The Cost Of Brexit

[ParramattaPaul]

I admit I am pro-Brexit.  That said, yes, there are and will be problems.  That's a given.   I recognise and respect the fears and doubts the Remainers amongst us have regarding the challenges these and possible problems pose.  None the less, I remember the early days of the UE and the Common Market before it.  I remember the doubt and the trepidations many had then.  I remember the problems that needed to be confronted and overcome.  My point it is three fold.  First, it is very much early days.  None of us really has any idea what the long-term effect for The UK will be.  Second, as mentioned earlier, problems are inevitable with any new thing.  Thirdly and finally, these problems -- as in the past -- will be resolved, so I for one will have patience with the expectation that what we are currently confronting is temporary.

[RJS]

Are you based is the UK or Aus, out of interest, Paul?

[ParramattaPaul]

 

10 minutes ago, RJS said:

Are you based is the UK or Aus, out of interest, Paul?

 

 AUS, but UK and IE when opportunity presents.

[Olya]

29 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

EU won't last the decade.

That's a prediction I've regularly heard since forever.

Same with the Euro, by "2010 it'll disappear!"

[Karmachanic]

If you check you will see that it's getting raggedy around the edges.

[Olya]

Just now, Karmachanic said:

If you check you will see that it's getting raggedy around the edges.

It's become "raggedy" in many ways, unfortunately. Been heading that way for years and the rise in "populism" as some call it has been going across Europe and the US since at least the migrant crisis (tied to wars in North Africa and the Middle East; I think the rise in nationalistic idealism has been on the rise globally if I remember right everything I've read in the past years) and I've been worried quite a bit tbh, but I am very hopeful and think things will swing positively.

 

Brexit is indeed in its early days (hard to believe considering it's been in the news nonstop for more than half a decade now!!), but I also think that the problems right now make everyone else think twice about the "benefits" of breaking off and frankly I don't think it's going to be all too Great for Britain in the future (at least not in the way Brexiters said it would).

 

Still makes me laugh that BoJo said Britain had a great deal what with import/export and visas, because the EU reality up until this year was far better, but whatever...

 

This whole mess had me look more closely at the EU as institution and how its citizens benefit and I'll out myself that I've always been pro and since taking a closer look and paying more attention I'm even more pro.

 

One thing I'm confused about is people saying that UK billionaires were hoping for a Brexit as it would benefit them, because my impression was that the rich were in favour of remaining (with some notable exceptions, just remembered how Jacob RM moved his business to the EU, same with Jim Ratcliffe and his stance being pro Brexit but moving business to the EU... couldn't make it up)?

[Uncial]

I can't see that there's much point in continuing a remainer-brexiter argument rerun here. It's done and is what it is. I, like (it seems) everyone i know here, have just decided to shop EU and avoid the pain. Ive stopped buying pens, paper and ink from the Uk and gone fully European and switched my amazon from Uk to Germany. It feels a bit sad to ignore my neighbours and its not like i wish them economic hardship but stuff has got awfully expensive rather suddenly and it just doesn't make any sense to slap on €100 on an order when I can buy the same thing elsewhere without that 'added extra' and the postage is cheaper and quicker from the EU - which I  really didn't expect but there it is. 

[Karmachanic]

28 minutes ago, Olya said:

 frankly I don't think it's going to be all too Great for Britain in the future.

 

 

I don't thing it's going to be great for the West in general in the future.  End of innings.  End of an Age.  The Centre is inexorably moving to Eurasia like it or not. The time of divide an conquer, win/lose is slowly giving way to win/win as exemplified by OBOR. President Xi Jinping's presentation at WEF today set the tone.  Russia is the only autarky around.

 

Not that I can tell the future. Just signs and indications.  Or as Bob said; "you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." The only thing that is certain is change.  And change is upon us.  The West is bankrupt, and business closed down a year ago.  The money machine goes brrrrr, spitting out so called money, but always ends badly.

 

Brexit is a symptom.

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, Uncial said:

It feels a bit sad to ignore my neighbours and its not like i wish them economic hardship but stuff has got awfully expensive rather suddenly and it just doesn't make any sense to slap on €100 on an order when I can buy the same thing elsewhere without that 'added extra' and the postage is cheaper and quicker from the EU - which I  really didn't expect but there it is.

 

I don't see how this is either a geopolitical or a personal issue, when with both options you aren't buying ‘local’ supporting businesses operating in your neighbourhood or country that pay taxes to your government. If you're making purchasing decisions based primarily on your own out-of-pocket expense and/or total cost of acquisition — and that's perfectly fine, I'm not judging you, and I'd probably do the same — then all Brexit is just another change, the way changes in tax laws or rates, customs regulations, currency exchange rates, or even manufacturers' or regional distributors' MSRP changes for particular brands would affect a value proposition and cost-benefit analysis.

[Uncial]

You're quite right; the thread wasn't a geopolitical commentary, but it was a personal one about what I buy where and how much it costs. I don't have such a fixed nationalism that I find myself unable to care about global economies and there are some vendors I quite like that I have supported in the past that I find I can't any longer. That makes me feel a little sad. 

[tunney]

14 hours ago, Uncial said:

I can't see that there's much point in continuing a remainer-brexiter argument rerun here. It's done and is what it is. I, like (it seems) everyone i know here, have just decided to shop EU and avoid the pain. Ive stopped buying pens, paper and ink from the Uk and gone fully European and switched my amazon from Uk to Germany. It feels a bit sad to ignore my neighbours and its not like i wish them economic hardship but stuff has got awfully expensive rather suddenly and it just doesn't make any sense to slap on €100 on an order when I can buy the same thing elsewhere without that 'added extra' and the postage is cheaper and quicker from the EU - which I  really didn't expect but there it is. 

 

What are the shops are you using from the continent please?

Also Ireland based, and while I do support the few Irish pen shops we have they do not always stock what I want.

The hassle of buying UK means may as well buy from US if not sticking local or within the EU27

[Uncial]

I've transferred my amazon account from .co.uk to .de

In terms of EU shops I'm now using La Couronne du Comte, Akkermann, Appelboom, Fritz Schimpf and Penworld. There are many, many others of course.

There is also Pen Paradise, FountainFeder, Stilo e'Stile and Stilographica.it (I've used this last one a few times and been very happy with them)

[Beechwood]

It's a mess that benefits no one.

 

 

[RJS]

I've asked LCDC if they'll be registering to pay UK VAT...  it'll be something to bear in mind if they don't, as even sub-£135 orders will get a lot more expensive for Brits. I probably should have also asked if they'll still be posting to the UK for free on €100+ orders, as whilst we fulfil the criteria of being in Europe, we aren't in the EU.

 

As of the end of this month all my old colleagues from London will be relocating to Paris or taking redundancy, which is somewhat ironic as they were vastly pro-Brexit.

[Aramchek]

It would be nice if there was any alternative to Cultpens on the continent. While there are quite a few online retailers none that I know of has anywhere near their range. I've probably ordered from them a dozen times or so, but thanks to Brexit they are now too expensive. 

[Beechwood]

17 hours ago, RJS said:

I've asked LCDC if they'll be registering to pay UK VAT...  it'll be something to bear in mind if they don't, as even sub-£135 orders will get a lot more expensive for Brits. I probably should have also asked if they'll still be posting to the UK for free on €100+ orders, as whilst we fulfil the criteria of being in Europe, we aren't in the EU.

 

As of the end of this month all my old colleagues from London will be relocating to Paris or taking redundancy, which is somewhat ironic as they were vastly pro-Brexit.

 

Is that in Financial Services RJS?

 

I have heard that many London market insurance brokers are relocating.

[RJS]

3 hours ago, Beechwood said:

 

Is that in Financial Services RJS?

 

I have heard that many London market insurance brokers are relocating.

Yes, financial services. Some of the other brokers I know have already relocated to Frankfurt and other, smaller, financial centres. The idea that was once touted, of being the Hong Kong or Singapore of Europe, isn't quite panning out so far.  We're losing rather than gaining revenue it would appear, in key sectors. 

[Jorge]

Just a heads-up for anyone that might be affected.

My elder daughter lives in London and she could not finally join us for Christmas due to last minute COVID related travel restrictions.

Therefore we decided to send her Christmas presents via a courier service.

As I read in this and other forums, following the formal Brexit implementation on January 1st, Her Majesty`s Customs seemed to be overcome due to the new requirements in terms of paperwork, payments, etc...   

So we waited until early next week to send her package, containing just some clothing and packed food, worth some 60€, hoping that the situation would have returned to "normal".

This included the preparation of a pro-forma invoice showing details of the goods being exported, including values and TARIC Codes for each different item. This made me feel about 35 years younger 😏

Well, 10 days after the package was picked up by the courier, it is still here "being processed at customs".

I have asked them for further detail and they have told me that the UK had "formally asked countries", since January 20,

to refrain from shipments of personal nature until further notice, as they could not cope with their current workload.

Let's hope the situation improves shortly.

 

[Uncial]

I have three packages stuck in customs hell from the UK that were ordered on 2nd December. One arrived this morning and the other two show on tracking as not yet having left the UK. That's quite a serious backlog at this stage.

[Jorge]

8 hours ago, Uncial said:

I have three packages stuck in customs hell from the UK that were ordered on 2nd December. One arrived this morning and the other two show on tracking as not yet having left the UK. That's quite a serious backlog at this stage.

Oh dear!

Nothing else left for us than building up some patience, I´m afraid 😟