UK Accessory suppliers

[pete8314]

FYI - my AO console wrap, sent via Royal Mail, has a value of $8.99 declared on the tube it was sent in and I was not stung for any additional taxes.

I ordered on Saturday. Didn't see any option for duty paid. Just DHL or UPS (iirc). Did I miss something? I would have preferred to pay duty up front and not get stung by extra handling charge. Pretty sure I will incur duty as its got the jack point protectors in there so will probably be heavy.

I chose DHL as with UPS the best they can say for delivery is 'end of the day' so you end up having to wait in all day for a delivery. Plus DHL was cheaper as it was not expediated - didn't need that within reason. That said, I've also had problems with DHL in the past when package gets delivered to wrong address - maybe they will pay my duty!

We don't have the option to pre-pay duty yet, it's not straight forward, but is work in progress.

We only ask for a delivery confirmation from the carriers, so UPS (and DHL) should just leave it, unless there's an advisory on the address or area (parcel thefts). It does seem to vary though.

 

[Jonslatt]

Ordered the Taptes wireless charging pad at the beginning of the month. Tracking says that it arrived at the Heathrow sorting hub on 12th October but there are no further updates after that. Has it fallen into a big black hole at Heathrow?

Anyone else had big delays with Yun Express courier who Taptes use? Only USD38 so shouldn’t have any duty on it I don’t think.

Have contacted Taptes but nothing from them yet.

 

[MrBadger]

Only USD38 so shouldn’t have any duty on it I don’t think.

I believe VAT is payable from around £18, might be duty not VAT, may be slightly different amount. But defo something payable on that amount. Plus a disproportional handling fee if they catch you.

 

[pete8314]

If it ultimately delivers through Royal Mail, it's a manual selection process, and last I heard, they ignore anything that's less than 2.2kg with a declared value of <£15, unless it appears to have electronics in it. I'm sure it varies depending on resource though, and the size of the package probably makes a difference too. If it's more than £15, then VAT applies depending on the contents. Duty applies over £135. Handling fee applies if one or both are due.

 

[simon79]

Ordered the Taptes wireless charging pad at the beginning of the month. Tracking says that it arrived at the Heathrow sorting hub on 12th October but there are no further updates after that. Has it fallen into a big black hole at Heathrow?

I ordered from EV Premium Customs in July and received it in October. Prior to that, it had sat in Heathrow (according to USPS tracking) until the final week, when seemingly it went back to LAX where it then came back to Heathrow and was delivered the next day. Unfortunately you won’t have much luck chasing, as Royal Mail will say they can’t do anything as it’s not yet with them, HMRC said they have no control as it’s a Border Force issue and then I gave up.

The only solace I can give is that eventually someone will probably stumble across your parcel and sort it out. Twitter has plenty of tweets in similar situations, but no solutions.

 

[MrBadger]

Just had a call from DHL (thought it was scam on first picking up) saying that they had my package and £18 to pay and that a text had been sent that I needed to act upon. Happy with the £18 if that includes the handling fee, but after hanging up, I see I do not have that text yet. Hopefully it will be available from the tracking info.

 

[MrBadger]

*sugar*. As no text received I tried to find tracking info. Signed up for DHL notification but nothing about paying import fees.

So I did a search for the number I received the call on and found this. https://who-calls.me.uk/phone/02070229037 it does not make pleasant reading as it sounds like a scam but if it is true, where did they get my info from - I don't think there is enough info posted here to put together the info they needed to make the call and supply the info in the call that they did.

So not sure what to do. I guess eventually due fees will show up on DHL website. Will try and contact DHL, but never had much joy with them in the past.

Maybe my first gut feeling of scam was correct, but hopefully not as the implications of it being a scam are huge.

 

[elecTED]

Hey @AlternateFlux

Fancy expanding into the custom Tesla vinyl wrapping business?

 

[MrBadger]

Panic over. I eventually found a place on official DHL website to search for bills (DHL | Payment Options | English) and low and behold, one for £18.00 as the phone call said.

So paid online. Fingers crossed, smooth sailing from now on.

 

[Nell]

If it ultimately delivers through Royal Mail, it's a manual selection process, and last I heard, they ignore anything that's less than 2.2kg with a declared value of <£15, unless it appears to have electronics in it. I'm sure it varies depending on resource though, and the size of the package probably makes a difference too. If it's more than £15, then VAT applies depending on the contents. Duty applies over £135. Handling fee applies if one or both are due.

My £132 AO order (delivered via Royal Mail after a couple of weeks) has just resulted in a £14+ additional charges (customs) request before they will deliver. Annoying....

 

[MrBadger]

I think that is cheaper than you should have expected.

VAT payable on full amount if >£15 and if your £132 included shipping costs then you just missed the duty threshold at £135 so could have been more.

Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad

Plus sometimes you get hit by a very disproportionate ‘handling charge’ from delivery company

 

[phillcom3]

FYI - my AO console wrap, sent via Royal Mail, has a value of $8.99 declared on the tube it was sent in and I was not stung for any additional taxes.

Which is what the actual cost probably is tbh

 

[MrBadger]

Well, my AO order that I placed Saturday evening was (attempted to be) delivered this morning (Thursday). It was estimated for tomorrow, but came a day early. So redelivery hopefully tomorrow.

Hopefully I am not premature in saying this, but if the £18 customs charge I paid a few days back is everything, and not just DHL handling charge, I would say it worked out very smoothly shipping wise once I had realised that the dodgy sounding DHL call was not in fact a scam.

 

[pete8314]

Which is what the actual cost probably is tbh

Um, no!

 

[MrBadger]

Our Abstract Ocean order turned up today. Ordered last Saturday evening and first delivery attempt yesterday when I was out.

We got the £18 customs charge that I paid to DHL direct prior to leaving the country. Something clearly had caught their attention as it had been opened for security and repacked - the screen protector packing had also been opened for quality check too - assume that was AO not DHL though.

In the end, delivery was timely and whilst not cheap, it was nearly offset by a 15% discount code. The £18 customs charge was less than I was expecting

So a couple of nerve wracking jobs tomorrow...

Personal experience is that AO are at upper end of price range, but its the first piece of our Tesla car ownership experience that has gone according to plan so far (still got tomorrows jobs though...)

If Pete is around, I would be interested to hear what the bolt on jack pads is holding in place. I'm thinking on how to mount one to an old car jack and a longer bolt may help fix puck to that. I don't really want to dismantle as they have the moveable magnetic mounts.

 

[pete8314]

We like to think we're decent value overall A couple of years ago we opted not to compete totally on price, as it's a race to the bottom and it's inevitable the product will suffer in the end. Instead we try to keep prices reasonable, while offering quick shipping (at least in terms of order to dispatch) and great, personal service.

Regarding the bolt on the jack pads, I reached out to the designer for his input:

The counterbore in the bottom of the Model 3 jack pad tool facilitates manufacturing the tool. The bolt "fills" this counterbore. On the magnetic tool, the bolt helps to retract the magnet. An A2-70 bolt with a length of 20mm, 22mm, or 25mm will fit. But only the 22mm length will provide the correct behavior of the magnet. A standard zinc plated steel bolt will restrict the magnet from extending.

I don't recommend attaching the tool to a floor jack for a couple of reasons. Doing this introduces the possibility of puncturing the battery case with the post if the tool/jack assembly is not properly positioned. Another issue is attaching the tool to the jack will increase the required ground clearance to maneuver the jack into place. I would discourage the customer from mounting the tool to the jack.

 

[MrBadger]

Thanks for the info on the jack pads. Good job I didn't get inquisitive and dismantle! I'll probably end up attaching a cup to the jack, then put puck in the cup. TBH, it will only be for emergency use. I think for seasonal wheel swap, I'm resigned to investing in a new trolley jack.

A bit of feedback on the 9H screen protector. Now I hate fitting screen protectors and having watched the videos a couple of times, I was ready for this one. Very happy with end result, but a couple of side swerves along the way. First, the alignment template that came with the protector didn't fit perfectly - top was rather loose but this bit didn't matter as by time glass reaches that, its already aligned, but bottom left was quite tight so didn't sit perfectly. It still did its job, but did interfere a little when I had to lift the screen protector left side to get at a speck of dust. The reason for lifting the screen was dust. We paid a lot of attention to keeping things dust free, but no matter how hard we tried, the little speckled blighters would appear from no where even with no HVAC. Actually I think I know where they came from, and that was the little dry white cloth that came with the kit. So for anyone wanting to fit this kit, try shaking out the white dry cloth (away from the job in hand) and whilst ok to use that after the wet cloth, finish off with the screen cleaning cloth that came with the car as that does a better final job. In the end, we had a tiny mark under screen that a blind man would be pleased to see and a slight mark on one edge where I used my fingernail to lift. I also had to chase a few bubbles out. A note on polarised glasses with this protector - there is a tiny metallic 'rainbow effect' that would not notice without looking for it - no reference as to what it was like before as they were not my glasses so had never previously looked at unprotected screen through them. As for loss of resolution due to matt effect, not a problem although not driven car since fitting.

 

[phillcom3]

Our Abstract Ocean order turned up today. Ordered last Saturday evening and first delivery attempt yesterday when I was out.

We got the £18 customs charge that I paid to DHL direct prior to leaving the country. Something clearly had caught their attention as it had been opened for security and repacked - the screen protector packing had also been opened for quality check too - assume that was AO not DHL though.

In the end, delivery was timely and whilst not cheap, it was nearly offset by a 15% discount code. The £18 customs charge was less than I was expecting

So a couple of nerve wracking jobs tomorrow...

Personal experience is that AO are at upper end of price range, but its the first piece of our Tesla car ownership experience that has gone according to plan so far (still got tomorrows jobs though...)

If Pete is around, I would be interested to hear what the bolt on jack pads is holding in place. I'm thinking on how to mount one to an old car jack and a longer bolt may help fix puck to that. I don't really want to dismantle as they have the moveable magnetic mounts.

How much was your order mine came to about 170 with delivery yeadterday. Will I have to pay more on customs? I think I only had the DHL or ups only when I orders. I mean I only had oen option at 40 dollars.

 

[MrBadger]

You will more than likely have to pay more on customs and/or VAT. If you selected DHL, in next day or so you may get a dodgy sounding call from DHL UK number to say that you will receive a text with instructions on how to pay the invoice. Suggest when that happens, or you get the text, follow the link I put above and pay up. From my own experience, it could have been much worse - some of these companies do have a habit of slapping disproportional handling charges on customs charges.

 

[pete8314]

Thanks for the info on the jack pads. Good job I didn't get inquisitive and dismantle! I'll probably end up attaching a cup to the jack, then put puck in the cup. TBH, it will only be for emergency use. I think for seasonal wheel swap, I'm resigned to investing in a new trolley jack.

Ha. Actually I took one apart, still couldn't figure out what the bolt did, so then I emailed the guy that did Taking the bolt out does no harm though.

A bit of feedback on the 9H screen protector. Now I hate fitting screen protectors and having watched the videos a couple of times, I was ready for this one. Very happy with end result, but a couple of side swerves along the way. First, the alignment template that came with the protector didn't fit perfectly - top was rather loose but this bit didn't matter as by time glass reaches that, its already aligned, but bottom left was quite tight so didn't sit perfectly. It still did its job, but did interfere a little when I had to lift the screen protector left side to get at a speck of dust. The reason for lifting the screen was dust. We paid a lot of attention to keeping things dust free, but no matter how hard we tried, the little speckled blighters would appear from no where even with no HVAC. Actually I think I know where they came from, and that was the little dry white cloth that came with the kit. So for anyone wanting to fit this kit, try shaking out the white dry cloth (away from the job in hand) and whilst ok to use that after the wet cloth, finish off with the screen cleaning cloth that came with the car as that does a better final job. In the end, we had a tiny mark under screen that a blind man would be pleased to see and a slight mark on one edge where I used my fingernail to lift. I also had to chase a few bubbles out. A note on polarised glasses with this protector - there is a tiny metallic 'rainbow effect' that would not notice without looking for it - no reference as to what it was like before as they were not my glasses so had never previously looked at unprotected screen through them. As for loss of resolution due to matt effect, not a problem although not driven car since fitting.

Yeah, this all make sense. I tried as hard as I could in the video, packaging, instructions to point out that dust is really bad, and just because of the logistics of doing it in a car, immovable screen, large format etc etc, it can make things more challenging. The cloth should not have had any lint on it, although really all that's needed are the wet and dry wipes, the cloth is a bit of a carry over from the first-gen installation, where the hinge-method was used (and still can be, we just don't think it's as easy). We've tried to make a fiddly job as easy as we can, but it's still fiddly! One of the prototypes had the screen protector built into the frame (a lot of the newer smart-phone protectors are like this), but it became very unwieldy.