Cheers I appreciate there has been previous threads, seems like the common theme amongst replies in those are " it used to be no problem" but now it's potentially an expensive task.
I wouldn't have even entertained it but for the fact I really want a lebowski and there doesn't appear to be a distributer in the UK. On contacting DP they said I can buy direct but these additional customs charges are going to make it costly.
I do have a family address in France also but not sure if getting it delivered there and then transporting home myself at a later date helps me at all? Like moving furniture from 1 home to another?
I'm not sure if it's significantly more expensive, but definitely more complicated: a customs declaration is needed (new since Brexit - typically administered by the haulier, for a fee), and that's due at point of entry into the UK (new since Jan '22 - they will just hold it in port without it now, and charge you for storage), and UK VAT is payable (new since Brexit). From other posts, the import-duty rate is 0%, so no issue there.
I'm not 100% sure on the following point, but I think you'd have paid VAT on the transaction at the local country's VAT rate pre-Brexit anyway (Netherlands in this case). As far as I know, intra-sales within the EU are just treated like domestic sales from a VAT perspective - as an EU consumer, they pay the selling country's VAT rate, irrespective of where in the EU the product is delivered to. In which case you'd have (pre-Brexit) paid a similar rate to the UK's VAT rate anyway - EU country VAT rates are quite similar, per EU rules. Dutch standard-rate VAT is 21%, so the difference versus UK VAT is immaterial.
If you did move it via France, I'd suggest checking my understanding above to ensure you don't pay VAT twice - i.e. ship it from the supplier, Netherlands to France, and pay the local Dutch VAT rate on that transaction. Then be liable for paying UK VAT when it arrives in a UK port as well (whether that be via a haulier, or in the back of a car/van you are driving).
If I was doing it, I think I'd keep it simple - ship it directly from NL to UK. As a non-EU export, the NL vendor could/would zero rate it from a local VAT perspective, then you'd need to pay UK VAT which the haulier would do the admin for. Apart from the admin charge from the haulier, like buying from a UK vendor.