NeutronJack

Well, given the unfortunate frequency of tragic boating accidents experienced by members of the forum, I imagine it would be quite a job to calculate. You'd obviously have to consider 'safe on land' vs. 'lost at sea' tonnage, in order to get reasonably close. NeutronJack

I'll take the same serial number for 2021, please @BackyardBullion and @ChrisSilver Thanks and regards, NeutronJack

Hi @BackyardBullion @ChrisSilver These look fantastic, as usual. I'd like to reserve my existing serial number, please. Regards, NeutronJack

@Paul @Happypanda88 I'm just holding fire on this for now, until I finally take delivery and have had a chance to inspect the contents and determine the extent to which the original order has been fulfilled. As you might have already guessed, this is not a UK-based dealer. I’m also interested to see what actions, if any, the dealer will take (has taken) to somehow try to make up for a delay of such epic proportions. A few extra ounces, by way of an apology, would be nice. But, I’m not holding my breath. The email dispatch notice made no direct reference to the time that has passed since the order was placed. A quick browse of an independent online selling consumer feedback and review site for the country in question, reveals that I’m not the only one to have experienced delays from this particular dealer. However, whilst delays of 3-6 months appear to have been quite common during the last year or so, I’ve yet to come across anyone else for whom the 12-month barrier has been broken. Maybe this entitles me to some form of ‘bullion purchasing endurance’ award … a new milestone badge for TSF perhaps! NeutronJack

1oz Silver Rounds - Texas Centennial (Remember the Alamo) NeutronJack

3x 1oz Silver Rounds - Texas Centennial (Remember the Alamo) ... NeutronJack

2019 1oz Silver Colourised (Gold Gilded) Patriot Britannias ... NeutronJack

6x 1oz 2019 Incuse Silver Maple Leaf (BU) Coins ... NeutronJack

5x 1oz Barbados Silver Tridents from 2018 ... NeutronJack

Today, I received a short email notification from a bullion dealer to inform me that the order I had placed has just been dispatched. Nothing particularly unusual about that, of course. Although, for more than a few members of the Forum, such news is likely to trigger feelings of warmth, anticipation, excitement and celebration. In this particular case, however, it’s more a feeling of relief combined with mild trepidation over whether the contents of the package will actually reflect what was originally ordered. You see, today is Thursday 21st October, 2021 … and this order was placed on 22nd September … 2020! That’s 12 months and 29 days ago!! I'm interested to know if anyone can beat such a ridiculous timeframe? And, whether they've managed to do so without having to resort to “releasing the hounds”? What’s also curious is that this notification coincides with the spot price of silver being almost back to where it was on the original order date. Could there be shenanigans afoot, as well? I additionally wonder; on the one hand, whether the mostly limited mintage 2020 silver coins that I ordered back then, could still actually be sourced after this amount of time has passed … and on the other, whether the copper rounds that I ordered will actually make an appearance, given how much the price of copper has taken off over the last year or so. I guess I'll find out shortly! This all makes for a very “interesting” unboxing experience in the not too distant future! I’m not especially thrilled about the prospect of getting hit with an additional import VAT charge, either. Especially, when this was originally meant to be a final pre-Brexit splurge. Anyway, the dealer in question rather quaintly expresses hope in their email that I “enjoy the goods” and wants it to be known that they are “grateful for my purchase and the trust shown in them”. It’s just a pity that they didn’t respond to any of my multiple communications during the last year or so! NeutronJack

Hi @BackyardBullion I recently went through a similar experience to this. In summary, I purchased gold coins from Germany (delivered via UPS) and gold coins from Belgium (delivered via Fedex) and both couriers initially invoiced me for VAT. Dealing with UPS was quite straightforward, in that they provided an Investment Gold Declaration form upon request, which once submitted together with an EORI Number, resulted in the fees being immediately waived. I assumed (perhaps naively) that I could do the same for Fedex and prepared the same documentation in advance. They, however, would simply not entertain this and refused to release the package until the invoice was paid in full prior to delivery, in spite of several attempts to reason with them over the fact that as investment-grade gold coins, there was no VAT to be paid. In the end, I paid up in order to have the coins delivered, rather than shipped back to the seller. I then submitted a claim for reimbursement via the following website: www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-repayment-or-remission-of-import-duties-c285-chief The form I completed was the C285 (CDS version), which I believe will also apply to you. Apparently, it can take up to 4 weeks to receive reimbursement, so I’m actually still waiting for mine, having only submitted my application 2 weeks ago. What became apparent from this experience is that there are actually no standardised procedures in place. As @Jamesdmentioned, the courier companies are effectively doing whatever they want, and seem to have become far more brazen since Brexit, in this regard. What's worse is that Fedex won't even inform you that you can reclaim VAT from HMRC on investment-grade gold coins after initially paying it, and have no formal process in place to facilitate this. It seems they simply don't care. Anyway, I hope this helps. Regards, @NeutronJack

Hi, @BackyardBullion @ChrisSilver I will take the same bars as last year, please. Thanks in advance. NeutronJack

4x 2019 1oz South Korean Tiger (BU) Silver Medals NeutronJack

Emirates Gold Silver Bars - 20g, 1oz, 50g and 100g NeutronJack

Some aquatically-themed BU coins from Scottsdale Mint 4x 2018 1oz Samoa Silver Seahorse 4x 2018 1oz Cayman Islands Silver Marlin 4x 2018 1oz Barbados Silver Caribbean Seahorse NeutronJack

A 2018 10oz South Korean Tiger BU Silver Medal ... NeutronJack

Hi @BackyardBullion and @ChrisSilver Could I have the same numbers as last year, please? Thanks and regards, NeutronJack