Geoff,
I have tried that, may be I was unlucky. A package with a customs declaration of "medical equipment" was intercepted by HM Customs and Revenue. They wanted tax, import duties and proof of CE certification. They did not (would not) understand the difference between a spare part and a medical device. We could not provide that so it presumably is still sitting in a warehouse somewhere. We still had to pay the supplier.
Our NHS finance department was very obstructive, it was far too much hassle for them to raise an order and pay it in US dollars.
Perhaps if you costed their time and our time contacting the USA, and added the tax, duties, currency exchange charges etc. it might not be so cheap after all.
But it makes you feel a lot better finding the same thing cheaper. But how much is a happy workforce worth?
Robert
