First, the Good News.    Thanks to the sterling efforts of the casting team and the magnificent packing squad, we have reached order number #16853.   This isn’t just an abstract number, it means that we are making real inroads into our backorders and making progress towards ‘normality’, (whatever that means).   As a result, following last week’s raising of the order limit, we are once again raising the bar.  With immediate effect you can order up to £150 from us.   Thanks to all of you for your patience and following our rules  - we are only able to progress as we have because of your co-operation.

One thing we have maintained during the past 18 months has been a schedule of new releases.   We are now looking ahead to the launch of the first codes on our resculpted Great Northern War range.   As part of this process, the old range has now been withdrawn from sale and is no longer available.   The new codes will be on sale in early July, but for the moment, here is another preview of what to expect in the form of some Swedish infantry.

‘But what of the Bad News?’, you say?   Well, we are going to have to increase our postage prices to overseas customers.    Our current rates have been in place for the best part of two decades, but, sadly, events have overtaken us.   All of our overseas postal costs have increased steadily, but these have accelerated rapidly over the Covid months.   In particular, the somewhat eccentric decision that the US Postal Service should leave the International Small Packet agreement has meant that we have been subsidising every one of the majority of orders to the USA by around £5.00.   This really is no longer sustainable.

With regards to our EU customers, there have been increased postal costs, but we are now having to face up to big changes in how we handle the combination of Brexit and EU VAT charges.    From July 1st we will be joining the EU VAT one stop shop (OSS) system.   This means that we will once again be charging VAT at source, which will now be based upon the rate charged in the country of destination.   The plus side of this is that it will cut out the customs delays that have been a symptom of Brexit, but, importantly, it will sidestep those irritating, arbitrary and stupidly expensive ‘handling fees’ that have caused so much hassle.

The downside to this is that we have to pay for this service, and pay for it handsomely.  We will absorb most of these costs, but once again, we cannot subsidise them entirely.   As a result, we will have to reflect this with increased postage charges. In our time-honoured very British tradition of ‘being fair’, we are giving advance warning of these increases, which will kick in from July.  

More details on the Joy of Virtual Six and new releases to come, so stay posted!

Hi Peter

People will always pay for quality -- especially from a business that has gone out of its way to provide regular updates and communication.  

Keep up the excellent work, and thank you for keeping us abreast. 

J

Thank you Peter, that sves a lot of hassel for me living in Portugal.  I recently had a post retruned by the Customs Office as they said I had not provided enough documentation....what they really meant was they had not seen the updated online process I had completed!

I look forward to ordering soon

Things seem less chaotic in the Netherlands and the VAT/postage thing is now just a fact of life. It does mean that I now tend to concentrate on one project at a time, so all my orders of late have been related to the Pony Wars releases. I am also working on the backlog lead pile which I have accumulated over the years. Currently looking forward to the teepees (or is it tipis), the railway and the actual rules, plus hopefully some cowboys and gunfighters.

There is a limit to how many external costs a business can absorb. You have done sterling work (see what I did there) in keeping the postage down for so long. An extra few quid on a £150 order won't be that noticeable for most people. It may just mean putting off getting a pack of some exotic additions to the army until next time. Keep on Keeping on, Team Baccus!

" From July 1st we will be joining the EU VAT one stop shop (OSS) system.   This means that we will once again be charging VAT at source, which will now be based upon the rate charged in the country of destination. "

This might be a very good thing for customers living in the EU.  At the moment, I seem to be paying VAT or import duty plus a handling charge on my orders.  This isn't the end of the world, but it takes about an extra week and a half for the order to get to me while they sort out paperwork at the nearest big town.  A few years ago I would often buy a lot of miniatures for future projects that might be years before I painted them.  Now, I try and concentrate on current projects and army maintenance.