Tortoise point motors

See for one seller. Keith

Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.

When I looked into this I found suppliers in the US were considerably cheaper, sufficiently so that for a large order it would be worth importing direct. (remember to add VAT + £30-40 for fees for a courier to collect the VAT)

Peter

Peter Ibbotson said the following on 16/08/2005 10:16:

I also found this a while ago. For the eBay savvy, type "tortoise switch" into the search box, and you will find a number of US suppliers offering them at attractive prices. From my own personal experience, I will say that US sellers are generally very good to deal with, and you are unlikely to hit problems. Just make sure you find out the postage before buying. You should allow for duties to be paid to your postman, but in practise this is unlikely to be asked for, unless you buy a big attention-seeking box full!

It's import duty (around 4.5% for model railway items) first, then VAT at 17.5% on top of that.

Parcel force collection fee is, IIRC, =A314 for larger orders which you now have to pay before they will even attempt delivery.

Some couriers charge a % fee (so total fee may be higher) but will deliver the parcel and then invoice you for the duty, VAT and fees.

I've only had small parcels by Royal Mail and then the fee was about =A34. I was out at the time and had to go and collect it, so I don't know if you can still pay the postman on delivery.

MBQ

It's import duty (around 4.5% for model railway items) first, then VAT at 17.5% on top of that.

Parcel force collection fee is, IIRC, £14 for larger orders which you now have to pay before they will even attempt delivery.

Some couriers charge a % fee (so total fee may be higher) but will deliver the parcel and then invoice you for the duty, VAT and fees.

I've only had small parcels by Royal Mail and then the fee was about £4. I was out at the time and had to go and collect it, so I don't know if you can still pay the postman on delivery.

MBQ

We've had a few dutiable items from the USA. Royal Mail will only handle small packages. I don't think they will collect duty on the doorstep, so they don't even bring the package. What they deliver is an advice note, so you can go down to the sorting office, pay the duties over the counter, and collect the package, or arrange later delivery.

Anything larger than a small package is sub-contracted off to ParcelForce. They bring the goods to deliver, but cannot take the duties on the doorstep, even by cash. But the delivery men are very helpful in my experience. They will wait while you call the depot on your mobile and pay over the phone with a credit card. Then you pass the mobile over so they can get the say so.

Once, we were extraordinarily lucky. Royal Mail dropped off a high value small package at our hotel while we were out, and completely forgot to collect the £250 of duties! Obviously, as soon as we got back to London I phoned HM Customs and insisted they took £250 of my money.

Cheers, Steve

"Steve W" wrote

The postman is not now allowed to collect the fee on delivery, so you either have to collect the parcel/package from the local delivery office and pay the fee before they will release it, or you can in theory ring them (doesn't mean they'll answer the phone) and pay by credit or debit card, or send them a cheque and then they'll deliver.

John.

Allow about 3" for the depth

On 16/08/2005 21:28, Keith J Patrick wrote,

3.25" if you want to wire it up...

Shipping costs from the USA can be astronomical, as they insist on using couriers. I recently looked into ordering a replacement battery for my UPS from the US - the battery was $30 and the shipping was $85 US! I tracked down a Canadian supplier that would sell one for C$66 including shipping.

(Confusing: UPS = Uninterruptible Power Supply or United Parcels Service, USPS = United States Postal Service)

Yes, buying privately will cost less than buying from a commercial dealer.

Canada Post delivery persons have an electronic doohickey that will scan your credit card, and you sign with a stylus on a LCD touch screen. Similarly for couriers, if a signature and/or payment is required.

Royal Mail (ex-Consignia) should get with the 21st century!

MartinS said the following on 17/08/2005 04:22:

21st? Let's do one century at a time, shall we? How about getting Royal Mail into the 20th Century to start with? :-)

They used to until quite recently. That was the point I didn't quite manage top make.

The point is that Parcel Force no longer even attempt delivery (at least not around here in rural Bucks). You get a letter in the ordinary post saying there is a package requiring duty to be paid. The 2hr round trip to Milton Keynes to collect it does not appeal so I usually go for the delivery to local post office for 50p. It gets there by 2pm the next day and my other half collects it for me.

MBQ

"MartinS" wrote

We now have more problems with Royal Mail than with any of the private carriers/couriers. The sooner they lose their monopoly on letters the better, and I never thought I'd say that!

John.

wrote

Apparantly the postmen are not allowed to collect cash for fear of being robbed. Don't see why that should stop them collecting cheques though.

Personally I think it's just an excuse to save the time it takes to actually get the recipient to find a means of payment.

John.

On 17/08/2005 04:17, MartinS wrote,

Well, I recently bought a few from a commercial dealer in the States, and even with postage, and even if I had to pay import duty and VAT, it is still cheaper than *any* I have seen in the UK, and that's before UK postage if I wanted to use mail order.

eBay isn't just for private sales! There is a shop right now selling a bulk quantity of 60, and if you do the maths you might find you could get a bit of money out of it by reselling in the UK. Right - now I'm going to watch to see if the "Buy it now" disappears :-)

On 17/08/2005 04:16, MartinS wrote,

This can certainly be true - a while ago I was quoted $95 to ship a fairly lightweight item costing about $20. If the seller uses USPS, (as opposed to UPS) then postage drops dramatically, and I've certainly had no problems with that service - things can arrive quicker from the USA than 2nd class within the UK! When buying from the US, whether eBay or not, you *must* check the postage first!

I don't know whether we're all on the same page here, but I thought they were packing it in next year. Aren't the trunk routes going over to TNT, leaving just the local loops to dispose of?

Certainly the post offices in Wimbledon, one of the richest parts of Britain have all been closed. When tourists get off the train at Wimbledon and ask me for the nearest Post Office, and I tell them how many changes of bus they will need, their faces are an absolute picture.

If you are a pensioner without a bank account, you shouldn't be living here. Move to Rochdale or Hull, somewhere with quaint old practices.

And as for our main sorting office... they've changed the opening hours to make it inaccessible to the public, and they've cut, cut, cut the staff numbers. It's all over their faces when you walk in. Goodbye posties.

Now, we've got rid of most of the London fire stations, and the ones that are left are mostly down to one fire engine each. Next, I have to work on the ambulance service. A paramedic on a motor bike is perfectly adequate for most situations. We don't need all those non-revenue-earning ambulances flashing up and down the high streets heading to hospitals that we can't afford to staff anyway.

The eradication of public services is good and is the future of the British social structure. But it's not all bad news. I'm consulting for a client who runs minicabs, courier services, and school buses. Guess what his brightest prospect is? He's quoting to several LEA's to provide a personal limo service for schoolkids who play truant. It's the only way to get them into school! Gotta spend those taxes somewhere!

Cheers, Steve