Wanted to put an order at TEM Electronic Components and was suddenly informed that I need to have a EU VAT number to order there now.😱
The same happend when I wanted to put another order to Farnell a week ago, no private persons are allowed to order at Farnell.....??
Where the heck am I supposed to get my components in the future....😕😕😡😡
The companies are killing the hobby and also coming generations that have interest in building electronic devices for their own pleasure and education....
Have the world become that crazy???
The same happend when I wanted to put another order to Farnell a week ago, no private persons are allowed to order at Farnell.....??
Where the heck am I supposed to get my components in the future....😕😕😡😡
The companies are killing the hobby and also coming generations that have interest in building electronic devices for their own pleasure and education....
Have the world become that crazy???
Yes..but they do that to their own detriment. Go to MOUSER.com they don't discriminate against DIY'ers. Only drawback is that you need to order more than 60USD to avoid shipping costs.
CPC.co.uk are wholly owned by Farnell and supply the private person, so does Maplin.co.uk. RS.com will also supply at trade prices. There are many good companies that will supply to a private individual.
Double price
Yes you can find places that sell to private persons but what I am after is that I have not had any problems before ordering at those companies but suddenly they want a VAT number and that I don't find ok.
Now for example I wanted to buy the ZTX450/550 and TME price is about half of what the companies charge selling to private persons even if I want to order in 100+.
Yes you can find places that sell to private persons but what I am after is that I have not had any problems before ordering at those companies but suddenly they want a VAT number and that I don't find ok.
Now for example I wanted to buy the ZTX450/550 and TME price is about half of what the companies charge selling to private persons even if I want to order in 100+.
Too fast for my own good
I was too fast to draw conclusion about my experience with TEM so here is their answer to my mail question.
I was too fast to draw conclusion about my experience with TEM so here is their answer to my mail question.
Dear Sir,
we passed limit of sales to private persons to Sweden . No we wait for EU VAT registration in Sweden. It takes aroud 2 weeks . After that all will be like previous
we passed limit of sales to private persons to Sweden . No we wait for EU VAT registration in Sweden. It takes aroud 2 weeks . After that all will be like previous
There are quite a few companies that won't sell to the general public. Usually these are ones that support tradesmen (electrical, plumbing, hvac) and the like. If you want to go into an electrical supply house and buy a few 10' sticks of conduit and some junction boxes, you had better have a business account (tax id) or you will not be served.
The people behind the counter can spend 5 minutes with a tradesman and sell $1000 or they can spend 30 minutes with a diyer and get $75. Serving DIYers sometimes doesn't make business sense. All I can say is, don't be the kind of person who drives businesses away from DIYers.
The people behind the counter can spend 5 minutes with a tradesman and sell $1000 or they can spend 30 minutes with a diyer and get $75. Serving DIYers sometimes doesn't make business sense. All I can say is, don't be the kind of person who drives businesses away from DIYers.
I was tipped off to some good poly coupling caps here that I couldn't get through the normal consumer pathways and I had luck at the local trades place because they covered the Farnell catalogue. They sympathised with my needs and hooked me up with the latest phone book sized catalogue to replace my much out of date one. They said they like to deal with orders of at least $40 but would help me regardless. I've since kept above this when I order and they're always happy to help. Good prices too.
In the USA, many companies who serve the trades willingly push DIYers to big box places like Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards, Fleet Farm, etc. These places have slightly higher prices but are staffed to handle the questions/returns, etc...
I don't know how common these 'big box' type stores are in other areas of the world.
I don't know how common these 'big box' type stores are in other areas of the world.
At least in the OPs part of the world, selling to individuals also normally means you need to report VAT in a different way and that you will be bound by consumer protection legislation which favours the buyer - IME that's more of an issue than low-value orders etc. which can frequently be regulated via fees and MOQs.
/U.
/U.
Until recently we had three. Radio Shack (trading as Tandy), Dick Smith and Jaycar. In the past 10 years, Dick Smith moved over to consumer electronics before going the way of RS and closing. Jaycar is fine for all ordinary parts, they buy seconds and surplus and are fine for speakers and amps.
At the trade store I am expected to lay out a purchase order, and not to need assistance. This is fine as I know what I want.
Besides the good points stated above,I suspect it´s not only a Company decision by itself, but Country (or even EU) Accounting/Tax rules which force them to do so.
May be wrong, but I read literally that in the phrase :
Not sure whether the "2 weeks" they mention refers to what it would take *you* to get a valid VAT number which would make you "acceptable" or *they* must register in Sweden because they went beyond some "trigger level" amount of sales and they applied for an extension.
Probably the second.
Large Distributors in general prefer selling a lot to a few large Customers, but most in general cater to small buyers, mainly out of good will I think.
That said, annoying customers quickly sour the deal.
Not your case, of course, but sometimes we see here on DIYA some people complaining about dealing direct with Manufacturers or big Distributors and then "feeling despised" because they did not get the quick/focused attention they feel they deserve.
Personally, I suggest they choose one of the possible solutions for:
May be wrong, but I read literally that in the phrase :
Not sure whether the "2 weeks" they mention refers to what it would take *you* to get a valid VAT number which would make you "acceptable" or *they* must register in Sweden because they went beyond some "trigger level" amount of sales and they applied for an extension.
Probably the second.
Large Distributors in general prefer selling a lot to a few large Customers, but most in general cater to small buyers, mainly out of good will I think.
That said, annoying customers quickly sour the deal.
Not your case, of course, but sometimes we see here on DIYA some people complaining about dealing direct with Manufacturers or big Distributors and then "feeling despised" because they did not get the quick/focused attention they feel they deserve.
Personally, I suggest they choose one of the possible solutions for:
As mentioned before it looks like they have not been registered for Swedish VAT and therefore are only allowed a sertain percentage sale to Sweden without VAT in Sweden. It is good that their sales are up in Sweden cause that can mean that they continue growing.
The question, or rather the annoyance that give rise to the question is that I have myself owned two companies and I know what pain it can be to take care of smaller costumers so I know that it is a balance between evil and good.
As a company you can choose different ways of cause, if you give the small costumer a chance to shop at your place then you also help keeping an interest up that else might fade and go away.... leaving you with no private costumers at all in the future.
Ok the company will most likely (but not always) survive anyway but in the long run, at least when it come to electronics, were young people will not be able to build their own stuff (in my early years it was light organs, wha-wha pedals to the guitar and so on) they will not be able to grow a genuine interest wich could, in the future, lead to fantastic electronic engineers. You will also anoy old nerds like us cause we can't get what we want for a deacent price (don't need bargain cheap but at least deacent) we will maybe also stop building things.😡
Many companies have then choosen to go for "minimum order value" and "buy for $60 to get free shipping" and so on wich is really ok (if you are a couple of friends you can always manage those limits), but don't entirly close the door for privat costumers by asking for a VAT number rouling out non-company orders!!
Normally, you can do very small business without having to collect, report and transfer VAT on your sales. For instance if you sell your speaker to your neighbor, you don't need to report it of course.
But above a certain level the government decides you are actually doing business, and then you need to start to report.
For small businesses the rules are often that you must report once every 3 months; if your business grows you need to report (and pay up the VAT you collected from your customers!) every month.
So, if you pass from very small to small business there comes a point you need to get a VAT number and start to collect VAT. Nothing mysterious going on, just the regular rules of doing business.
FWIW: here in Belgium I believe the limit is € 5000 per year; turnover above that and you're VAT-registered
Jan
But above a certain level the government decides you are actually doing business, and then you need to start to report.
For small businesses the rules are often that you must report once every 3 months; if your business grows you need to report (and pay up the VAT you collected from your customers!) every month.
So, if you pass from very small to small business there comes a point you need to get a VAT number and start to collect VAT. Nothing mysterious going on, just the regular rules of doing business.
FWIW: here in Belgium I believe the limit is € 5000 per year; turnover above that and you're VAT-registered
Jan
You can place private orders at http//export.farnell.com 😉Wanted to put an order at TEM Electronic Components and was suddenly informed that I need to have a EU VAT number to order there now.😱
The same happend when I wanted to put another order to Farnell a week ago, no private persons are allowed to order at Farnell.....??
Where the heck am I supposed to get my components in the future....😕😕😡😡
The companies are killing the hobby and also coming generations that have interest in building electronic devices for their own pleasure and education....
Have the world become that crazy???
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