We are moving to Basel end of March and need a few items such as bed etc. Is it best to buy in the UK and have it shipped for free or best to wait and buy when we arrive? Is there also more choice in UK as this is what has been suggested?

PS. is there any risk in getting a king size bed before we choose an apartment?

Thanks

Big difference between UK beds & over here is the size. You can't buy sheets etc for them over here so if you do buy in the UK make sure you bring enough bedding too. The trend over here is for beds that are very low to the floor so if you like a high divan type bed buy before you come.

Thanks for your speedy reply Lou, are beds bigger in general in CH?

Three main sizes:

"Single" - 90 cm x 200 cm
"Double" - 160 cm x 200 cm
"King" - 180 cm x 200 cm

As mentioned, they tend to be lower to the floor as they use a mattress and a "slat" type of suspension system. The slat system can be quite sophisticated though in terms of the firmness and tilt up at the head and foot of the bed.

buy in the uk!!!! furniture tends to be really expensive over here.....

This is very true, especially for beds for some reason.

Buy in the Uk, more choice, free shipping, get the bedding over there too (lets face it how often do you buy bedding ???)

Bring everything with you if you have free shipping - the choice is greater in the UK & the exchange rate is very advantageous for any accomplished retail therapist.

Also room sizes tend to be more spacious than the UK rabbit hutches we were used to - so a King or SuperKing should fit in no prob.

we had our shipping paid for too so we decided to buy a new sofa in the UK and had it shipped with our other furniture

BUT.... be careful I am sure there must be customs checks and if you have a van full of new looking furniture I am sure they would try and charge you customs on it. Don't know enough about this so ask your shipping company

Swiss beds are different size than UK:
UK King is 150cm x 200cm which is smaller than Swiss Double and yet UK King seems well adequate.

For memory mattresess in UK; have a look at this company.
www.ergoflex.co.uk
I bought a couple and they are very close to Tempur Mattresses in quality and sleep; with sale discount 1/3 of price of Tempur; they come in manageable boxes so packing and freight is easy and they do European sizes.

Buy in the UK, cheaper and less hassle.

I bought new stuff prior to moving out here and had no probs. everything was wrapped anyway.

Just be prepared to pay duty and Swiss VAT on it. Customs love stuff that's still in the original packaging - because that counts as "new", and not as (duty free) "relocation goods".

But probably still cheaper in the UK.

The moving company can declare the item as simply a double bed. Leave it in the wrapping, the customs will not even open the van door, they have far too much to do!

Worth thinking about is to add your private car to the list of personal imported goods, then you will escape any import duties. No sense in actually importing it here though, unless you can quickly buy a suitable LHD car.

Or just make sure that they are not in original packaging
When I moved to CH from the US, the moving company (a well known international firm) told me specifically to remove original packaging. They told me not to worry about the new furniture and duties either. But to be fair, I did NOT come with a full container of new stuff, there are lots of new stuff, but also mixed with used items.

And to the OP, definitely buy as much as you can in the UK especially if you're not paying for the shipping! It's much more choices, more convenient and cheaper. You should also know that you have some time to move your belongings over, so if you don't know where you are staying yet, you can hold off on the shipping and only buy and ship in the UK after you find the apartment in CH. This way, yuo can make sure that things will fit.

If you're not actually importing it, why declare it? BTW you have 18 months to declare removal goods if you bring them in in stages.

I know this has been discussed before but with current exchange rates it is definitêly cheaper to buy in France or Germany or Austria but has anyone done it recently. Do we just pay Swiss VAT (8%) at the border or more. Sorry to ask same questions!