Elecraft K3 Expensive from the UK?

I recently bought 2x 8-pole filters from Elecraft amounting to a US cost of $316.80:

2x $139.95 for filters
+ $36.90 postage

Considering that the item is barely more than a jiffy bag, the postage seems expensive. However this isn't the end of the story. Parcel Force intercepts the parcel in the UK from whoever the US postal company is, and then collects VAT (UK Import Tax) and adds their own handling charge:

import VAT £39.26 + Parcel Force Clearance fee £8 = £47.26 ($75.96)

To add insult to injury Parcel Force are located sparcely throughtout the UK, so if you aren't close enough to pickup the parcel and you work for a living (meaning you can't receive a parcel during working hours) you have to pay an additional fee of £12 to get it delivered on a Saturday.

So total cost to buy 2 filters from the US is approx $420!

Ok, after a few seconds to swallow that one, do I still consider a Elecraft K3 to be expensive to own in the UK? I bought my K3 back in June 2008 and up until then I was spending too much money swapping and changing radios every 6 months or so, buying the must haves and latest and greatest for contesting. I don't dare to think what I was spending! However since 2008 I haven't felt the need to change my radio, more so, there still isn't anything better than the K3 IMO out there. Ok I have been buying extras for it and upgrading parts, but I still feel that the investment is getting better with each passing year.

Don't get me wrong the K3 does have it's faults, but what radio doesn't? If you were to ask a K3 owner about his radio, he would most probably moan about this or that, but the deciding question should be whether he is willing to swap it for anything else around the same price..... The answer to that question currently (for the majority of owners, I would think) is a most resounding NO!

I still own all my old radios and at times where the K3 has annoyed me, I have rooted out an old favourite and apart from appreciating better ergonomics I immediately have been disappointed. I thought there must have been a fault developed in the RX due to lack of use, but no it's just that I knew no better when I used it last.

The K3 has definately spoilt me and my expectations are now so high, no other radio seems to come close. Your mileage may vary, but I judge a radio foremost by it's rx performance and for this amateur there just isn't anything else in the same price bracket.