Buying British – yeah right! :)

Call me old-fashioned but I still like to buy British when I can, even though I’m realistic enough to know than many, if not all, of the component parts are probably manufactured in China or India then assembled here. One of my Christmas presents is apparently made in Britain, and I decided I’d like one of the optional accessories so shopped around – the cheapest place to get it was direct from the manufacturer and it was in stock so could be delivered within 3-5 working days for only £5 p&p.

Yesterday I had an email, my item was on its way via Fedex and I could track it online. So today I thought I’d take a look and what did I find?

My “in stock” item was dispatched from Shenzen in China on Dec 30th, went to Guangzhou in China then on Dec 31st to Almaty in Kazahkstan and on to Paris where it is spending New Year resting. Tomorrow I expect it to have recovered from the festivities and arrive in the UK, where I’d assumed “In stock” meant it already was. This parcel is more well-travelled than me! :lol:

So much for buying British, so much for keeping your carbon footprint down, but more to the point – how can they ship it from China to the UK for less than it would probably cost me to send the same package within the UK?? :? :lol: