what are you missing?
if you have your friend in the UK buy it or even have it shipped there, they will pay the 20% VAT for Europe, which will negate any savings. the only way to avoid it is if it’s sold for export.
so do the math.
and every manufacturer has their own distribution rules and levels of enforcement. but it does not hurt to explore the possibilities....except it can put you sideways with the USA distributor. for every action there is a reaction.