We are now in the middle of summer: one week left, then the shop goes into holiday mode. As there are only two of us working, summer is a bit different. We try to get some time off, but we still need to be able to serve you by delivering your orders. The web shop itself never closes; you can browse and place orders all summer. One of us is in at least once a week to pick and ship orders, though which day each week is not set in stone. So orders you place during this time will be a little slower than normal. The shop will not be open, and there will be no planned pick-ups. We hope you will bear with the somewhat reduced service for a few weeks.
But some things never rest, and that is incoming deliveries. We have had several manufacturers deliver in recent weeks – last week alone three different deliveries arrived. This week a very large Veritas delivery is due, if all goes well, along with clamps from Dubuque. We have started updating what is coming and will release the products over the next few days, as soon as we know they are at most a few days away from us.
On the front (start) page of the shop we have a number of circles. Each circle is a quick link to a different page. It is a fast way to see what is happening, whether we have updated products, added new ones and so on. Our front page is also the only place with current information, such as opening hours. We have no way of finding (and changing) every search site online that has different information from ours. Unfortunately several customers have read on other sites that we were open, only to find us closed when they arrived. We are sorry about this and try to correct errors as soon as we can. But the only information you should "trust" is what we write ourselves on the front page. If you are unsure, call or send an email and we will answer as soon as we can.
A very exciting piece of news is that we are becoming the Nordic reseller for Benchdogs (UK). It was settled a few days ago, and we will start receiving deliveries in early August. We will shortly list their entire range and keep as much as possible in stock for fast delivery. We will send out a separate newsletter in a few weeks with more information.
As we wrote earlier, a delivery from Veritas is on its way. It is the largest delivery (in value) we have ever received, with several long-awaited products, including the combination plane. We usually get 2 or perhaps 3 of these; this time 10 are coming. Still, we don't know how long they will last – about 40 people have registered interest. Since so many are coming, we will release all the planes at once, and if you are interested our recommendation is not to wait. We have no idea how many are still keen. We usually update deliveries in the evenings, but unfortunately we don't yet know which day it will be. (We first want to know that the delivery has landed at an airport in the EU and is on its way to us by another plane or truck.)
Other things being restocked are the block planes – both "60 1/2" models and the smaller "Apron" – and a good pile of the medium router plane. Blades for the large and medium models are being restocked too, so we should now have all the (metric) sizes plus 1/2" in stock. A good number of accessories and blades for the combination and plow planes are also coming. So we hope there is something for everyone.
This September it will be 12 years since "hyvlar.se" opened. The very first delivery we received was planes from Veritas. Since then we have brought in ever more Veritas/Lee Valley products. We now have about 580 different products listed, and with this week's delivery just over 430 of them are in stock. That makes us (if we have counted correctly) the shop with the broadest Veritas/Lee Valley range in Europe. For example, Axminster has about 460 products and Dictum about 260. Fine Tools is harder to count, as they link to "pages" with Veritas products, but an estimate puts them slightly above Axminster. This is something we have worked on for a long time, and we hope you appreciate being able to buy these products at home. Rubank Verktygs is the Swedish Veritas reseller and the natural place to find their tools.
Veritas and practically every other manufacturer have raised, or will raise, their prices. We have seen it all year: with every delivery the cost has gone up, or the makers announce price increases. Unfortunately we have no choice but to raise our prices as well. We think pricing should be very transparent. For the last 2–3 years we have used the same prices as the manufacturers use in their own sales channels, so it should make no difference whether you buy from us or directly from the company. It also makes it easy for you to compare prices. Keep in mind that North American prices, for example, exclude VAT, and German shops have 6% lower VAT than we do in Sweden. In practice it no longer matters, since all EU shops must charge the customer's VAT on online sales, so if you buy from elsewhere in the EU you pay 25% VAT. The same applies to our foreign customers, who since last summer pay their own country's VAT when they buy from us. However, some shops don't adjust the price for VAT but absorb the difference in their margin instead, which is not actually legal under EU rules. All consumers should pay the same price wherever they live, and it is the price excluding VAT you should go by.
Another thing we have had for a while now is differentiated shipping VAT. If you buy products with different VAT rates, the VAT on shipping should follow the value of the basket. If you have, say, a book and a tool, the basket has two VAT rates (6% and 25%). Previously you paid 25% VAT on shipping; now it is calculated according to the rules, and the cost to the customer is lower. For example, our standard shipping with DHL Service Point (without discount) is 90 SEK excl. VAT (112.50 incl. VAT). If you buy a tool, that is what you pay; if you buy, for example, a book, you pay 95.40 incl. VAT for shipping.
This is not something all online retailers show, or even bother to give their customers. Many hide it in the price and charge the customer full shipping. These rules also apply to all online retailers in the EU selling to EU customers.
Another piece of news is that for the first time we are getting the longest (150 cm) clamp that Dubuque makes. We have had these light but strong clamps in three lengths, 60, 90 and 120 cm. Now a further length is coming.
We have also listed the new Lost Art Press books coming in early autumn, including the new publication that is to come out once a year. Right now every title in print is in stock.
Lost Art Press
Narex has also sent another delivery, with even more Richter chisels. Now all but the smallest and the largest are in stock, as well as the boxed set of the same chisels. All our regular Narex chisels are back in stock too. A new product from them is their drawknives. The first arrived earlier this spring and we now have most types and sizes in stock.
drawknives
This spring we started selling Hampshire Sheen products, and at our turning event in October, Martin Saban-Smith – the man behind Hampshire Sheen – will visit us. More about that weekend a little later.
I would like to finish by wishing everyone a really lovely summer! We will be in touch again in a few weeks.
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