The one I bought was already iin the UK so I did not need to pay any tax. It cost me £200. If you are purchasing from the USA then you will more than likely have to pay about 20% VAT. Check ebay for any that are already available in your country. They would probably still be under warranty.
The Up! brand and printers have been around for a few years now and are pretty good. It’s in the top 4 of 3D Hubs 2016 print guide for bugdet printers. Check out the whole guide. It will allow you to make a more informed decision. https://www.3dhubs.com/best-3D-printer-guide#budget
Well the opinions on the M3D are quite diverse if you read the forums.
I’m having a very good time printing all kind of things with it and results are pretty good. From Colorfabb wood, ABS to PLA it does all work, but there is some calibration needed. (printed a full set of chess pieces, a digital sundial and alot of toys and testprints or stuff for the printer itself)
It is a printer that says its all for beginners, but printing out-of-the box is not aways the case. (you do need to put some time in it to understand 3d printing, but for me there is the fun)
Had to pay 80 euros for it to ship to the Netherlands.
After about half a year i might be looking for a bigger printer though, but it is great to learn the basics!
I doubt that you would have much luck with Ninja Flex but yes, you can use filament other than M3D’s. I’ve used RigidInk PLA and Colorfabb PLA, and it’s fine with the Micro. I’ve moved on to a Kossel Mini now but the Micro worked well for me – it’s just very slow, with a very limited print volume and no heated bed, but great value for money.