As a sign of commitment to our much valued EU customers we are now offering free shipping on all EU orders over £150.

As a result of Brexit and the trade agreement yes, there will be charges, but we hope that free shipping will help offset this extra burden for you and make shopping with us as simple as possible.

Please see below sections for an overview of how things have changed since Brexit, and a comparison of ordering before and after Brexit.

Ever since we started back in 2009 Rothko and Frost have been an international company, with customers from all corners of the globe. Europe has always been close to us, both personally and in terms of our customers. In spite of Brexit, we at R&F remain committed to continuing to serve our valued and long-standing European customer base.

Here are some common questions we get asked about what shopping with us will be like after Brexit.

YES

We will still be able to supply European customers, just as we have been for the last 11 years.

YES

There is no change in the items we can sell and ship to you. Nitroceellulose paints, wood dyes, decals, mother of pearl, acrylic - large, small, liquid.. our complete range will still be available to you.

NO

We will not be changing our shipping prices as a direct result of Brexit. We review our shipping charges annually based on the latest rates from the courier but do not currently have any increases planned.

NO

You will no longer be charged UK VAT on your order. UK VAT, our sales tax, is 20%. So something that currently costs £12 is made up of £10 + £2 tax. After Brexit, this will be £10 with no tax.

YES AND NO

Import fees are split in to three types:

VAT is also known as sales tax, and is usually a flat % rate for most products. In many European countries this rate is 19%. In the UK it is 20%. Prior to Brexit we would have had to charge 20% VAT on all orders to the EU. After Brexit we do not charge any VAT. Instead, VAT (on orders over £22 in value) needs to be paid to your own government prior to delivery. If you are VAT registered you can claim this VAT charge back in your regular VAT return.

Duty is an Import Duty that usually ranges from 3%-8% of the order value and varies depending on what the product is. As part of the trade agreement between the UK and EU any items made in the UK are exempt from Duty. The majority of our products, including all of our paints, lacquers and liquid dyes, are made here in the UK so should be exempt from any Duty.

Processing Fee is charged by the courier or postal service for processing your order through Customs. This usually ranges from £5-£15 depending on the courier or postal service used.

In summary, orders over £22 will be subject to VAT charges and a processing fee, and there will be an additional Duty charge on some items if they aren't originally from the UK.

YES - See comparisons below

Any differences in the overall order cost are due to:

1. Customs Processing Fee
2. Duty on products not originally made in the UK

Here's a comparison of total costs of some typical orders before and after Brexit:

Example 1: Decal, £8.33 (ex VAT) order

Example 2: Decal & Lacquer, £19.16 (ex VAT) order

Example 3: Paint and Lacquer, £150 (ex VAT) order

Example 4: Paint and Lacquer, £1000 (ex VAT) order

Conclusion

Many more examples could be given but we can draw some clear conclusions from just the above four:

• The main additional cost post-Brexit is the processing fee imposed by the couriers
• VAT charged is slight lower, as most EU countries have a lower VAT rate than the UK
• VAT is paid at a different time - rather than paying when placing the order, it is paid when receiving the parcel (and ultimately any EU customers who are VAT registered will be unaffected - previously they would have not paid VAT, now they pay VAT but reclaim it)
• Duty will only apply to a small number of orders as the majority of our products are made in the UK, and anything made in the UK is exempt from Duty as per the trade agreement

What this means for ordering is:

1. Orders which total <£22 will be cheaper than pre-Brexit as they are now exempt from VAT
2. Orders which are just over the threshold are most affected, as the Processing Fee makes up a large % of the order's value, even though the charges themselves are then only small and would have been paid anyway
3. Orders of £100 see approximately a 9% rise in overall cost
4. The higher the order value the less of an overall % change there is, as the import processing fee is usually a fixed amount and as the order value increases this becomes proportionally smaller

All values are approximate as the rates may vary country to country and depending on how the courier calculates values - for example inc or ex shipping costs - and on the specific tariff codes and country of origin of the product(s).

MAYBE

Initially shipping may take an extra couple of days due to delays at ports, compounded by the ongoing Coronavirus situation.

Ultimately we foresee shipments taking at most 1-2 days longer due to possible customs checks. All of our EU courier shipments are sent with UPS, who have recently implemented a new paperless document system to help make any customs processing as quick and smooth as possible.

We have been selling worldwide for over 10 years so are well versed in cross-border shipments and have the infrastructure in place to deal with whatever requirements there are come 2021.