On 2006-09-19 01:00:43 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
said:

Just got back from a trip to Belgium. Bought beer, wine, fags,
tobacco. Gordon Brown forces me to DIY and circumvent his system.

I spent just under £600. Compared it like for like with UK supermarket
prices and realised I just saved myself £500 for a 5 hour round trip
door to door.

I'm starting to wonder how much brand name power tools are in France &
Belgium. Do they work on UK voltage? Since I go every two or so
months this could be interesting!

You can use tools sourced in any of these countries in the UK. All
have a Schuko plug which you can remove or alternatively buy an
extension and put a 13A plug on that.

I have not found large differences on the prices of power tools vs. the
UK in general, although there are always offers. One thing to watch
is the differing rates of VAT. If you are paying but not reclaiming
VAT then you will pay the rate of the selling country and nothing on
import to the UK.
If you are VAT registered, you can (theoretically) go with a copy of
your VAT certificate and ask for the transaction to be done net of VAT.
I say "theoretically" because somewhere like Leroy Merlin or
Castorama is not really set up to do that. A tool store might be, but
then you would probably pay more anyway.

Standard VAT rates are 21% in Belgium, 19.6% in France, 19% in
Netherlands and 16% in Germany.

I have noticed that tools are a little cheaper in Germany which is
probably partly due to VAT rate, and in Netherlands which is a much
more price sensitive market.

You may also notice that prices in France are less if you are willing
to travel 30 -50km from the channel ports. There does appear to be a
tourist markup.