What it costs, landed.

Most North American brands quote a dollar price and leave the import bill to arrive later. EMR-TEK doesn't — but their competitors do, so here is the arithmetic.

Updated · Prices checked

EMR-TEK ships DDP to the UK. Their site lists UK delivery as duty-free with no import fees, so for the panels covered on this site the dollar price converts straight across and nothing is collected on the doorstep. This page is for comparing them against brands that don't.

Defaults checked 29 July 2026. Duty depends on the commodity code the item is classified under and is the figure most worth verifying — check current rates on GOV.UK. This is an estimate, not a quote.

How the charges stack

For a brand shipping DDU — which is most of them — the order matters, because two of the charges compound.

Currency. Your card issuer's rate is not the mid-market rate, and the spread is typically a few percent before any fee.

Customs duty. Charged on the goods plus the shipping, at whatever rate the commodity code attracts.

Import VAT. Charged on goods plus shipping plus the duty — you pay VAT on the duty, not just on the panel.

Courier handling. A flat clearance fee the carrier adds for paying the above on your behalf. Trivial on a large panel, brutal on a small one.

Why it changes the comparison

Duty-free delivery is worth real money at the top of a range. On a five-figure device the difference between DDP and DDU is the price of a mid-range panel on its own — which is why it belongs in the comparison rather than in the small print.

It also removes the failure mode that makes buying from abroad unpleasant: the text message demanding payment before delivery, and the reclaim paperwork if you return the thing.

The part nobody mentions

Returns. Import charges are predictable; sending a 20kg panel back across an ocean is not.

  • Return shipping on a large panel is not trivial, and a change of mind is not always covered.
  • Import charges are reclaimable on a return — but you claim them, with paperwork, and it is not automatic.
  • Warranty service can mean shipping a failed unit out and a replacement back.

Ask before you order. How clearly a brand answers tells you how it will behave when something goes wrong. EMR-TEK publishes thirty-day returns and a one-year warranty.

Then get back to the part that decides the purchase — which panel suits you and how to read its numbers.