ps... as far as I recall.. I'm sure Vat on guitars and FX pedals from USA was approx 20%.. ???

It used to work out something like this

eg.. approx - Guitar £150 + delivery & total VAT etc £40

Which used to mean I'd pay about 200 quid for a guitar costing about £300 or more retail here in UK.

Now the courier costs have more than doubled, which in turn inflates up the VAT total..
So no longer really worthwhile at my price level...