[Jefflinde]

Sorry if the is not the correct forum but I am looking for a company to have things shipped to in the EU and then forwarded on to me in the United States. There are many components that are much cheaper and more importantly available in the EU but the company selling it won't ship directly to the US.
Any one have a good solution for this?

 

[Timothy G. Parrish]

Unless you're talking high volume shipments, the shipping and clearance costs alone wouldn't be worth it.

Maybe try reaching out to someone in Europe and have them ship stuff for you?

Or maybe a seller on eBay in Europe?

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[Harold]

I'm gonna guess we're talking about bits where the manufacturer won't let Euro dealers sell to US customers. Such as Shimano stuff or whatever.

 

[Jefflinde]

I'm gonna guess we're talking about bits where the manufacturer won't let Euro dealers sell to US customers. Such as Shimano stuff or whatever.

that is part of it. tires are the other thing. if availble in the US they are 2x the price. with Shimano, i cant even order it locally as they are just simply not available. in europe they are in stock ready to ship.

 

[Harold]

that is part of it. tires are the other thing. if availble in the US they are 2x the price. with Shimano, i cant even order it locally as they are just simply not available. in europe they are in stock ready to ship.

yeah, there are reasons you can't order that stuff in the US.

Euro economic laws are pretty different than they are here. especially their laws regarding taxation (VAT vs. US sales tax). By purchasing from Europe and shipping to the US, you are avoiding a huge chunk of tax (varies from country to country in the EU, but 19% is not uncommon). And since shippers also don't often charge sales tax, items are often less expensive purchased that way than the WHOLESALE cost in the US. US retailers have been losing sales on that, and there's not **** they can do about it to "compete". It's a very unfair marketplace, so they've been begging for years for the manufacturers to do something about it to protect them.

Some of the larger ones have taken steps to prohibit their Euro dealers from shipping to the US.

Sucks right now with various shortages, but it is what it is. You're not going to get around it and also avoid paying VAT. If you managed to find an intermediary like you're seeking, you're not going to wind up saving money because you're going to have to pay the intermediary, too.

Other riders have been finding other creative solutions to the problem if they've run into it. It's been a boon for some of the small drivetrain companies like Box. Me, I used some foresight. I bought some tires last summer long before I needed them. I bought brake pads long before I needed them (they were iffy on supply, so I put some on a watch list and bought when they became available). I did the same with a Shimano 12spd chain. I already have other spare service parts. I've always liked keeping spare service parts sitting around. Not because of supply problems like now, but simply because when something needs replacing, I've always liked having it on hand so I can grab it and install it instead of sitting my bike aside, going to order the thing, waiting for the thing, and THEN installing the thing. It's a mentality that's served me well the past couple of years.

 

[Jefflinde]

I'm not trying to avoid VAT. and it is still cheaper for me to pay vat and ship it to someone in the EU and then ship it to the US than it is to buy it in the US. that is assuming i can actually get it. Tharsis carbon bars are $219 in the US, in the EU they are 98 euros incl. VAT. Same type of savings on the stem and dropper post. it does not take long to pay for the double shipping and VAT with price differentials like that. so i am just trying to see if there is a person or company in the EU that receives packages and then reships them. All the tax lovers will still be getting paid and no one will be "cheated" out of their cut of my hard earned money.

As for local retailers, well they don't have ****!! they cant get it, they didn't prepare and they don't stock ****! they all order from QBP and if QBP does not own the brand (salsa, 45nrth ect.) they don't want to carry it in the store. I have asked for all kinds of stuff and they don't want to bother looking or they cant find any in stock. I try to give business to LBS's but they either can't or don't want it. So now i am here. I gather from the responses that the answer to my initial question is no so i will look for other ways.

 

[Harold]

As for local retailers, well they don't have *!! they cant get it, they didn't prepare and they don't stock *! they all order from QBP and if QBP does not own the brand (salsa, 45nrth ect.) they don't want to carry it in the store. I have asked for all kinds of stuff and they don't want to bother looking or they cant find any in stock. I try to give business to LBS's but they either can't or don't want it. So now i am here. I gather from the responses that the answer to my initial question is no so i will look for other ways.

It can be onerous for small shops to work out arrangements with tons of different vendors. Especially when the vendor has all kinds of requirements with order volumes, credit terms, yada yada yada. Some shops won't entertain anything whatsoever aside from a couple select "big" distributors. Some have even sworn off Shimano (who is running its own distribution channel these days). I don't necessarily agree with that, either, but it's the shop's decision. It's nicer when a manufacturer that doesn't have any other distribution channels will allow a shop to purchase single items with just a credit card so the shop doesn't have to make any commitments to them to buy more product.

 

[Jefflinde]

Shops need to remember that they are there to provide the services and items that the customer wants not what the shop wants to sell. If they don't want to do that they they cant be surprised when customers shop where they can get what they want. Many shops seem to have misunderstood the relationship arrangement between business and customer

 

[Harold]

Shops need to remember that they are there to provide the services and items that the customer wants not what the shop wants to sell. If they don't want to do that they they cant be surprised when customers shop where they can get what they want. Many shops seem to have misunderstood the relationship arrangement between business and customer

I doubt that very much. but at some level, certain things become pretty onerous for the benefit they provide to that shop. for a one-off order, some stuff loses the shop money. and if you're the sort who continually wants what you want, and not what she shop stocks, then the shop never makes money from you. so your repeat business ordering rare stuff that only you and nobody else wants is no value to them. why should they price match stuff from a different continent with a different pricing structure that they can't even buy for that price? the customer is NOT always right.

I've taken the strategy of using local shops for the things that they do, and do well. that means that there is more than one shop I visit because each shop does better at different things. and there are some things I don't use shops for, because they've chosen not to do those things well. I don't blame all shops for that. they make their decisions on the way they want to conduct business and the services they wish to offer. not every shop builds wheels or services suspension in house or sells beer or coffee or whatever. some shops do none of those things but have chosen to do other things. that's up to them. they don't have to do it just because I want them to.

looking for uncommonly available items or extremely popular items during a pandemic with global shipping problems and global supply shortages and then ranting about how local shops are forgetting their relationship with you is more than a little bit shortsighted.

 

[Jefflinde]

this has been the case long before the Wu Shu Flu started. Shops only carry stuff with trek or Specialized branding on it and maybe some SRAM ****. if you wanted anything else it was "i can order that" and then you wait 2 weeks. Even though Amazon has it and i can get it via Prime in a day or 2. I know i am difficult and I don't make shops money, i am not forcing them to order **** for me, but when they get pissy that i went somewhere else they can GTFO. this is why i am asking the question i am. Clearly you (Harold) work or own a shop or feel oddly over connected with your LBS. That's cool, you do you. not sure why we went down this rabbit hole, you could have just not responded since you provided no value to my question in the first place. Anyways, thanks for chat.

 

[Harold]

I do not currently work for or own a shop. I used to. Now I'm just a customer.

Yeah, prime shipping really distorts people's perceptions of what it takes for businesses to get product. Most distributors have 2 warehouses at most to cover the entire US. Some only have one. Some cities have more than one Amazon distribution center. Some manufacturers ship straight from their production facility and don't have a distributor. I fail to see how the comparisons are anywhere near the same neighborhood.

A small shop simply doesn't have the space to stock every damn thing that exists. Shoot, even the bike mail order houses work with multiple distributors and still don't carry everything.

Your derogatory statements about covid-19 really give me a good idea how you approach life.

 

[Jefflinde]

I do not currently work for or own a shop. I used to. Now I'm just a customer.

Yeah, prime shipping really distorts people's perceptions of what it takes for businesses to get product. Most distributors have 2 warehouses at most to cover the entire US. Some only have one. Some cities have more than one Amazon distribution center. Some manufacturers ship straight from their production facility and don't have a distributor. I fail to see how the comparisons are anywhere near the same neighborhood.

A small shop simply doesn't have the space to stock every damn thing that exists. Shoot, even the bike mail order houses work with multiple distributors and still don't carry everything.

Your derogatory statements about covid-19 really give me a good idea how you approach life.

Dude, reading comprehension. I don't expect shops to have everything or want to order it for me. Just don't get mad at me when i get it somewhere else after they didn't want the sale. so pretty sure we are on the same page there.

Should i call it the Fauci Flu? Poopy Pants pandemic? Winnue the Pooh Flu?

 

[Harold]

Dude, reading comprehension. I don't expect shops to have everything or want to order it for me. Just don't get mad at me when i get it somewhere else after they didn't want the sale. so pretty sure we are on the same page there.

Should i call it the Fauci Flu? Poopy Pants pandemic? Winnue the Pooh Flu?

why call the disease anything other than what it is? it's but one factor that's throwing global supply chains into disarray.

I don't think we're necessarily on the same page on things, either. I don't fault bike shops for making their decisions. I don't blame them for it, and I don't give them **** over it. They're going to do what they think is best for themselves. That may or may not intersect with what I think is best for me.

I've also bought stuff from Euro shops before. Sometimes it makes sense to do so. Sometimes not. The embargo that some manufacturers place on Euro shops from selling to/shipping products to NA addresses is one of those things that makes the process not worthwhile sometimes. Even when the thing I want isn't available here. Sometimes, that availability convinces me to find different items that I can get. I also think you're underestimating the extra cost of an intermediary. They're not going to do something like that for free. So simply paying double shipping isn't going to cover them for offering said service. They're going to charge a fee on top of it. Pretty sure by the time you're done with that, you'll be paying at least as much as what you would to just buy it stateside (for the things that are available).

One of your other options is to actually go to Europe, buy the things you want while you're there, and then ship them back to yourself at home. I used to work in a shop 20yrs ago where people from Europe would do exactly that. They'd buy stuff from us and then take it all home.