What watch for £50

[DJMC]

I had a £3 Customs (VAT) charge recently but Royal Mail added their £8 handling charge and the law seems to have changed in 2014 in their favour so that withholding the item is no longer "interfering with the mail."

Did you not have the £8 charge too?

[battered]

DJMC said:

I had a £3 Customs (VAT) charge recently but Royal Mail added their £8 handling charge and the law seems to have changed in 2014 in their favour so that withholding the item is no longer "interfering with the mail."

Did you not have the £8 charge too?

I don't think it ever was "interfering with the mail". That's their function, after all. If they weren't allowed to stop things being posted through borders they wouldn't be able to do much of a job, would they?
"Oh yes, that's the 25kg crate of white powder that Mr Escobar sends through every week. I'm sure he's up to no good, you know, but we can't stop and search any of the crates as that would be interfering with the mail, and we can't do that."

[Jobbo]

DJMC said:

I had a £3 Customs (VAT) charge recently but Royal Mail added their £8 handling charge and the law seems to have changed in 2014 in their favour so that withholding the item is no longer "interfering with the mail."

Did you not have the £8 charge too?

I had an £18 customs charge from DHL (including whatever fee they charged) - this was based on Creation's stated value rather than invoice price.

Since the exchange rate has made Creation less competitive and the customs charges now seem to be applied more often, I've stopped buying from them.

[DJMC]

battered said:

I don't think it ever was "interfering with the mail". That's their function, after all. If they weren't allowed to stop things being posted through borders they wouldn't be able to do much of a job, would they?
"Oh yes, that's the 25kg crate of white powder that Mr Escobar sends through every week. I'm sure he's up to no good, you know, but we can't stop and search any of the crates as that would be interfering with the mail, and we can't do that."

Under the previous postal services act you could withhold the £8 handling fee and just pay the duty/VAT, threatening them with the Act if they then held the item. I'd always take a copy of the relevant sections with me, offer to pay the duty/VAT and give them my name & address, explaining they can sue me for the £8 but they must release the item. It always worked prior to 2014, and they never sued me.

But this time they won and I had to pay the £8. The US seller did pay me this back, and the VAT, via PayPal as he'd said prior to purchase there would be no charges on entry to the UK.

[rscott]

This has just arrived from eBay for the grand total of £30.49 including delivery. It's claimed to be around 20 years old - quite believable as the box doesn't even have any sort of barcode on it.
Supposedly never worn either - if it has been, then very little. No marks on the strap, which is the original.

Just needed a new battery fitred and is now working perfectly. Mechanism is an ETA one - can't see a model number.

[Fallingup]

@DJMC

What is the model number of your white Edifice please.

[DJMC]

Fallingup said:

@DJMC

What is the model number of your white Edifice please.

EFB-509 DY

http://www.casiostore.com.cn/watch/edifice/chronog...

I don't think they were ever sold in the UK? Found this one new/unused for £22 delivered.



Currently on solid SS aftermarket 20mm bracelet (£5.59 delivered)...

Edited by DJMC on Monday 29th May 12:09

[CX53]

I found this thread recently and have enjoyed reading through. It's been a bit dangerous though, my collection has grown from 3 watches to 4 with 2 more on the way since I started reading!

I bought this for work last week from creation as I keep scratching my usual daily Tissot (excuse pathetic girly wrists :



Very impressed so far and good value for money! Strap is a bit itchy... was unsure whether to go for a NATO replacement or not but I have a brown leather strap on the way.

This is my other Sub £50er which goes lovely with a shirt, I quite like Skagen's:



Here is my small fleet so far, although not all qualify for the thread...:



I have two vintage HMT mechanicals coming this week to join my (thanks to you lot) growing collection at £8 a piece! Pics to follow, I'm keen to see what they're like!

ETA sorry I don't know why the first two pics have flipped around the wrong way!!

[Hoofy]

Get out while you can...

[CX53]

Hoofy said:

Get out while you can...

god help me....

Before I do, can anyone recommend a nice watch box/display case type thing??

[Mezzanine]

Definitely get yourself a Nato for your 5, I found the standard strap too stiff and hard to keep smelling fresh after it gets wet or sweaty.

Nic Tissot.

[grumbledoak]

CX53 said:

Before I do, can anyone recommend a nice watch box/display case type thing??

Cheap and cheerful on amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Katomi-Watch-Display-Case...
(lots of sellers, same box).

[DJMC]

Mezzanine said:

Nic Tissot.

Great name!

Almost as good as my Porsche centre receptionist... Jaz Hans.

[battered]

Mezzanine said:

Definitely get yourself a Nato for your 5, I found the standard strap too stiff and hard to keep smelling fresh after it gets wet or sweaty.

Nic Tissot.

(Checks wrist for bad odours)
No, the standard nylon thing on the 5 is OK after a a while. There's a leathery strip that wears out after a few months, I just ripped that bit off. It still smells OK, better than most leather ones in daily use.

[Mezzanine]

battered said:

Mezzanine said:

Definitely get yourself a Nato for your 5, I found the standard strap too stiff and hard to keep smelling fresh after it gets wet or sweaty.

Nic Tissot.

(Checks wrist for bad odours)
No, the standard nylon thing on the 5 is OK after a a while. There's a leathery strip that wears out after a few months, I just ripped that bit off. It still smells OK, better than most leather ones in daily use.

I must have obscene wrists then.

[Hoofy]

Invicta diver's? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Invicta-Analogue-display-...

[phil_cardiff]

DJMC said:

Fallingup said:

@DJMC

What is the model number of your white Edifice please.

EFB-509 DY

http://www.casiostore.com.cn/watch/edifice/chronog...

I don't think they were ever sold in the UK? Found this one new/unused for £22 delivered.



Currently on solid SS aftermarket 20mm bracelet (£5.59 delivered)...

Edited by DJMC on Monday 29th May 12:09

That's lovely when on the bracelet. Is there anything similar available in the UK for under £100?

[DJMC]

phil_cardiff said:

That's lovely when on the bracelet. Is there anything similar available in the UK for under £100?

Strangely, the brushed bracelet looks OK with the polished case. Kind of sets it off if you know what I mean?

I was going to find a cheapie polished bracelet from the same manufacturer but then thought it would just be asking for trouble.

I've seen nothing like this model in the UK.

[anonymous-user]

5's are great, but just not waterproof... That tiny little thing is the killer for me. Means my 5 is rarely, if ever, touched.

[GC8]

DJMC said:

Under the previous postal services act you could withhold the £8 handling fee and just pay the duty/VAT, threatening them with the Act if they then held the item. I'd always take a copy of the relevant sections with me, offer to pay the duty/VAT and give them my name & address, explaining they can sue me for the £8 but they must release the item. It always worked prior to 2014, and they never sued me.

But this time they won and I had to pay the £8. The US seller did pay me this back, and the VAT, via PayPal as he'd said prior to purchase there would be no charges on entry to the UK.

You are an entitled idiot. They should waive their charge and forward the parcel to a customs agent for you. Then you could clear your own items through customs and pay your dues without using their service.