Pledge: Actually finish writing up some research for project posts.

Answers:

Has Brexit changed your online shopping behaviour?

Yes, I used to order a lot more from Germany, not just hobby related but Powertools (for my other hobby woodworking) and general every day items that are “made in germany” and higher quality than the a lot of the chinese produce stuff. I’ve not had import problems with the few EU orders I’ve had yet but I feel like I’ve been yanked out of a community i wanted to be part of.

On the flip I now find ordering from the the US cheaper if you can get postage that isnt USPS and Royal Fail then the customs has been pain free, UPS and FedEx have both been fine for me, though it can be pricey. I’ve also found that ebays global shipping program is excellent, with postage and import feel all pre calculated and paid in advance its been fantastic for items from the US, paticually power tools and even after the fees and postage its been cheaper than UK prices.

Have shipping and taxes ever held you from buying something you really wanted?

Frequently, its the main reason I dont back many kickstarters anymore. Royal Mail are the worst charing handling fees that can be more than the value of the goods. I dont mind paying shipping and taxes but I want the costs to be clear when i buy something. In fact I even go out of the way to pay shipping, perfering to spread hobby orders out between smaller independent stores.

How could small, one-man-operated companies band together to get their stuff to people outside their “tax-zone”?

The likes of Amazon is an option, I cant remember of the top of my head but theres plenty of distribution services out there, that hold your inventory and then ship it on your behalf. Thats a good model but can be costly, Small companies carring internation stock from another small company is probably the way forward, i think a few do this already.