Buying from us
Delivery, and the bill on your doorstep
We would rather you read this before you order than discover it when a driver is standing in your porch. There are two amounts. One is ours. One is not.
What you pay us
The price on the page. That is the whole of it: the carpet, the making, the packing and the flight to your address. There is no delivery line, no handling charge, no surcharge for a remote postcode and nothing added at the checkout that was not on the product page. If the page said £399, you pay £399.
What the carrier will ask you for
Your carpet is dispatched from our workshop in Madhya Pradesh and flown to you. That makes it an import, and it makes you the importer. On arrival the carrier collects, on behalf of HMRC:
- UK import VAT at the standard rate of 20% of the value of the goods — about £80 on a £399 carpet.
- A carrier handling fee of around £12, which is what the courier charges for making the customs entry and paying HMRC on your behalf.
Neither goes to us. We do not mark them up, we do not take a share, and we cannot waive them. The carrier normally sends a text or an email with a payment link before the van arrives, so you can settle it from your phone rather than at the door.
| On a £399 carpet | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| The carpet, delivered | £399 | Saracen Threads |
| UK import VAT (20%) | about £80 | HMRC, via the carrier |
| Carrier handling fee | about £12 | The carrier |
| Total to your door | about £491 |
Customs duty is nil on Indian home textiles entering the United Kingdom, provided the consignment carries a valid origin declaration. Ours do. If you are ever quoted duty on one of our parcels, send us the notice and we will take it up with the carrier.
Why we do it this way
The alternative is that we import in bulk, warehouse in Britain, and add the VAT, the warehousing and a margin on top of all of it into the shelf price. That is the ordinary way, and it is how a £399 carpet becomes a £900 carpet. Sending direct from the workshop is what keeps the price where it is. The customs bill is the receipt for that.
How long it takes
Nothing sits in a warehouse waiting for you. Your carpet goes on the loom after you order, in the size you chose. Allow:
- About ten days for the weaving, binding and finishing.
- Two to four days in the air, on an express service with tracking.
- A day or so at the border, which is when the carrier will contact you about the import charges.
We consolidate into a weekly consignment that seals each Thursday in Malwa. You will be told your seal date in the confirmation email, and you can add to the box up until it closes without paying another penny of delivery.
Where we deliver
The United Kingdom only, at present — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We are not yet set up for Ireland, the Channel Islands or anywhere else. If you are outside the UK and want one anyway, write to us and we will tell you honestly whether we can do it.
If it arrives damaged
Photograph it before you do anything else, including the outer packaging, and send the pictures to orders@saracenthreads.com within a few days of delivery. We replace or refund in full, including the import charges you paid. You do not have to send it back for us to do that. This is separate from, and in addition to, your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
If you refuse the parcel
If you decline to pay the import charges, the carrier returns the parcel to India and bills us for the return leg. We will refund what you paid us, less the outbound and return carriage actually incurred. We would much rather you knew the number in advance, which is the entire reason this page exists.