FAQs

Yes we do! We will not charge UK VAT on any order shipped worldwide (enter your address into the checkout to see this price). You may have to pay additional customs fees or duties in the country of delivery. See the section below Non UK or EU orders and Duty for more details or email info@billbaber.com

As a default our website prices will show the VAT included as we are a UK based company. However, if you add an address to your shopping basket then it will show you the correct price for your country.

If you have a specific delivery date that you require then please get in contact and we may be able to offer an express delivery option at an additional charge.

We endeavour to ship every order within 2 working days, in some cases this may not be possible and we will notify you by email. We provide tracking numbers for all parcels and monitor them on a weekly basis. If you are concerned about the progress of an order please contact us.

When you place your order you will see delivery time estimates. We monitor and update this estimate through the year. In some cases your parcel may be delayed.

We will do all we can to resolve any late deliveries and may send a replacement or a refund if we deem it necessary.

Please check your confirmation email after ordering to be sure the address is correct. If you do not contact us we will assume the shipping address is correct.

If you give us the incorrect address details on your order, which causes our package to be delivered incorrectly, then the responsibility is on you, the customer, to try and retrieve the parcel yourself at your own cost.

We reserve the right to charge the full shipping fee applicable to resend an item, if is returned to us because delivery could not be taken for any reason.

Courier returned items will be credited to your account, minus the courier fee. Please notify us as soon as possible if your order does not arrive within the expected time frame following your dispatch email.

The delivery estimates below include the processing time for you order in addition to the time spent in the mail – in many cases your garment may have to be knitted from scratch which can take a couple of days before we are able to post. If at any time we think we are going to miss this schedule, we will of course notify you.

Our regular delivery rates:

• UK (3 – 5 days) £6.00

Within the UK we continue to use the Royal Mail for our ecommerce deliveries, though we are conscious that in the weeks before Christmas there can be delays. We reserve the right to switch to a courier service at our own additional cost if we deem it neccessary to avoid late delivery of your presents!

We no longer offer a free pick up in store as the garments are no longer held in stock in our Edinburgh Grassmarket Workshop. If you wish to make a collection in person, please contact us by email before placing your order at info@billbaber.com

• Europe inc. Ireland (3-5 days) £27*
• USA & Canada  (3-5 days) £34.50*
• Australia & New Zealand (7 – 10 days) £32.00*
• Rest of the world (7 – 10 days) £37.00*

*+ £2.00 for each additional item after the first

We shop around for shipping options and regularly update the method we use to get your parcel safely in to your hands by the most reliable and fastest means. Currently our preference is to mail all of our ecommerce orders through the Royal Mail. We find the service has improved greatly in the last few years and we send many hundreds of packages with them every year.

These parcels are handed over to partner delivery agents for international delivery, its is the partner agents who handle the last miles to your door and they who generally contact you for payment of any duties or processing fees as required.

If for any reason the Royal Mail do not deliver to your address then we may pivot to using a courier like UPS, DHL or FEDEX. you wont be billed anything additional.

At checkout you will be asked to select your preferred method of shipping and the relevant cost will be added to your shopping basket.

We use a Tracked & Signed For service wherever it is available. Each delivery requires a signature upon receipt for us to ensure that you have received it safely.  If you are not home, the delivery partner will leave a “sorry we missed you” card at your address, you may be able to arrange a redelivery or redirect, or you may have to attend a local collection office to complete the delivery. Increasoingly these things are done by email and may end up in your spoam filter. If you are expecting a notification about a parcel, its worth checking – or ask us and we can take a look for you.

These additional steps prevent packages being left unattended while you are out and gives us confidence that you will receive it safely. We are unable to mail to a PO Box or unattended address as there will not be someone present to sign for your parcel and we cannot accept responsibility for parcels which are lost or damaged as a result of being left unattended.

As an alternative, we can send mail to your work address instead of your home address if there is usually someone there during normal office hours.

If you are unable to provide an attended address then please get in contact with us, we may be able to come up with an alternative if you are happy to take responsibility for the parcel being left unattended, we cannot accept responsibility for any missing parcels if they are not sent on a signed for service.

We however reserve the right to use a Tracked Only or other method of postage if a signature service is not available to your attended address and will accept responsibility for any loss or damage in transit as a result.

For EU customers – please note you will have VAT to pay in addition to the shipping costs, usually at the time of delivery by your local courier. Please read the section below titled Ordering in the EU in the FAQ of this site.

Apologies for all the small print, we try to work with you to ensure you parcel arrives quickly and safely – some patience on both sides if often required!

The UKs departure from Europe and new trading arrangements between Europe and the UK will likely have huge impacts on the way we are able to supply customers around the world, we are not 100% clear on all the implications and may not be for some time.

On 24th December 2020, the UK and the EU reached an agreement on how to trade (the Trade and Cooperation Agreement). It entered into force on 1st January 2021. As a result of the agreement, the UK is no longer part of the EU’s single market and customs union and new rules apply.

From 1st January, the UK extended the rules which applied to non-EU postal items before. Similarly, the EU now treats postal items from the UK as it did non-EU items before.

Customers in the EU who receive orders from us will now be liable to pay VAT at their local rate on purchases from us here in the UK. We can no longer charge it at the point of purchase on our website.

You may wish to check your own local rules on bringing goods in from outside the EU.

As our goods are wholly made within the UK there is currently no Duty to be paid on goods arriving from us into the EU.

Please note that shipping companies & local delivery partners will continue to charge their own handling fees on these orders as they incur administrative costs on operating inside the new regulations. We have no ability to influence these payments whatsoever and can in some cases be higher than we might like.

We are no longer able to charge VAT on your goods at point of purchase, instead you are liable to pay them to your own country at point of delivery. 

Each delivery company handles this differently and there are dozens of local courier services used across the whole of Europe so there really isn’t one common solution in place.

Usually the delivery company will have the paperwork necessary for this at the point of delivery but procedures do vary across the EU. In some instances you will receive an email from the delivery company requesting payment, or the delivery driver might ask for payment on your doorstep.

Bill Baber York LLP is VAT registered in the UK and the items you see online will default to including the UK rate of VAT which is 20%.

If your web browser allows it, our website will recognise the country from which you are visiting and may remove the VAT to make it easier for you to browse the collection. Or to be doubly sure just enter a shipping address in the checkout then the site will automatically remove the VAT if the address is anywhere outside of the UK.

When you complete your purchase you will be charged by us for just the goods and shipping. No VAT.

Instead the VAT will be charged by the delivery company as explained above. For example the VAT in Ireland is 23%, Spain 21%, Germany 19% and France 20%. 

There will also be a handling fee and customs clearance fee which we cannot influence in any way. These fees are levied by the delivery company as a result of them navigating the new EU & UK legislation.

If for any reason you are unable or refuse to pay these charges the goods may be returned to us here in the UK and we may be charged a return fee and any inbound customs or handling charges. As a result we are unable to issue you a refund on any goods which are returned in this way.

Please note the VAT is based on the delivery address, so if you are in France but deliver the goods to the UK you’ll be charged UK VAT at the point of purchase.

If however you are in France, buying for delivery to a friend in Germany then you wont be charged VAT on our site, but they will be charged local VAT at the point of delivery!

Everything we make is made right here in Scotland in the UK. As a result our products are considered to be of “UK Origin”.

Technically any goods imported into the EU are liable for duty, however goods which are of “UK Origin” are currently exempt from any duty as they are considered to have come from a Preferential Source.

So no duty should be charged on any of our products if they are delivered into the EU.

Sometimes there is an error in the paperwork or an issue with a particular customs authority honouring this arrangement – but if that happens please get in contact with us and we will endeavour to resolve it for you.

The UK government is working hard to enact new improved trading relationships around the globe and the full spectrum of how each country interacts is above our heads! In simple terms: goods being imported into your home country from the UK will likely be liable for some duty. The exact rate depends on the country. In most cases knitwear seems to be between 12% and 20% depending on its material composition. You can consult your local government website for details on how your own country handles imports of this kind and we would be happy to help if you have any questions.

Below are a few of our most common delivery destinations and how they are handled.

For those of you based in the United States you may already know that the trade relationship between the UK and USA has been changing rapidly. The $800 De Minimis which has been in place for decades has now been removed, meaning that all goods now arriving into the USA will have duties applied.

As of 5/8/26 new Sectiuon 301 Tariffs have been introduced on goods arriving into the USA from the UK. Instead of the 10% Tariffs we have experienced for 18 months, the new rate is actually a combinatuion of a base rate 16% and the new Section 301 – meaning you will be asked to pay 26% on goods.

We have as a result updated the shopping cart on our website to charge this additional 26% on your basket so we can pre pay the amount for you and save you any additional admin.

Please take a look here for more details on this evolving situation.

The Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement came into force on April 1, 2021, following Britain’s departure from the EU (Brexit). It allows for the free movement of most goods between the UK and Canada and as such you should not have any duty to pay on goods arriving from us as everything we make is of UK Origin

For goods valued at below $1000 AUD there is not currently any duty, taxes or charges at the border. As most of our orders are shipped below this level you should be fine.

For other countries please contact your local tax authority to confirm which liabilities might arise when you buy and receive goods from the UK. If you are not sure, please email us and we will try to help.

Great news with our linen and cotton capes, tops and jackets – these can be machine washed! Use a programme up to 30 degrees and use a delicate or hand wash setting if you have them. They will normally spin dry gently as part of the cycle but do not tumble dry them as this uses too much heat.

You can choose to press the garment to reinforce the shape it came in. When mostly dry lay them on the ironing table and press them flat with the iron, use steam as the dry iron will not have much effect. When you are pressing them you can change the shape a bit, flare the hem or pull the body to narrow it at the waist. They will generally stay as you press them until you wash again. Put a new crease on the lapels or other styling features wherever you like.

Some of our customers like to hand wash our garments which is fine, remember to dry them flat!

If a garment has been in storage for a while give it a steam-press just to freshen it up before wearing it.

The good news is that merino wool has a natural wicking effect which means they do not need to be washed often. You might be surprised by how long your merino pieces stay fresh, a lot longer than the synthetic materials that make up the majority of our clothes. Unless you spill soup on your jumper, it will be a good long time before you need to wash it.

Don’t go anywhere near your washing machine! The heat will be too high and the wool will shrink and end up with a felt like appearance.

We recommend hand washing these pieces and then squeezing out the excess water by hand. Dry these garments flat on a rack, rail or similar. It’s very important not to hang them as the weight of the water will stretch the fabric permanently.

When mostly dry you can lay them on an ironing table and press them flat with an iron, using steam. This is an optional step if you want to change the style slightly.

If a garment has been in storage for a while give it a steam-press just to freshen it up before wearing it.

Our merino is spun and dyed in Donegal Ireland. We use it as the traditional method they work with produces a stunning multi coloured fleck throughout the yarn (known as knaps or naps). Merino wool comes from the Merino sheep and are generally found in the southern hemisphere though the breed originated in Spain (hard to imagine all those woolly sheep sunbathing themselves on the Costa Brava). The wool produced by the breed comes in a wide range of softnesses – this is governed by the micron diameter of the fibre. Merino wool is generally less than 22 microns, while a human hair is between 50 and 100 microns. A micron is one millionth of a meter – which is pretty small!

So our merino wool is drawn from the softest wool breed on the planet. Cashmere comes from goats and is often thought to be softer still, though some super fine merino wools are even finer than cashmere and can as a result feel softer still. It’s also worth bearing in mind that sometimes fibres are advertised as “merino wool” but actually using a combination of synthetic wool with the merino which makes them feel much softer. Our Donegal merino pieces are made using 100% of the natural fibres which means they will be longer lasting and better at wicking away moisture than the combined synthetic versions. You get what you pay for and sometimes prices are too good to be true!

Our Donegal spun merino focuses on the multi coloured fleck and it’s natural hard wearing properties. This means it is not as soft to the touch as cashmere or superfine merino can be. It is still 100% merino wool and perfectly soft so can be worn right against your skin. We also find it softens with time and washing as all natural fibres do. A great material for cardigans,jackets, pullovers and accessories – but we wont be knitting any underpants anytime soon!

We supply stores in many countries around the world. They are of all different types and each one has a unique selection of our styles. We cannot guarantee that on your visit they will have a wide range of our knitwear, they may be out of stock entirely. We suggest you contact them in advance of your visit and enquire, or ask us and we will get on contact for you. Alternatively, you can order from our own website, we ship worldwide.

We supply stores all over the world and each store is responsible for its own pricing, we endeavour to supply garments to them at a very competitive price so they can pass them on to you at a reasonable rate. In many cases they have local taxes and import duties to take into account.

Bill Baber Knitwear is in fact a few businesses all squished together. We have a retail store in Edinburgh, an ecommerce site online, a ‘seconds’ sale on ebay and a wholesale network of resellers based around the world who carry our styles. While occasionally you find the same style and colour in each of these locations, more often you are actually looking at many distinct collections.

In our retail store Bill & Helen are crafting a boutique range of knits, many of them one offs. They use an ever changing palette of colours and apply their combined 95+ years of knitting experience to create new colour combinations and styles. As a result the collection in store is unique and dynamic. If you visit 6 months apart you will almost never see the same piece twice.

Our ecommerce collection has to be slightly more pragmatic and includes a much narrower selection of our bestselling styles and, crucially, only in colours we know we can recreate for at least a few years. There’s no point for us in photographing a one-off piece and putting it online if, once it has sold, we can’t make it again! Our ebay shop comes in handy at this point, when colours or styles are discounted they may well end up there. Our website also offers a much broader range of sizing options than you will find in our Edinburgh Grassmarket Workshop.

Our resellers curate their own collections and in many cases expand upon our ecommerce range tweaking colours here and there or designing their own versions of our knits which we produce for them. So while you may think you are looking at the same piece, you are looking at very different garments. Our pricing reflects this and while we try our very best to equalize things across all our channels you may sometime find a piece available for more or less in one or the other!

If in doubt please ask us by emailing info@billbaber.com

Yes, simply contact us and we can handle your order over the telephone, or send us an email and we can do it that way instead. We can take card details over the phone or organise an alternative method of payment.

No, we often photograph outfits made up of two or more styles, these are for illustrative purposes only and when you place your order you will only receive the items as detailed in the product description. If you would like to order the accessories then please email us and we will endeavour to assist you in your purchase.