for european members; buy the cue in europe or let it ship from the US?

Solartje

Solartje

the Brunswick BUG bit me
Silver Member
hi all,

im gonna buy my pool cue's soon, but im undescided.

im gonna buy a predator p2 - z shaft
and a scorpion brake-jump cue or predator bk2

now i could buy them from loontjes in holland, or let it shop from one of the US sites.

prices: loontje (with discount ) for the p2 = 815 € = +- 1000 $
prices : us site for the p2 = +- 550 € = +- 660 $

the price difference is huge...

ive been told i will have to pay for extra importtaxes or something. no site can tell me how much this will be.. has anyone in europe every bought a cue from a US site, and what must i add to the price for the shipping + taxes + insurance + ?... are the taxes really that high its not worth buying them in the US and let it import?

what would u sugest?
 
Thoughts ...

I don't know about your import taxes (didn't know cues had
import taxes on them really), but shipping charges to
international usually run about 50 higher (national = $15,
international=$65). Insurance is usually only a few bucks,
and worth every penny for a cue.

Oh, and rather than a BK2 break stick, you might
consider the XBreaker for the same money and you
get a Break/Jump Cue with it. It is on sale at
http://www.beadsandbilliards.com/dusncu.html
http://www.beadsandbilliards.com/dusncu.html
for $300 with free shipping.
They also handle Predator cues and break cues, including the BK2.
(you might also look at Schon cues if you check the Predator cues out there
too)
They have free shiipping on all orders, and could not find an exception
for International orders.
 
yeah i didnt know i had to pay taxes too, but when i emailed loontjes to ask for his best price, and if he could explain me why the price difference is so big (1200$ almost without discount) they told me about the tax parts.

ive checked on platinumbilliards, and IF i got it right it should be something like this:
cue: 680 $ (Z shaft, joints, ultrea leather etc)
shipment: 76.45 $
NC tax (i supose this means, non continental?): 48.05$
insurance: 6.86 $

= 810 $ = +- 675 € where on loontjes, there best price would be around 825 €. thats 150$ difference!!.

after reading your post i guess my price calculation is +- correct. (ok i dont mind some bucks difference, just dont wonna come in front of any BAD surprise..

ill be looking to the site u gave me . i doubt they will ship for free to europe.. but u never know :) i dont lose anything by asking. thx for the reply

edit: went to your site, and...
mmmm they charge 32$ for shipping and 0 tax.... weird. big price difference for the delivery. i dont understand why this is...
 
Last edited:
Solartje said:
hi all,

im gonna buy my pool cue's soon, but im undescided.

im gonna buy a predator p2 - z shaft
and a scorpion brake-jump cue or predator bk2

now i could buy them from loontjes in holland, or let it shop from one of the US sites.

prices: loontje (with discount ) for the p2 = 815 € = +- 1000 $
prices : us site for the p2 = +- 550 € = +- 660 $

the price difference is huge...

ive been told i will have to pay for extra importtaxes or something. no site can tell me how much this will be.. has anyone in europe every bought a cue from a US site, and what must i add to the price for the shipping + taxes + insurance + ?... are the taxes really that high its not worth buying them in the US and let it import?

what would u sugest?
Click to expand...

Hi,
I sell alot of cues to customers in Europe. One way of getting around the import taxes is to have the seller send the cue to mark as a 'gift' and have it declared a low value of say $100.. That way even if you pay taxes it will be based on the $100 and not the full value of the cue. The down side of this is that the cue cannot be insured for more that $100 so the seller will not be held responsible if it gets damaged. I disclose this information to all my international customers. And so far all of the cues that I shipped internationally arrived safely and my customers not having to pay high import taxes. As for shipping method, I highly recommend USPS Global Express Mail. Its alot cheaper than UPS or FedEx and delivery time is 3-5 business days.
Hope that helps..BTW, contact me at erik@erikleecues.com and I can quote you a real good price on a P2 with Z shaft...
-Erik
 
hi eric. thx for the explanation. im pritty sure ill buy my cue in the US. the price difference is to big to ignore it. unfortunatly i lost my job last weekend, see ill need to wait for my new job, before i can save the amount needed again.

ill keep your site and email in my favorits, so we can make a nice deal soon. thx alot.

greats, solly
 
Solartje, as you didn't seem to know, that you need to pay VAT (Value Added Tax) of 22% (here in Finland) on most things (lowered VAT for foodstuffs, electricity, heat, lumber, books, etc.) that are being shipped from outside EU to you. Cues are included in the 22% VAT group. But, as Erik suggested, putting a lower value on the shipment is sometimes a good idea, you pay the VAT on the value of the shipment you know ;)

Brief info about VAT can be found here:
http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/tariff/eu_vat.htm
The Netherlands seem to have 19% VAT on most products.

EDIT: you seem to be in Belgium, well, then it's 21% VAT for you :) ... or actually :(

Erik is a quality guy to deal with, my friend just received a cue (shipped here to Finland) from him and no problems whatsoever. I can recommend Erik 100% !
 
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thx mjantti. as this is the first item ill ever buy from abroad, and true internet im always very sceptic.

the idea of the 100$ price value is good, but if the shaft would get damaged, im pritty ****. wont be able to return it then i guess? or does the waranty covers that? and the insurance only if the cue would get "lost".

i supose he knows how to ship it coreectly (not to much temperature difference, moisture problems etc...)

the for the + feedback. ps did u use the lowered tax too? or did u insure it for the full money?


another question: is there any difference in the linnen wrap and the ultra leather? does it feel close to the same, but is the leather just more durable? or just more stylisch? anyway i sended a mail to erik :) now i need to find that new job so i can buy my cue. cant wait to play with it. im very very excited :p
 
dooziexx said:
Hi,
I sell alot of cues to customers in Europe. One way of getting around the import taxes is to have the seller send the cue to mark as a 'gift' and have it declared a low value of say $100.. That way even if you pay taxes it will be based on the $100 and not the full value of the cue. The down side of this is that the cue cannot be insured for more that $100 so the seller will not be held responsible if it gets damaged. I disclose this information to all my international customers. And so far all of the cues that I shipped internationally arrived safely and my customers not having to pay high import taxes. As for shipping method, I highly recommend USPS Global Express Mail. Its alot cheaper than UPS or FedEx and delivery time is 3-5 business days.
Hope that helps..BTW, contact me at erik@erikleecues.com and I can quote you a real good price on a P2 with Z shaft...
-Erik
Click to expand...
If I weren't reading it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe someone would make this statement in a public forum!!!!
 
Solartje said:
thx mjantti. as this is the first item ill ever buy from abroad, and true internet im always very sceptic.

the idea of the 100$ price value is good, but if the shaft would get damaged, im pritty ****. wont be able to return it then i guess? or does the waranty covers that? and the insurance only if the cue would get "lost".

i supose he knows how to ship it coreectly (not to much temperature difference, moisture problems etc...)

the for the + feedback. ps did u use the lowered tax too? or did u insure it for the full money?


another question: is there any difference in the linnen wrap and the ultra leather? does it feel close to the same, but is the leather just more durable? or just more stylisch? anyway i sended a mail to erik :) now i need to find that new job so i can buy my cue. cant wait to play with it. im very very excited :p
Click to expand...

You cannot go with the lowered tax because pool cues go in the regular VAT tax group. Only special items which are to be considered special, like books, have a lowered VAT. You need to pay the full VAT for the declared price.

If the shipment method is reliable, I wouldn't see a reason besides your conscience to go with the lower value. But this is just my opinion.

And the so-called "Ultra" leather is very different from a regular leather. It's very soft and to me it seems to absorb hit vibrations. I'd make a sure bet and sticking with the Irish linen if you haven't tried the P2 leather wrap before. I have a pig-skin leather wrap on my cue and I love it, but I hate the P2 ultra leather. But again, it's a matter of a taste. I think you might have someone in your region with a P2 and a leather wrap and you could try it out how it feels for you.

Hope this helps...
 
yeah, thats what i was planning. (checking with a guy i know who has one). also for the weight... think ill just try some different weight, wraps, and when ill get the money, im sure ill contact erik again. he seems a nice and fair guy.

thx for the mail too erik.
 
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