Aircraft building material is expensive, right?
…but there’s no need to make your project any more expensive than it needs to be, right?
Aircraft aluminium required
For the controls actuation of my IBIS canard project I needed some aluminum tubing in several sizes, with a length of up to 1.80m / 6′. Also some solid round aluminum rod and flat bar was needed to machine additional parts for the control system.
Checking the Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co.’s website, I determined that this would cost some $264.50, excluding shipping, customs, VAT and the like. Hans Holsink was on a business trip to the USA and offered to pick up my order. However, learning about the package size the two of us were concerned about him taking it with him on a normal passenger flight. For this reason I decided to have it shipped to my doorstep instead.
Since AS&S also work with international representatives, I decided to give the local (German) representation a chance. On November 13 I emailed a request for a quote after having had a talk with him on the phone. Lo and behold, on November 28 I indeed received an email back, one that flabbergasted me by quoting a sum of €458 for the very same parts, alas still excluding shipping and VAT, the latter currently at 19% in Germany.
Comparing apples with apples
Needless to say that - after recovering from this shock - I took the more direct route. So what did I end up with, cost wise?
- The materials still cost $264.50
- Shipping that awkward sized package from the USA to Germany took another $97.51, raising the total AS&S bill to $362.01
- Import duties were €7.11
- VAT at 19% was €55.79, meaning that customs must have converted the $362.01 AS&S bill into €293.63
- Even when shipping was already payed for, FedEx still added €10.00 + €1.90 VAT as a handling fee, presumably for doing the customs & VAT declarations.
Summing it up: this order cost me €293.63 + €74.80 (VAT, customs, FedEx) = €368.43
Please note that the original quote from the German AS&S representation was €458.00 excluding 19% VAT and shipping. Assuming that shipping within Germany would have been possible for around €14.00 the total cost would have been €559, quite a hefty charge for $264,50 worth of aircraft building materials.
Caveat Emptor
Now, how do you think €368 compares to €559 ? Why must an identical order handled by a local representative be around 51% more expensive?
There are two lessons here: bundle your orders (if need be with other builders as well) to save on shipping costs and order directly. Local reps only add to the bill, very very substantially so…