Building materials from Poland

[bompaholm]

Hi!

Was in Poland last week. However, only for a day...
But saw and talked to people there about building materials...
There seems to be a BIG price difference
Compared to Sweden, that is...
Complete toilet 300 SEK
Faucet 65 SEK

Has anyone shopped in Poland?
Where should you shop?
Quality?
Does anyone import these to Sweden?

Recommendations?
Opinions?
8)

 

[Strisak]

The only thing I heard was about a friend of a friend who started importing hot water mixers from there. The kind that heat water directly without a tank. He probably thought there would be a market for these at home for those with colonies and similar places. Even with a double markup, it would still give a cheap price at home. I can imagine some things can be profitable if you want to become an entrepreneur. But as for the mixers, I'm a bit skeptical, I don't think there's a big market.

 

[MathiasS]

Mixer for 65 bucks? Even if it were free, I wouldn't take anything other than a thermostat and pressure-controlled mixer from FMM. Maybe not the world's most innovative design (except for the Origo series), but unbeatable functionality.

 

[isoler]

I know that one of my friends is planning to buy tiles for his house. He's going to do that in Poland. It only costs 1/3-1/4 of the price according to him. If you look at tiles costing 1000 SEK/m2, it's probably not a bad idea to take a trip.

 

[Hobbit]

Hello,
just wanted to refer to:
http://www.byggahus.se/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=VVS;action=display;num=1065082969
here there's a discussion about buying stoves in Germany
where building materials are also often cheaper than in Sweden.
However, I am tired of all the various requirements that must
be fulfilled such as type approval, etc., etc. Is there a uniform
EU standard or not???
What Sweden's industry, chimney sweeps, electricians, etc. are trying to do
is to keep cheaper and often even better suppliers
away from the Swedish market.

Mixers for 65 bucks? Even if it was free, I wouldn't take anything other than a thermostat and pressure-controlled mixer from FMM. Maybe not the most innovative design in the world (except for the Origo series) but unbeatable function.

Oh, really? Then why are other brand mixers
like Villeroy & Boch, etc., sold at least 40% cheaper in Germany,
France, and the rest of the continent??
Face the fact, there is no difference in function!!!
It's just a matter of going there and shopping.

 

[TN]

The neighbor bought aerated concrete blocks in Poland for less than half the price compared to Sweden, and even then, the importer added quite a bit.

 

[TN]

The neighbor bought lightweight concrete blocks in Poland for less than half the price compared to Sweden, and the importer still added quite a bit

Half the price was including shipment by truck (freight forwarder)

 

[David]

Regarding the discussion about mixers, I saw a more exclusive and wider range in Poland than I've seen in Sweden at 30-50% of the price in Sweden... on almost all building materials. However, the more exclusive ones were special orders.

Best regards,
David

 

[cesar]

A while ago, there was a program on TV about a property owner in Stockholm who only purchased from Germany and Italy (I think) when building new rental houses. The cost for the construction was naturally much lower than with Swedish purchases.
Does anyone have a good www address to any sales outlet where you can get English text?
If you can shop 40% cheaper, you can travel quite far

 

[Hobbit]

Regarding www - address, unfortunately, I have not found anything suitable. The big companies like Bauhaus Obi Praktiker have no reason to run the page in English since the target group is the German "do-it-yourselfer" http://www.neu.obiatotto.de/is-bin/...sid=zR_gkInMh-3Lc7ZAyOuwxUvBChJWgOvrToI=?ls=0 http://www.praktiker.de/servlet/PB/menu/-1/index.html http://www.hagebau.de/

On the other hand, there is no problem with Bonnier's German-Swedish dictionary ;D I am happy to volunteer as an interpreter. Things like tiles, tile, paint, wallpaper, etc., we have bought in Germany. The electrical panel, heating cable, and other things we buy in Sweden, however. It turned out that sometimes there are different standard sizes that can cause quite a lot of trouble.

Make a list before you "take a trip" Remember that the trip also costs quite a bit.

Regards Hobbit

 

[David]

Your time is money too. A boat trip to Poland from Stockholm takes 19 hours. However, it pays off to go down before you start building. Everything is much cheaper. It's almost better to spend a week's vacation in Gdansk/Gdynia/Sopot than to build a week on the house. It pays off more.
Here is a URL to Castorama, which is similar to Bauhaus in Gdynia, Poland. http://www.castorama.pl/

Best regards,
David

 

[markis]

In addition, you can buy Tax Free, meaning if you travel with a Swedish passport you get the tax back at the border?
When is Poland joining the EU? (so you know the latest date to travel down)

 

[BoByggarn]

Additionally, you should be able to buy Tax Free, i.e., if you travel with a Swedish passport, you get the tax refunded at the border?  
When is Poland joining the EU? (so you know the latest you should travel down)

From what I recall, Poland will join in May/June next year (2004)

 

[Cujo]

Moreover, you can buy Tax Free, meaning if you have a Swedish passport, you get the tax back at the border?
When is Poland joining the EU? (so you know when the last chance is to go down)

So you'd rather pay Swedish VAT of 25% according to current regulations when importing from a non-EU country?

(Maybe it's worth taking a detour via Germany, where VAT is only 16%?)

Or wait until Poland joins the EU, and pay Polish VAT ??%....

(I assume we're talking about volumes too large to hide under a blanket in the luggage.)

 

[David]

If I remember correctly, the VAT is 7 and 14% depending on the item in Poland. Bureaucratic hassle: Since Poland is an applicant country to the EU, you don't need to pay tax on the goods if you have a certificate of origin with you to Swedish customs.

Best regards,
David