Home Automation Bargain Alerts thread - No General Chat

Zilog · 12-01-2021 6:06pm

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Have not tried these myself yet....they seem cheap and compatible with Alexa and Google....€8 per bulb in Dealz.

Bought a couple of the Dealz light bulbs to try them out.
As suspected they are Tuya compatible, so was able to pair with Tuya app rather than downloading another control app. Switching power on/off 4 times, then on, put the bulb into pairing mode.
I was unable to install custom firmware using 'Tuya-convert' unfortunately; hopefully the API/key for this gets sorted sometime in the future. I haven't tried taking the bulbs apart to see if they are flashable.

In the meantime these LED bulbs seem to work well, are dimmable (using app only, not by wall dimmer), reasonably bright and white colour temperature can be tuned from warm to cool white. Replaced 2 older CFL bulbs in my study with them.

snowstreams · 12-01-2021 10:40pm

I might get a few next time I'm in there. But I stopped going to them because they usually sell things that have had too many corners cut in hnt manufacturing process. Look at their power-packs or usb cable for example.
But for 8 euro they might have made something genuine this time.

thecivvie · 19-01-2021 12:23am

Littlewoods have the Alexa Gen 4 hub for €81.99

https://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/amazon-all-new-echo-4th-generation-smart-speaker-with-alexa/1600523304.prd?Ntt=amazon%20echo

chuck eastwood · 19-01-2021 12:27am

thecivvie wrote: »

Littlewoods have the Alexa Gen 4 hub for €81.99

https://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/amazon-all-new-echo-4th-generation-smart-speaker-with-alexa/1600523304.prd?Ntt=amazon%20echo

Mad money for that. I got one on Amazon for about €36. Also Littlewoods have a no return policy on this item

grogi · 19-01-2021 12:36am

chuck eastwood wrote: »

Mad money for that. I got one on Amazon for about €36. Also Littlewoods have a no return policy on this item

You got echo dot. This is full echo...

chuck eastwood · 19-01-2021 1:34am

grogi wrote: »

You got echo dot. This is full echo...

You sure... Because I have a few dots here aswell. They are all dots in this category. This is the 4th gen and it's not a hub as you called it

Leftwaffe · 19-01-2021 8:21am

chuck eastwood wrote: »

You sure... Because I have a few dots here aswell. They are all dots in this category. This is the 4th gen and it's not a hub as you called it

He’s right there’s a new echo 4th gen. it’s not a dot. Have one myself and costs around 80-90 quid

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 10:07am

chuck eastwood wrote: »

You sure... Because I have a few dots here aswell. They are all dots in this category. This is the 4th gen and it's not a hub as you called it

This is the full sized Echo 4th gen Littlewoods are selling in the above link. It has a Zigbee hub and temperature sensor built in. The speakers are bigger and better than the dot.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B085G58KWT

And this is the smaller, cheaper and less featured 4th gen Echo Dot you have:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084DWCZXZ

They’re not “all dots”, only the smaller one is a dot.

All that said, Amazon have it for the same price as Littlewoods (give or take a few cents on account of exchange rate fluctuations).

chuck eastwood · 19-01-2021 10:10am

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

This is the full sized Echo 4th gen Littlewoods are selling. It has a Zigbee hub and temperature sensor built in. The speakers are bigger and better than the dot.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B085G58KWT

And this is the smaller, cheaper and less featured 4th gen Echo Dot you have:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B084DWCZXZ

They’re not “all dots”, only the smaller one is a dot.

I stand corrected. What would be the benift of having a hub built in ? Larger speaker would definitely be a great upgrade. Just checked the speaks, twice the size

grogi · 19-01-2021 10:15am

chuck eastwood wrote: »

I stand corrected. What would be the benift of having a hub built in ? Larger speaker would definitely be a great upgrade. Just checked the speaks, twice the size

Hub allows to control Zigbee Philips Hue bulbs without Philips Hue Bridge.

dam099 · 19-01-2021 10:44am

chuck eastwood wrote: »

Just checked the speaks, twice the size

Not just bigger, it has 2 tweeters so is capable of doing stereo sound from one unit now (though I'd wonder how much separation you would get in the sound field when they are that close together).

grogi · 19-01-2021 10:49am

dam099 wrote: »

Not just bigger, it has 2 tweeters so is capable of doing stereo sound from one unit now (though I'd wonder how much separation you would get in the sound field when they are that close together).

Such "stereo" would just be a gimmick.

It is a very well calculated enclosure, the sound coming out of it is big taking account the size of the unit, going as low as ~40Hz (sic!).
The response isn't flat tough - there is a significant bump in the bass response while midrange suffer a bit. I have no doubt this was done for the speaker to "impress". But still is impressive for the size and one should be able to EQ it to decent levels from Alexa app.

Source: https://www.soundguys.com/amazon-echo-4th-gen-review-42618/

Get two of those, pair them for stereo sound and you'll be surprised as hell what a set like that can produce.

deezell · 19-01-2021 12:48pm

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

T

....They’re not “all dots”, only the smaller one is a dot.

All that said, Amazon have it for the same price as Littlewoods (give or take a few cents on account of exchange rate fluctuations).

Is Amazon.uk still applying Irish VAT for Irish orders. It it llikely to be stopped at the post office or is it being shipped from 'Amazon EU Sarl' whatever that is.

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 1:02pm

deezell wrote: »

Is Amazon.uk still applying Irish VAT for Irish orders. It it llikely to be stopped at the post office or is it being shipped from 'Amazon EU Sarl' whatever that is.

If you order an item sold by Amazon itself to an Irish address, you're charged Irish VAT at the checkout. It won't be stopped by Customs, and there won't be any additional charges on receipt, assuming the paperwork is correct. Amazon have integrated the CN22 form into their standard shipping label, so there should be no issues in that regard.

'Amazon EU Sarl' is Amazon's European entity, based in Luxembourg. They've been shipping items under that entity for years.

killbillvol2 · 19-01-2021 1:03pm

deezell wrote: »

Is Amazon.uk still applying Irish VAT for Irish orders. It it llikely to be stopped at the post office or is it being shipped from 'Amazon EU Sarl' whatever that is.

No VAT under €22. Irish VAT applied as usual up to €150. VAT and duty on items over €150. No issues with customs or post office but much longer shipping times recently (which may or may not improve).

BobbyT28 · 19-01-2021 1:04pm

So when would it be stopped by Customs? Is it stopped when it's over a certain amount like £22?

deezell · 19-01-2021 1:05pm

killbillvol2 wrote: »

No VAT under €22. Irish VAT applied as usual up to €150. VAT and duty on items over €150. No issues with customs or post office but much longer shipping times recently (which may or may not improve).

Duty over €150? So goods are being shipped via UK?, despite the Luxemburg thing.

Bluefoam · 19-01-2021 1:08pm

deezell wrote: »

Is Amazon.uk still applying Irish VAT for Irish orders. It it llikely to be stopped at the post office or is it being shipped from 'Amazon EU Sarl' whatever that is.

My experience with Amazon since the Brexit has been that they are delivering as per the price you pay at checkout... I haven't recieved any surprises or COD's subsequently.

I did recieve a parcel from another online store that arrived with a tax & handling bill (COD, which was almost equal to the cost of the product) and the shipping company are now holding it as ransom... won't release it to me without paying the charges, and won't return to sender with them paying additional charges. It was purchased prior to Brexut but delivered after...

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 1:08pm

BobbyT28 wrote: »

So when would it be stopped by Customs? Is it stopped when it's over a certain amount like £22?

Scenarios would include:

If it doesn't have a valid CN22 form on the outside of the package
If Irish VAT, or any Irish Customs Duty wasn't already collected at the checkout.
If it was deemed to contain items prohibited for import into the EU without licence.

The €22 limit is just one that the EU currently has, saying VAT doesn't have to be collected on items under that amount. It's being scrapped in the Summer (it was supposed to be scrapped on Jan 1st, but they pushed it back because of delays to the system caused by the pandemic).

grogi · 19-01-2021 1:10pm

deezell wrote: »

Is Amazon.uk still applying Irish VAT for Irish orders. It it llikely to be stopped at the post office or is it being shipped from 'Amazon EU Sarl' whatever that is.

Amazon is applying all relevant Irish taxes at checkout. Your parcels will not be stopped anywhere - they are delayed by regular COVID siht.

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 1:11pm

deezell wrote: »

Duty over €150? So goods are being shipped via UK?, despite the Luxemburg thing.

They're still being shipped from the UK. Amazon doesn't have a warehouse in Luxembourg. That's just part of their legal setup for selling in the EU.

That said, Amazon in the UK are set up to collect EU VAT and Customs Duty at the point of sale (and then send it to the revenue service of the importing country in question). So there's no further charges.

This does not apply to 3rd party sellers who use Amazon as a platform - those packages are likely to be stopped by Customs and subject to VAT/Customs/Handling charges, as it is those sellers that will have to be individually set up - and the vast majority of them are not.

grogi · 19-01-2021 1:12pm

Bluefoam wrote: »

My experience with Amazon since the Brexit has been that they are delivering as per the price you pay at checkout... I haven't recieved any surprises or COD's subsequently.

I did recieve a parcel from another online store that arrived with a tax & handling bill (COD, which was almost equal to the cost of the product) and the shipping company are now holding it as ransom... won't release it to me without paying the charges, and won't return to sender with them paying additional charges. It was purchased prior to Brexut but delivered after...

If the goods were shipped before Brexit (the movement of the goods) (they didn't have to leave UK before), there should be no charges (as they should be treated as transport of goods inside the custom union).

deezell · 19-01-2021 1:17pm

Which is why you should buy the op's gadget from littlewoods .ie site. Save a lot of possible grief, especially uf you ordered 2.

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 1:24pm

deezell wrote: »

Duty over €150? So goods are being shipped via UK?, despite the Luxemburg thing.

Regarding Duty - note that the €150 threshold is one under which no duty is ever charged.

There's many items that attract no duty even if they are over €150. The rules are sometime complicated - relating to the original origin origin of the goods or even a certain percentage pf the components of them. But you can check what the duty wold be using this website:

https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en

Hit browse, drill down to the classification of your product, select it, choose United Kingdom as the country, hit "retrieve measures". For products made in the UK, see what the UK rate is. For products made in another non UK or non EU country, like China, see what the "third country rate" is.

For most domestic products, including electrical stuff, it's 0%.

There is some duty on clothes made in Third countries like China.

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 1:27pm

deezell wrote: »

Which is why you should buy the op's gadget from littlewoods .ie site. Save a lot of possible grief, especially uf you ordered 2.

No grief at all ordering an Amazon product from Amazon - they really have their system set up properly. I've ordered loads of stuff from them since the 1st of January. For items sold or fulfilled by Amazon, it's the exact same process as before Brexit.

Duty on speakers (smart or not) is 0%, no matter where they’re coming from or what cost they are.

I'm not saying Littlewoods don't have their Brexit stuff together- they claim they have, and I’ve no reason to think they don’t.

Out of interest, do Littlewoods ship from a warehouse in Ireland, or does it come thought the UK like some other UK chains (even if they have a .ie site)?

Sheep Shagger · 19-01-2021 2:04pm

deezell wrote: »

Which is why you should buy the op's gadget from littlewoods .ie site. Save a lot of possible grief, especially uf you ordered 2.

Beware just because it has an .ie address doesn't mean you are safe. Currys customers are getting stung with duties on stuff purchased on the .ie site (in error).

Does Littlewoods stock come from the UK?

Amazon is safe if you are buying an item fulfilled by amazon - price you pay is final, no suprises on the doorstep regardless of value.

deezell · 19-01-2021 2:10pm

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Beware just because it has an .ie address doesn't mean you are safe. Currys customers are getting stung with duties on stuff purchased on the .ie site (in error).

Does Littlewoods stock come from the UK?

Amazon is safe if you are buying an item fulfilled by amazon - price you pay is final, no suprises on the doorstep regardless of value.

Littlewoods state on their site its an irish registered company, so from consumer perspective its an irish transaction, up to them to deal with tge Brexit crap.

Sheep Shagger · 19-01-2021 2:18pm

deezell wrote: »

Littlewoods state on their site its an irish registered company, so from consumer perspective its an irish transaction, up to them to deal with tge Brexit crap.

Indeed they should but the Currys example shows this is not always the case.

John Lewis has local VAT numbers in various EU countries including Ireland but they too are having issues. Hopefully temporary.

For the here and now Amazon are a good place to use, no suprises on the door whether the item yiu are buying is €10 or €1000

deezell · 19-01-2021 2:21pm

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

Indeed they should but the Currys example shows this is not always the case.

John Lewis has local VAT numbers in various EU countries including Ireland but they too are having issues. Hopefully temporary.

For the here and now Amazon are a good place to use, no suprises on the door whether the item yiu are buying is €10 or €1000

But the duty thing? Would you buy a tv from them?

grogi · 19-01-2021 2:24pm

deezell wrote: »

But the duty thing? Would you buy a tv from them?

No, but not because of the duty

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 2:48pm

deezell wrote: »

But the duty thing? Would you buy a tv from them?

A TV is an example of a item that does attract duty (If made in a "third country"). The rate is 14%.

But not everything expensive does. A camera, for instance - even a top of the line mirrorless or DSLR costing thousands - has a duty rate of 0%.

So you need to be smart about what you buy from the UK. The good thing about Amazon is that they tell you right at the checkout what your VAT and Duty is, so you don't have any surprises. If the price at the Amazon checkout is better than what you'd get elsewhere, then there's no reason not to go for it.

Gregor Samsa · 19-01-2021 2:51pm

deezell wrote: »

Littlewoods state on their site its an irish registered company, so from consumer perspective its an irish transaction, up to them to deal with tge Brexit crap.

And Amazon is registered in Luxembourg - hence also covered by EU consumer law, and it is a European transaction, hence up to them to deal with the Brexit crap.

"If you are a consumer and have your habitual residence in the EU or the UK, you additionally enjoy the protection afforded to you by mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence. "

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201909000&ref_=footer_cou

deezell · 19-01-2021 3:34pm

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

A TV is an example of a item that does attract duty (If made in a "third country"). The rate is 14%.

But not everything expensive does. A camera, for instance - even a top of the line mirrorless or DSLR costing thousands - has a duty rate of 0%.

So you need to be smart about what you buy from the UK. The good thing about Amazon is that they tell you right at the checkout what your VAT and Duty is, so you don't have any surprises. If the price at the Amazon checkout is better than what you'd get elsewhere, then there's no reason not to go for it.

I suppose that was my point. If I buy a Samsung telly from Argos or power city, I pay what it says. Same telly might be in stock in uk, maybe €70 less even with Irish vat, but if hammered by duty after delivery.....That's good that they flag final price.

bk · 19-01-2021 4:11pm

deezell wrote: »

I suppose that was my point. If I buy a Samsung telly from Argos or power city, I pay what it says. Same telly might be in stock in uk, maybe €70 less even with Irish vat, but if hammered by duty after delivery.....That's good that they flag final price.

They aren't just flagging the final price, you have to actively click buy on the final price, to authorise the payment on the final checkout page.

And it really is the final price, no extra to pay on delivery, etc.

So either that final price, even if it includes import duty, is either better then argos/powercity or not. It is up to you the customer to decide.

BTW worth pointing out that most electrical items are 0% import duty rate, things like mobile phones, computers, headphones, cameras, smart home devices, etc. are all 0% rate, so no difference compared to pre-brexit. TV's are an odd man out at 14% duty.

A few odd items like hairdryers, vacuum cleaners, etc. are 2 to 3% import duty.

But again, don't worry about this, just look at the final price on amazon and make the purchase decision based on that.

BTW Don't forget there is always amazon.de, fr, es, etc. Though they don't have any free delivery to here, .de is always about €8 p&p to here.

Stoner · 20-01-2021 1:36am

Ok all. I'm going to set up an IoT general chat sticky.

We need to keep this thread for Iot Bargain alerts only please. It's proving difficult to get new and regular users to avoid using this as a general chat thread. I get a few requests from people to have it as just a bargains alert thread with examples of how it works well on other forums.

So the General Chat forum Sticky will be set up. if you see something that you want to discuss please post there. It will be somewhere to move the post to as well.

Thank you all:)

Stoner · 20-01-2021 1:43am

Ok all.

From now on can you only post bargain alerts here. If you want to discuss a "bargain" or if it is a bargain, please copy the thread and paste it into the General Chat Forum.

Thank you all fort understanding

you can report something that should come down as a bargain too.

Sheep Shagger · 22-01-2021 11:20pm

Smart plugs in Dunnes, you can click and collect to pick up when doing essential food shopping.

Under €15 which is not the the worst for a B&M store in Ireland.

https://www.dunnesstores.com/p/wifi-smart-plug/3260501

EDIT: Amazon Prime have these ones for £9

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-Tapo-Wireless-Required-P100/dp/B07Z942YWS/ref=asc_df_B07Z942YWS/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=394317030617&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16195302307401826740&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-847766584784&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=80755971054&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=394317030617&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16195302307401826740&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-847766584784

Stoner · 24-01-2021 2:35am

All.

I've asked several times. Please no general chat here, there is a general chat thread, please ask questions, copy in the links, throw out suggestion there, or open another thread.

Nobody wants warning or infractions for this, but it is an alerts Not a Chat thread.

Thank you all

deezell · 30-01-2021 10:31am

Tado have a one day deal on 'certified refurbs', as new. Stat starter kit fir €100, 2 TRVs for €95, wireless starter kit with HW, €135, from their Tado ie portal, so no customs surprises, excess or delivery charges.
https://www.tado.com/ie-en/certified-refurbished?utm_campaign=newsletter_xmas_2020_cus_rmd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=intercom

maxamillius · 30-01-2021 11:46am

deezell wrote: »

Tado have a one day deal on 'certified refurbs', as new. Stat starter kit fir €100, 2 TRVs for €95, wireless starter kit with HW, €135, from their Tado ie portal, so no customs surprises, excess or delivery charges.
https://www.tado.com/ie-en/certified-refurbished?utm_campaign=newsletter_xmas_2020_cus_rmd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=intercom

I bought and installed a refurbished wireless stat and extension kit a few weeks back, works great. So would highly recommend

meolwan · 30-01-2021 7:32pm

maxamillius wrote: »

I bought and installed a refurbished wireless stat and extension kit a few weeks back, works great. So would highly recommend

Would this be an upgrade on a netatmo ?

chuck eastwood · 30-01-2021 7:40pm

deezell wrote: »

Tado have a one day deal on 'certified refurbs', as new. Stat starter kit fir €100, 2 TRVs for €95, wireless starter kit with HW, €135, from their Tado ie portal, so no customs surprises, excess or delivery charges.
https://www.tado.com/ie-en/certified-refurbished?utm_campaign=newsletter_xmas_2020_cus_rmd&utm_medium=email&utm_source=intercom

Bought a kit there. Thanks for the heads up and advice Deezell. Champ

Sheep Shagger · 31-01-2021 11:35am

More of the smart home stuff in Lidl on Thursday.

maxamillius · 31-01-2021 3:54pm

meolwan wrote: »

Would this be an upgrade on a netatmo ?

Drop into the home heating automation thread and can go through it in there

jem · 31-01-2021 10:11pm

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

More of the smart home stuff in Lidl on Thursday.

Will these work with Philips hue hub and app

thecivvie · 31-01-2021 11:12pm

jem wrote: »

Will these work with Philips hue hub and app

I have the Lidl bulbs, socket and strip light. All work. I believe the extension lead doesn't

jem · 01-02-2021 12:35am

thecivvie wrote: »

I have the Lidl bulbs, socket and strip light. All work. I believe the extension lead doesn't

Thanks

Leftwaffe · 01-02-2021 12:43am

thecivvie wrote: »

I have the Lidl bulbs, socket and strip light. All work. I believe the extension lead doesn't

How long is the strip? Is it cut-able?

RobbieTheRobber · 01-02-2021 12:30pm

Leftwaffe wrote: »

How long is the strip? Is it cut-able?

2 metre long not sure about if its cut-able

bk · 01-02-2021 4:02pm

23% off

A general tip, rather then a specific bargain. Because of Brexit, if you have Amazon Prime, items that cost £23 or less, you don't have to pay VAT on them, so basically 23% off.

For example, Philips Hue GU10 white twin pack, currently costs £21, but if you go through to checkout, you end up paying just £17.50

Teckin Smart Plugs twin pack, currently £16.99 advertised, at checkout £14.16

Yi camera, £21.99 advertised price, £18.32 at checkout.

So handy deal if picking up cheaper items, smart plugs, switches, bulbs, motion sensors, etc.

Some notes to be aware:
- You need to have Amazon Prime, otherwise you pay delivery, which would make the deal not worth it. You can sign up for just one month, sometimes for free.
- Your total order needs to come in at £23 or less. You can place separate orders for multiple items to stay under that amount.
- This only applies up until I think July, from then, VAT will be charged on all items, regardless of amount.

Home Automation Bargain Alerts thread - No General Chat

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