetropolitainline. Happy to help.

[keitaro]

Hello All,

 

I managed to get a few more C50 limited 50th Anniversary in.

 

https://www.loco1hobby.net/en/steam-locomotive/1334-kato-2027.html Enjoy!

Edited May 5, 2016 by keitaro

[westfalen]

I've been meaning to ask, what is the situation with the Tramway C11 pre-orders?  Do the previous orders still stand or do we have order again?

[Themetropolitainline]

CheersDavid,

received my Tomix Track cleaner yesterday,MicroAce lights and Kato Grand Hikari.  :)

Also looking forward to my Zoukei Mura Shinkansen 0 sets.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Themetropolitainline

[tridentalx]

Good news - My TGV Lyria is in the UK.

 

Bad news - it is accompanied by a whopping £48 UKP customs bill. Every time I use EMS that happens but I didn't want to risk a parcel with no insurance. And to add to that it delays delivery by days whilst I wait for a letter telling me how much the customs charge is so that I can pay it so the EMS speedy delivery is rather pointless. 

 

Is there no way to get insurance on normal airmail ?

[cteno4]

There is registered Sal that some shops offer, gives tracking and some insurance. Not sure if that will trigger the customs folks or not!

 

Jeff

[Quetz]

I've used registered sal a couple of times, gets delivered by Royal Mail and doesn't incur any customs charges (in my experience). Even on sal packages it has the "Royal Mail customs charge notice, payment due before delivery (including a value)" sticker on the box but I've never been asked for any cash. The worst thing about the EMS delivery is the Parcel Farce £13.50 charge (for "customs handling") on top of the actual charge itself, you're basically paying for delivery again (probably more to deliver it the last 100 miles than 1/4 of the way around the planet).

 

Stephen

[Themetropolitainline]

I always get my parcels delivered by SAL,and not once have i been charged any duties or VAT.The packages usually arrive within 1.5-2 weeks but can take upto 6 weeks,which i have not yet experienced the later. 

4 different types of SAL, Unregistered small packet, which is very cheap with no cover can take 2-6 weeks(i have never used this service) SAL small packet registered with minimal insurance and can take up to 1-6 weeks, then you have SAL unregistered for larger packets which they aim to deliver in 2-4 weeks but can take up to 6 weeks and SAL registered which has insurance and they aim to deliver in 1-4 weeks but can take up to 6 weeks, in my experience using SAL they get delivered by royal mail within 2 weeks and not parcel force and as mentioned earlier i have never been asked for duties or Vat, 

When i have no choice and really want the item,the item gets delivered by EMS,which 100 % of the time i get invoiced for duties and VAT, handling charges.Also everytime i have used SAL the packages have always arrived and not once have i had a lost item. 

If your willing to accept the fact that the parcel could take up to 6 weeks but they never do then SAL is the better way to go,SAL parcels never wait around at customs but just keep traveling until they reach your door,EMS is always faster getting into the UK but then you have a 2 or 3 weeks wait while customs do whatever they do at the parcel force international Hub. I hope this helps with peoples fear about SAL, 

This is my experience and please remember that all parcels of value could incur Duties/VAT

And no,i do not work for royal mail, i just get a awful lot of trains delivered  :)

Edited May 7, 2016 by Themetropolitainline

[the_weird_one]

Unfortunately I get hit for import duty on nearly everything I recieve whether SAL or EMS, and I still use SAL, because the Royal Mail handling fee isn't as large as the Parcel Farce one.

 

I'd dearly love a FedEx option, because you can pre-pay customs fees there and avoid handling fees all together, only downside is that it means more paperwork for the retailer so I can understand why we don't see that option.

[marknewton]

It's interesting - and sobering - to read about the hassles our UK members have getting their parcels delivered. Here in Australia we don't currently get charged any import duty or GST on items worth less than $1000. EMS is very quick as a result. My personal record time is four days from purchase in Japan to delivery to my front door here in the bush outside Sydney.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Eurostar25]

Without wishing to derail the thread, NZ gets stung by items over approx $250 in value, above that the fee starts at $60. The yen has been particularly strong lately (or a weakening NZ dollar - I'm not sure) so I've got to be careful with my total spend.

[tridentalx]

Thanks for the feedback on your customs experiences. Sorry to derail the thread a bit.

[katoftw]

Completed my first pre-order in forever with L1H.  Hope you and the family are well Dave.

[keitaro]

hi West,

 

The previous orders I kept so no need to re-order.

 

however they now have different release dates so some who ordered multiple versions might need to ship separately.

[westfalen]

It's interesting - and sobering - to read about the hassles our UK members have getting their parcels delivered. Here in Australia we don't currently get charged any import duty or GST on items worth less than $1000. EMS is very quick as a result. My personal record time is four days from purchase in Japan to delivery to my front door here in the bush outside Sydney.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

Yes, seeing that the main model railway shop in Brisbane that stocks Japanese items is only open on Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday afternoon it's quicker to get stuff from Japan.

 

As for insurance I don't know what the Royal Mail is like but in 30+ years of getting trains by mail Australia Post has never lost a thing on me.

[katoftw]

Did not even know a Brisbane shop existed that sold Japanese trains.

[westfalen]

Did not even know a Brisbane shop existed that sold Japanese trains.

Austral Model Craft, cheaper to get them EMS from Japan though.  Voglers in Ipswich also has a few items, mostly older stock.

[Ochanomizu]

Hello Loco1Hobby,

 

Thank you for Kato 50th Anniversary loco.  Excellent product.  Excellent service.  I especially like the new bubble wrap pockets you are using to wrap product ... = no sticky tape that could accidentally stick to the sleeve as I unwrap product ... good thinking !!!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks again David, for another great purchase. The Duplex Lyria is great running train.

 

 

Spiff

[keitaro]

Hello All,

 

Just a reminder that the EVA 500 set from tomix is now up for reservation.

 

As always great 20% off at 28,000 yen.

[Limited Edition] JR 500-7000 Sanyo Shinkansen (500 Type Eva) set (8-Car Set)

 

Thanks,

David

Loco1hobby

Edited July 20, 2016 by keitaro

[serotta1972]

Hi David,

 

I think you mean it's now up for Reservation.

[cteno4]

Dave is being a tease!

 

jeff

[keitaro]

Aww my mobile phone betrayed me again. Damn auto spell. Haha.

 

Yes it`s now up for reservation! .... or is it!

[velotrain]

Usually when I see what looks like a typo I look at my keyboard to see how close together the correct and errant keys are, but the W and T were three keys apart. 

 

I didn't consider the phone keypad factor.