Tandy Manchester closing in June only online remaining

[mikesc]

^^^ Love the Tux :-)

[fredk]

latest info I have is that Tandy USA will send out orders via DHL Express. Customs will be pre-paid. DHL will deliver in 2 to 3 days after the order leaves the warehouse.

Last Spring DHL couldn't even deliver boxes of chicken to KFC outlets in the UK, causing 2/3 of them to close and the other 1/3 to limit what they sold. What you didn't hear was that only improved a bit over the year. KFC have dropped DHL and went back to their previous deliverer in March this year.

No matter how quick the order gets to Britain I've found that DHL can take 30 to 60 days to deliver that order to my area. example; I bought a Caddy part out of Alaska. It arrived at DHL in England in 48 hours but took 6 weeks to get from there to me. I've also found that DHL seem to ignore any prepaid customs and puts the consignment thru HMRC, eg the Caddy part. [and many, many other examples]

I am not confident

oops, a PS. Tandy says they'll be charging UK customers a flat rate of £10 per order for delivery. Currently I pay [paid] £8.50

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by fredk

[zuludog]

Just a thought - Presumably orders from Tandy USA would attract customs duty, shipping and handling charges somewhere along the line, wherever they were paid; in which case it would be worth looking at Goods Japan

About a year ago I purchased some stitching chisels and edge bevellers from Goods Japan. The costs were - price of the items + VAT/import duty applied by HMRC @ 20%  + international transaction charge by Royal Mail of £8. Delivery time of about 3 weeks from Japan. I think the stated costs on Goods Japan website includes shipping

But you might consider that items by Kyoshin Elle, Craft Sha, and Seiwa are better than Tandy

[mikesc]

Yep..DHL..not the most efficient knives in the box..I heard all about the Kentucky debacle over on a pro IT forum..

I second a vote for goodsjapan..good quality stuff, very efficient people, good prices..re VAT ( if you are registered you'll be getting it back ? ) is 20% from anywhere ( USA or Japan, or even EU )..outside of UK , if UK customs see the goods go past their beady little eyes, or if they are imported by a customs agent shipper such as DHL, UPS, Fedex , TNT etc..

Difference is that once outside of the EU ( post Brexit ) there will be other assorted customs rates applied on goods from the EU before the VAT is charged..

Which could make some things a lot more expensive to bring into the UK from the EU..actual percentage rates won't be known until after Brexit ( some have been leaked, but by no means all )..leather for different uses may have differing rates applied , as may tools, rates depend on use, or dual ( or more ) use..

"international transaction charge by Royal Mail of £8" that is basically like a flat rate customs clearing agent charge for "customs handling" that Royal Mail apply..

DHL ( and others ) quoted rates usually are inclusive of customs handling, but not inclusive of customs duty and VAT..

Each class of items is technically "one point"..so cowhide veg tan is "one point" , "cowhide analine" is "one point", horse is "one point" etc etc..head knives are "one point", ( or may be classed as "leatherworker's tools" , ) stamps may be "one point" ( or may be classed as "leatherworker's tools"..etc etc..

A Customs broker charges for handling each "point"..Import and customs clearance of one veg tan cowhide could be "one point" charged at $100.00 plus duty + VAT..import of 1000 veg tan cowhides would also be £100.00 plus duty+VAT..if there was one lambskin in the 1000 veg tan cowhides, that would be an additional "one pint and be charged at an additional
£100.00 +duty +VAT..and so on ..and so forth..Which is why ( unless you are shipping 20' or 40' boxes or stuff ) most people use the mail or DHL, UPS, TNT etc..who have a flat charge per package included in their rates and who do not charge per "point"..There may not actually be a classification of "leatherworker's tools"..and without looking it up in my Douane ( Customs ) tables I couldn't say for sure.but the principle holds good, each thing is in a classification , each classification counts as "one point" each classification has a rate of import duty applied to it, if things are dual use, you get to negotiate with the Douane ( Customs ) or your importing "customs clearing agent" does so for you..if they can be bothered, DHL etc usually cannot be..

Whatever you do..never call it a gift , nor allow your supplier to do so..that way can lie jail and or heavy fines..and your customs people ( HMRC..or in my case la Douane, les Douanes ) are usually empowered to do things that the police are not..

Edited April 25, 2019 by mikesc
typos

[bermudahwin]

Mike has it covered well,

I am disappointed at the closure, but based on the recent centralising to US that they have exhibited, it is not surprising.

Based on the $1 to £1 conversion rate we have seen from Tandy over the years, and split orders sent at full postage per split, I calculated on a £500 (UK) there would be a probable increase on about 2% (which could easily be lost or increased in currency fluctuations) This takes a random (highish) post and pack cost, Duty, VAT and Handling charge into account. And was Importing a product classified with HS Code 8206.00.0000 to GB from US, which was hand tools.

I think that the biggest loss is one of competition in a small marketplace. I feel for the always helpful staff, and time, as I will have to source from many places instead of one, which was the main reason to shop there.

H

[chrisash]

Seems a pity they dont let the management buy stock from the States at real trade prices and just sell maybe online or and trade counter as a franchise with maybe cut down product lists

[mikesc]

Seems a pity they dont let the management buy stock from the States at real trade prices
With whose money would they be paying for what they were buying ?

What are "real trade prices"?
Selling online requires a secure website, with a back end to a bank account, the site would have to be run by a team, with experience, who would pay them ?
Trade counter ? who would be allowed to buy ? Only businesses, which is what "trade counters" sell to..they do not sell to the "public" or "hobbyists".
Franchises ( which are a very specific type of legal trading entity ) cost money to "buy into"..eg most ( if not all ) MickeyD's ( and other Fast food etc ) are franchises..

We looked into buying one ( McDo) here ( they are the run under the same "franchise system" in the UK ) would have cost us at the time ( early 90's ) around 2 million euros to buy in, plus a franchisee then gives a high percentage of their gross each month to the "Home office" in return for being a franchisee..
We decided to pass , put the money into something else..mainly because in France we would have had to have employees, and already we had learned that to have employees in France is like shooting yourself in the foot, but the trigger gets pulled at random.

I don't know if Tandy have a franchise system ? I think the store managers are all salaried staff paid by the head office..if they do have franchises, they won't be giving them away..But, you could ask them if you could "buy in" to keep them open in the UK, but based in Norfolk. :)

Prices to "buy in" are no doubt even higher now..There is a supermarket chain ( each shop run by franchisees in France) called SuperU , one about 1km from me was just sold..the new owners had to "buy in" as well as pay the previous owner for the deal..the "buy in" ( what they have to pay to the "home office" ) is north of 50 million Euros for around 9000 sq feet of retail space branded SuperU, plus parking ( about 200 cars )plus a petrol ( gas ) ) station , my sources say that they paid nearly as much again to the owner, whose father gave it to him around 5 years ago..But..they bought a money machine..

Edited April 25, 2019 by mikesc
forgot "from me"

[fredk]

I got an email from Tandy this morning.

quote

Dear Valued Customer,

There's no easy way to say this but, Tandy is closing its beloved Manchester store Friday 7th June 2019.  We greatly appreciate your business over the years and will miss helping customers face-to-face.

Even without a local Tandy store, we hope you continue to cultivate your passion for crafting leather.  We have all of the materials and tools you need online at www.tandyleather.eu. 

To persuade our valued customers across the pond to stick with us, we revamped our shipping program. Now, 2-day shipping is standard for only £10 and Tandy is paying all import taxes and duties. To sweeten the deal, even more, we’re offering FREE shipping on orders over £150.

Your business is important to us here at Tandy Leather. We appreciate your understanding and welcome any questions. Please feel free to contact tlfhelp@tandyleather.com with questions.

Even though the store is closing, we hope to continue servicing you as though we were still neighbors.

Sincerely,

Tandy Leather Team

 

end quote

[chrisash]

Mikesc

In the u,k it looks like it's different rules for trade counters, I ran a e-commerce site from a industrial unit for many years untill 18 months ago

The trade counter was open to all customers and paid no shop rates; and consisted of a fair size area, where we displayed goods, a large number of industrial units in the UK have trade counters open to the public as well as trade, although i guess it would not be acceptable to sell something that is not remotly connected with a trade, like a sweet shop I guess, but dont really know 

Selling workwear from Nurses dresses to mens overalls etc we brought in from major companies at a trade price which was between 45-60 percent below their selling prices, which helped them sell on lkarge quantities and improvemthere buying power a win win situation

[fredk]

aye, the 'rules' and why-fors are different here for 'trade counters'. Usually the business will give better discount and allow credit to registered trades, others have to pay immediately and get the basic cheaper price.

If I want some car supplies from the trade outlet my son deals with I cannot pay cash if I want a low price; I have to put it on #1's account, then pay him for the item. The cash price is about 10% dearer than the account price, but even that higher price is lower than retail outlets