Dictum VAT Refund & Customs - Ordering from the US.

[HarveyWildes]

I'm considering ordering some Pfeil carving tools from Dictum, a German tools retailer.  I live in the US.  I can get the tools I'm interested in for about a 40% discount over US prices.

Is Dictum a reliable company?  I see some issues reported online, but some good reviews as well.  They certainly have a good supply of quality tools.

I can't determine from their website whether they are going to refund the VAT as part of the transaction or not.  If not, has anyone ever applied for the VAT refund online?  If so, what's the process?

Should I expect to be billed by US customs for import duties or other import fees?  The amount would be just under $700 US.

 

[Bernmc]

I've bought from Dictum without problems (I'm in Aus). Haven't had to deal with returns or problems so couldn't comment on customer service.

Their system gave me a EU VAT-free total at checkout.

No idea about import duty thresholds in yankland - here we get hit if it's over AU$1000 value. Check the rules carefully as over here, if  you exceed the threshold, it's import duty on cost+shipping+insurance, then plus GST  on top of that, and then an import agent's fee - so it suddenly becomes quite a bit more pricey.

The main issue with buying from Germany at the moment is COVID is severely limiting international shipping. Last thing I ordered took 40 days to get here (usually a week or so), and I still have something sitting on the tarmac at Frankfurt airport - shipped on 22 Oct.

 

[MikeGE]

Dictum is a very reliable company, and I have done a lot of online business with them.  The checkout process automatically calculates the European VAT based on the destination country, but I don't know how they will handle the VAT for U.S. addresses.  I recommend contacting the sales team and ask about the VAT process for you.

 

[hdv]

Can't help you on the VAT issue when shipping to the US. But I can recommend them as a dealer. They have good tools and the few times I needed it, their service was top notch too. I don't think you will be disappointed by them.

 

[PeterJJames13]

I ordered once from them last year. I don't recall paying VAT or seeing it on the invoice. I had no issues with my order - shipped fast and good packaging. My order was under $200 so I can't speak to any customs fees though.

 

[HarveyWildes]

I finally ordered some Pfeil carving tools from Dictum for about 2/3 the cost anywhere in NA, less than 1/2 of the price of my local woodworking store.  They did not charge VAT, but the shipping was slightly less than VAT would have been, so it's a wash in my favor.  Interestingly, the "2-day" shipping was less expensive than the freight shipping (>5 days) by about 2-3 Euros.  I ordered over the long holiday weekend, and they shipped Monday local time.  Looks like the chisels are somewhere between Milan and Cincinnati.  I expect actual shipping time will be more like 3-4 days (Thursday or Friday), which is fine by me.  Customs will have some say, but as the price was well below customs thresholds, I expect there will be no hold-up there.

 

[HarveyWildes]

Got the tools.  The Dictum price increased 100 euros since I ordered, so I got a great deal.  No customs fees.

 

[FestitaMakool]

I just received an order from Dictum myself.
They seem to withdraw VAT if shipping destinations are outside EU. (We’re not in the EU, so I got the VAT withdrawn, and paid a higher VAT here..)

It is common practise in Europe, but if you are within EU, you have to pay the VAT.

That said, I’m very pleased with the service, packaging and the items received (A Starret 150mm combination square with cast head and satin ruler, finally [smile], Japanese garden shears, a bag for my Japan saws (very nice bag) and scoring knifes)