Shopping ingen moms Denmark

Familieretshuset

2019-07-15T09:17:00.003+02:00

A new form of Danish taxation has become clear to me since 2016.

Familieretshuset, formerly Statsforvaltning. This is where you turn from being a dairy cow into a meat cow. They will carve you up, no regard for human rights.

iPhone Bargain

2009-12-21T22:26:00.003+01:00

Sign up for 6 months with 3, paying 600 krone a month and get a free iPhone, this years must have item. For once, Denmark has a pretty good deal going here, as in many other countries such as the UK the tie-ins are 18-24 months. For once, I am impressed!

Abusing the EU rules on cross border trade

2009-06-09T22:08:00.003+02:00

It's been over a year since I last added anything to this blog, and the main reason for that is that I no longer live in Denmark...wooohooo...all the shopping I do on Amazon and ebay right now!

Anyhow, I was shocked to learn that one of my all-time favourite websites, Book Depository, no longer does the free shipping and UK prices on books to Denmark. In fact, they no longer post to Denmark full stop, which is a real pity. I can only guess, with 99.999% certainty, that some pedantic Danish c*** (c being for customs officer, of course) spotted the budding cross-border EU trade that was developing, and found some obscure law to stop it, or at least make things so awkward for Book Depository that they've decided it isn't worth bothering selling to Denmark any more. Note that Book Depository stills ships to EVERY OTHER EU member country, including Sweden, and non-EU scandinavian reknowned high tax regimes such as Norway and Iceland.

Hang on a sec...wasn't free border trade what we were sold on the EU about in the first place? Hmmmm............

I won't bore you again with my views on excessive socialism, high taxes and the nanny state either. In this case, the evidence is so clear it isn't even worth repeating.

Should Britain join the Euro?

2008-05-07T22:46:00.000+02:00

used to be strongly in favour of a single European currency, and my partner is from the continent, but after living over there for 3 years, I've completely revised my opinion.

Culturally, Europe is much more socialist and controlling, when compared with the historic British attitude of an island nation based on international trade and financial freedoms, as evidenced by our reputation as one of the best places to conduct international business, and our base as the world's leading financial centre.

Using the old dictum that "he who controls the currency controls the nation", by giving up the national currency, you are also giving up much of the control and handing it to another power, with vested interests of its own.

Fortunately, at this point in time, most Britons realise this and are opposed to the single currency. We all know this, so why even bother going to the expense and hassle of a referendum?

CHEAP LAPTOP OFFER

2008-03-20T00:28:00.000+01:00

3 of my favourite things in the entire world are :-

1) Shopping online at reputable net stores
2) Getting a bargain
3) paying NO Sales Taxes to Greedy Goverments

And thanks to my contacts in the industry, Play.com, one of the stars of tax-free shopping, have allowed me to pass on this discount code ACER40, which enables you to claim an amazing EXTRA £40 off when you buy an Acer Laptop from them here.

The laptops are available here on the Play.com site and the code to enable the discount on the laptops is ACER40.

The laptop code is only valid against the four products listed and will expire at midnight on Wednesday 26/3/08.

What is life like in Denmark?

2008-03-10T00:03:00.000+01:00

I remember once in junior school, my teacher relating a parable about how some men sat around a cauldron of boiling water. One man had some carrots, another some potatoes, another some meat, another some herbs and spices. After talking amongst each other, they all agreed they could make a delicious broth between them. The first man stepped forward, and unbeknown to the others, pretended to drop his portion of the broth into the cauldron, the next stepped forward and did the exact same thing, followed by the next and then the final man, each only pretending to drop his personal share of the broth into the cauldron. At the end, the men all sat expectantly waiting for the delicious broth they were about to receive. It was served up with anticipation, but each man was left with a bowl of nothing more than boiling water. They all looked at each other, each blaming the other for what had happened, but underlyingly experiencing some shame about their part in this outcome. I can't even remember why she told us this story, but it is the best summation of socialism and in particular, Denmark that I have ever heard in my entire life.

Devalued Pound creates Shopping Opportunity for Europeans

2008-01-17T13:21:00.000+01:00

The 10% drop in the value of sterling against the Euro/Danish Krone is an interesting arbitrage opportunity to get hold of cheaper goods.

For example, I'm a great from of the leisurely, comfortable trip by ferry on the Esbjerg to Harwich route between the UK and Denmark. You can get a cabin, and a decent nights' sleep, then when the fixed price breakfast comes around next morning enjoy a huge Danish buffet selection of breads, meats and cheese. All very relaxing stuff.

Given my work move, I need a ticket and the UK DFDS site quoted me £203 for a single journey to Harwich. The Denmark DFDS site quoted me 2300 krone for the identical ticket, or 15% MORE, when you realise the exchange rate is now 9.93 krone to the pound.

I reckon they set their prices before the decline. It'll be interesting to see when they equalise the distortion. For now though, I took it to mean I should book up the meals as well, and the ticket still worked out cheaper than the Danish price!

Going Ingen MOMs, Going Ingen MOMs...

2008-01-13T00:36:00.000+01:00

It's not just goods that I try to help people paying "Ingen MOMs" for in Denmark.

Soon I'll be going "IngenMOMs" myself, by which I mean, following a number of devastating experiences in socialist hell, I've decided to go back to the UK at least for the next few months.

In the UK, I used to get paid more, pay half as much tax, and then on top of that virtually everything bar wood was loads cheaper too. So why sacrifice myself for the "Nordic Model", I ask you?

And before anyone claims otherwise, a desire to pay less taxes and keep more of my hard-earned money in my own pocket are THE major factor in this decision. Well done Denmark, here, have 100% of nothing from me in future, instead of being reasonable and settling for 20-30% of something.

CONNECT I TVANGSOPLØSNING

2007-12-16T00:23:00.000+01:00

My agency, Connect is in Tvangsopløsning.

If there are any other IT Contractors out there affected by Ken Lynge Primby and his Connect Resorce Agency, CVR Nummer 28976496, Søren Frichs Vej 38 C, 8230 Åbyhøj going into tvangsopløsning, then please contact me or leave comments here. Connect can be viewed at this website http://www.connect.dk

I note the business went into tvangsopløsning on 17/9/07, but he still kept quiet and agreed a new contract with me starting 1/10/07.This just about sums up my entire time here. If anyone still thinks Denmark is some kind of socialist idyll, full of nice fluffy, fair-minded people-this is more or less how my partner sold it to me-then I suggest they try living here.

I see Ken Lynge Primby is already back in operation through his new business, also called Connect; or perhaps more correctly; Connekt, at the same website http://www.connect.dk. But new address Banegårdsgade 20 1 mf8000 Århus C. Nice.

Cheap PC Memory

2007-11-28T21:12:00.000+01:00

Previously, I'd used eBay for this sort of thing, but there seems to be less advertised on there right now and the prices are no cheaper than mainstream suppliers. well, my Dell C521 needed some new memory (Windows Vista eats it up)

Step forward www.orca.co.uk. They sold me 2 separate 1GB memory boards for £43, when the same items in Denmark were a cheapest price I could find of 599 krone each.

And that was delivered post free from the Uk within 3 days!

Pound in freefall, but the dollar hides it

2007-11-22T11:59:00.000+01:00

I must admit that I have been worried about the Pound for some time, what with the trade deficit, budget deficit and now the Northern Rock crisis.

Actually, the trade deficit bothers me least of the problems, as Britain has a large reputation for investing abroad. The others are not so good. especially the Northern Rock crisis, since the implication is the government have magically created the necessary backup reserves out of thin air (is there any other method?)

Now, I notice that in the past couple of months, the Pound has dropped about 6% against the Euro and Danish Krone. This has hardly got a mention, as all the media are going on about the weakening Dollar and the bargains available for those taking a shopping trip to the USA.

So please, Germany and Holland, don't give in to whingeing France and Italy about needing a weaker Euro, and the usual rubbish about generating exports. A devalued currency helps no-one long term.

If it carries on like this, the Euro could become the world's new reserve currency, especially for pricing oil, at least until China is ready to claim its spot.

Just a thought.

As for me, I'm off to browse the internet for some bargains from Britain...

Shopping Abroad for Shoppings sake

2007-11-20T21:20:00.000+01:00

Just in case anyone thinks I'm obsessive about not spending money in Denmark, well, it's almost true, but hey, even I give in sometimes. Still on the lookout for a new big washing machine for the expanding family, we spotted El-Giganten doing a 7kilo Bosch Washing machine for 3333 krone. Even cheaper than you could get it in Germany, surprisingly enough. It wasn't available at any of their stores, but I've ordered from their website. Arrival is promised next week.

Normally I'm not a fan of el-giganten, as I believe it's owned by Dixons, hardly the most trusted UK organisation for buying from. But we'll see....

At last, a Real Danish Bargain

2007-11-01T10:01:00.001+01:00

Having lived in this country for almost 3 years now, the only thing I'd discovered that is cheaper than the UK is wood. Yep, plain old wood, whether it's for your fire, garden fence or the finished product for building some shelves in your house, invariably it's a lot cheaper. But probably not a total surprise, for a country that is, apparently,25% wooded, has a population of 5 million and is right next to Sweden.

Anyhow, the big news is that I have discovered a commodity that is FREE in Denmark, but costs over £100 in the UK for the identical commodity. What could this commodity be, you ask? Well, I'm not saying...if I do, they will doubtless introduce some kind of tax on it!

Get your Computer Software on Amazon

2007-10-28T23:46:00.000+01:00

Paint Shop Pro is a cheap photo editing package I've been fancying for some time, and as a law-abiding citizen I wanted to get a legal copy after trying their trial. You'd be amazed how Denmark, hotbed of socialism is also a major hotbed of DVD, CD and software piracy. Anyhow, by the by, cheapest price I could find in Denmark was 799 krone on Kelkoo.

Amazon third party sellers revealed several third party sellers willing to ship to Denmark for £3.99. End result is that I ended up buying a totally legit copy for £47 all in. with none of that going to the Danish taxman. Ah great.

Remember to try third party sellers on Amazon for anything you're looking for.

A half-decent Danish shopping site

2007-10-28T23:39:00.000+01:00

Before anyone accuses me of excessive bias against expensive Danish retailers and high prices the MOMs differential goes nowhere near explaining, the last post reminded me of a highly recomended Danish shopping site I have used in the past.

Electrical spares here are very expensive in the DIY shops, and even the national newspapers had an article on it. Their advice was to try El Salg. I did, and even for a few simple things I needed that would have cost about 350kr in the shops, they did the identical, same brand goods for 179kr, including the postage.

So there you go, and since they charge the same MOMs, what more proof do you need of the high street rip-off taking place here?

and now the washing machine has had it too

2007-10-26T23:38:00.000+02:00

Following on from the Tumble Dryer disaster, our washing machine has broken down too. Hardly worth fixing, since the local repair bloke will want something like 1000kr just to look at it, before he even starts with repairs.

Unlike the Tumble Dryer, we happen to have one in reserve (long story), although it has hot and cold fill, so we need some new plumbing accessories.

and now to the shopping bit...spares are a ridiculous price here. A washing machine fill hose is 165 krone (£15), and I can't even find one of those self-tapping washing machine plumbing units you can screw onto the pipe, even though I've measured it up and it's the same 15mm copper as back in the UK! Bottom line - expensive.

A browse around on Ebay solved our problem. There are many UK sellers willing to ship to Denmark for little more than the UK price. So I bought a washing machine hose for £3.85 including postage, and an adapter for £9.53, including postage. So less than one hose at Hjem n Fix. (and it arrived from the UK in 2 days!)

The moral of the story is that there is no need to pay the high Danish prices for anything any more. So please don't do it.

Denmark calls a General Election

2007-10-26T23:37:00.000+02:00

...wooo!

Just when you thought Danish television couldn't get any worse, we'll be subjected for the next few weeks to constant drivel from politicians. Thankfully I've only been in Denmark for a few years, so I won't understand most of it, but most of them are socialists talking the same old rubbish but with slightly different undertones.

Thankfully, Helle "we choose welfare, my husband chooses elsewhere" Schmidt doesn't seem to have much chance of winning. You can read more about Stephen Kinnock, husband of Helle Thorning Schmidt here. I'm glad, since it does mean there are plenty of Danes out there sick of this welfare state they're stuck with right now. Apparently Anders Fogh's lot called the election early so they can "..push through sweeping reforms under a new mandate..." hmm. can only imagine how sweeping - top rate tax down to 67% from 70% or something as sweeping as that is my guess. Can only hope he means seriously cutting benefits and making a few of the excess state employees redundant. unlikely though.

Honest Advice at No Price

2007-10-20T21:51:00.001+02:00

Don't forget to visit my investing sites for financial information to help you save money. First, there's Successful Tax Free Investing. Then IT Contracting in Denmark. Then, if you live in the EU, loads of tips on how to Shop Online and Save and finally, visit Invest Gold and Silver to find out how to invest on the two things likeliest to save you from financial collapse in the uncertain future awaiting us all.

Site Relaunch

2007-09-15T23:40:00.001+02:00

Okay, maybe not quite. But I've had a bit of a rejig of my three main Danish sites and the results can be seen at :-

http://www.ingenmoms.dk
http://www.sparmoms.dk
http://www.itcontractor.dk

Would appreciate some feedback on the results.

Buying from Outside the EU with PLAY

2007-09-13T15:31:00.001+02:00

The modern history of Europe leaves some small islands off the coast of France as members of the UK, but not members of the EU. The major islands being Jersey and Guernsey.

These have been used for years as financial offshore havens, but thanks to the power of the internet some enterprising companies such as Play and BlahDVD (and now you can even add Tesco and Amazon Jersey to this list) have based themselves there to sell their wares online.

The major reason being that there are no sales taxes on these islands.

Sounds great that we can buy from these places, and indeed it is. The only catch being a limit of £15 or 22 euros. Denmark also tries to push that limit down to 80 krone for CDs, but I've yet to see the evidence.

The other great thing is that both of these stores do FREE POSTAGE to anywhere in the EU.

Play especially is highly recommended since in addition to CDs and DVDs, they have a huge range of ENGLISH BOOKS.

But the key tip is, if you can, keep the limit per order below the £15/22euros mark. Even if you end placing multiple orders per day!

Check out Play and BlahDVD today.

Buying on Amazon and avoiding the taxes

2007-09-12T13:53:00.000+02:00

Amazon was the first retailer by the EU forced to charge sales taxes at the buyers rate. A clear example of the real Euro view on supposed free trade.

Painful for a Eurobuyer like me, browsing through their amazing product database, seeing loads of goods I'd love to buy at excellent prices, but excluded from doing so.

Worse still, in Denmark, and probably some other smaller european countries without their own Amazon site, it charges something like £3.99 postage per book. So, say you spotted a book for £5.99 you fancied. It would end up costing £5.99 + £3.99 + 25% MOMs, ie £12.50!!!

As such, Amazon is losing a lot of Eurotrade. A lot of Danes still buy from there though, because they're not aware of other options like Play, who do FREE postage to anywhere in Europe with no Sales taxes added (under £15/22euros).

But there is a way to buy from Amazon and avoid the MOMs, and that is to use the "Third Party Sellers". Whenever you search for a book, you will see alternative prices below the Amazon price. Click on this to see what other sellers are offering the book via Amazon.

These sellers will charge you the asking price plus, about £3.99 postage. They will not add MOMs on, except perhaps within their original asking price - the price will not change because of your buyers location. This can work out to be a good deal, and I personally have even bought the occasional book from the USA using this service. Not all sellers are willing to post to Europe, but there are so many choices you will normally find one who does.

Highly recommended. So visit Amazon and browse freely.

Please report back on any recommended sellers you find!

EU VAT Regulations and their absurdity

2007-09-12T13:37:00.000+02:00

It has been pointed out to me that there is a Danish regulation here for MOMs limits here.

Well I wasn't aware of the 280,000kr limit regulation hidden in there, but that does shift the onus onto the retailer to manage their business - you wouldn't be charged any more VAT on EU-bought items when they arrive.

Also, I wonder if that limit is even legal since websites like Figleaves and Book Depository make clear they charge UK VAT rate only. eBay previously added VAT to sellers fees at their location rate, and I'd give up selling anything through them since moving to Denmark as a result, but now eBay have felt confident enough earlier this year to move their EU jurisdiction to Luxembourg so that all EU private sellers only pay 15% VAT on their selling fees. See here http://pages.ebay.ie/sell/VAT-ie-faqs/index.html. I'm sure they bought the best legal advice going and you wonder why Germany doesn't do something about this, since they would be the biggest losers...maybe they know eBay have an ace to play?

Let me know if you can find a case where a government has dared to challenge a business regarding this murky rule.

I checked Fleggaard (50 yards into Germany) and they do charge German VAT on pick-ups but Danish MOMs on delivered goods so they're being careful, but then again they are a Danish company so probably have to be.

A shame, since it does mean that any hard-working Danish firm trying to sell on the internet is at an immediate disadvantage against counterparts from other European countries. Hence much business lost for the nation, as proven by my own occasional forays to Euroshop sites.
As I'm self-employed I'd suspect the limit is more likely to be a way of blocking companies supplying personal services rather than flow of goods. With this rule you'd always have to open a Danish branch.

As regards the taxes and blocking - If you read up on the EU, Denmark (and Sweden) are always the blocking countries whenever cross-border trade is mentioned. They are part of the reason it takes years to get the VAT rules shifted for the betterment of the majority. They just know that the taxes on everything are so much higher here than elsewhere that they'll lose out.

Whatever happened to the EEC?

2007-09-04T11:05:00.000+02:00

Does anyone remember how, many years ago when Britain gained entry to the EU, it wasn't even called the EU, but the EEC (European Economic Community) or "Common Market"?

In those days, the major benefit that was sold to Britain was entry to an exclusive free trade club, and before that Britain was in EFTA (European Free Trade Association) along with a few of the Scandinavian nations.

Fast forward from 1973 to 1999 and the internet suddenly started making this free trade doctrine possible. So what happened? By a bit of rebranding the EEC had become the European Union (EU) and did things like forcing Amazon to charge VAT at the local buyers rate.

As a publicity stunt to put EU citizens off buying overseas ever again, it was a great success, but people need to know that Amazon was made an exception because of it's size. It's legal to buy from almost all other retailers in the EU and pay only their local sales tax.

I'm all for the EU as an organisation for fair, free trade, but at the moment this core belief has been forgotten...or did it ever exist except as an idea on paper from the days when they knew ordinary people wouldn't be able to take advantage of it anyway?

Buying on eBay and Paying NO SALES TAXES

2007-09-03T08:56:00.001+02:00

Despite what people think, it is possible to use ebay legally to great advantage.

I'll explain this using a recent personal example.

I needed one of those cassettes you insert into your car stereo and can plug an MP3 player or CD player into so that you can listen to a greater choice of music or audiobooks while driving.

In Denmark, these things cost 250 krone or more.

On ebay, Chinese and Hong Kong sellers are selling them on "But it Now", factory direct for 99 pence, or about 11 krone! Even with postage, it still works out to £3, or 33 krone.

The seller doesn't have to charge me any sales taxes because the item is being exported. In the case of Hong Kong, there are no sales taxes anyway. Then, because the item is valued at under 22 Euros/£15, there are no sales taxes to pay in Denmark.

About 14 days later, the item arrived and works perfectly.

You will agree that that is quite some saving!

So top tip is, whatever you are looking to buy new, consider using ebay. My next purchase I'm considering is a USB TV Aerial for my PC, and these things cost 600 krone or more in Denmark. Chinese sellers are currently selling them for 99 pence + approx. £7.99 postage.

The other reason they are cheaper is that you are cutting out all the middlemen who repackage the items and add a huge mark up. So this is definitely a benefit to global direct trade, in my opinion...and global warming too if you consider the amount of wasted packaging you get with these things. The shop direct one from China arrived in a Jiffy envelope, no extra packaging.

And remember that by buying through Paypal you do have some guarantees should you pay but not receive your item.

So remember to check out ebay.

New Site Launch...

2007-08-31T12:01:00.000+02:00

Well, and this is largely thanks to Mr Jenkin's comments, the site will now be opening a new sister site www.sparmoms.dk. Quite a nifty domain name and one I had my eye on when I bought www.ingenmoms.dk but it belonged to someone else.

I guess they didn't renew and that the name must have finally dropped in the past week.

Star man for reminding me!