Kowa scope sale (1 Viewer)

[Harry Stottle]

This retailer has a Kowa scope sale, the TSN 55 caught my eye. If I was in the US I would be interested, but taxes and import duty spoil the deal for me.
I have no connection with the retailer and know nothing about them.
Also a Swarovski 14x52 demo unit on offer. May be of interest to US members.

Sales and Clearance

Explore top discounts on quality archery and backcountry hunting gear! Shop our archery sale and clearance gear for huge discounts on returns and demos! Gear up and save big today!

sandsarchery.com

 

[sidpost]

I'm curious about this. Is 10% off really that much for a spotting scope? I get the EU region has VAT and import duties and other stuff but, Europe has a lot of good spotting scopes in the same general size and weight with awesome glass for similar money don't they? Asian-sourced optics can be really good too if you are selective. In the past people in the USA could use De Minimus to escape tariffs and customs duty if the purchase was under $800 but, that is a thing of the past so, cross border sales for all of us will have a 10%~20% "tax" or more if we buy outside our own nation from a forum member or retailer.

 

[Harry Stottle]

I'm curious about this. Is 10% off really that much for a spotting scope? I get the EU region has VAT and import duties and other stuff but, Europe has a lot of good spotting scopes in the same general size and weight with awesome glass for similar money don't they? Asian-sourced optics can be really good too if you are selective. In the past people in the USA could use De Minimus to escape tariffs and customs duty if the purchase was under $800 but, that is a thing of the past so, cross border sales for all of us will have a 10%~20% "tax" or more if we buy outside our own nation from a forum member or retailer.

In the UK the TSN 55 is £2089 just about everywhere, £1551 is £538 cheaper so rather more than 10%. Perhaps they are typically much cheaper in the US?
Tax here is 20% on the product and shipping, plus import duty which varies on type of product. I do not know how much it would be for a telescope but I was told 5% - 10%.

 

[Jimmy534]

I think that’s the same folks who do YouTube reviews of optics. If I was in the states I would definitely be tempted by a $500 reduction.

 

[sidpost]

Wow, that's a big price difference for the UK! I would have thought spotting scopes and related optics would be much closer in price for similar quality out of Europe.

 

[Alexis Powell]

...In the past people in the USA could use De Minimus to escape tariffs and customs duty if the purchase was under $800 but, that is a thing of the past...

The de minimis exemption was re-instituted shortly after it was stopped and it is in effect to this day. It will be done away with for goods coming from China again on May 2, so if you are in the USA you still have two more weeks to order stuff directly from China before the exemption is eliminated and draconian fees are added.

--AP

 

[sidpost]

The de minimis exemption was re-instituted shortly after it was stopped and it is in effect to this day. It will be done away with for goods coming from China again on May 2, so if you are in the USA you still have two more weeks to order stuff directly from China before the exemption is eliminated and draconian fees are added.

--AP

It is still in effect but, isn't enforced due to not having any way to collect and process the payment on the packages people had already ordered. Enforcement action "to collect" the tariffs starts again May 2nd. How many weeks it will take to process those packages that didn't make the deadline is a mystery at this point.