Importing EUC's to the UK

[Juggler]

Living here in the UK, I was just wondering if anyone has bought an EUC from abroad , whether it was cheaper and what experiences they had good or bad.

I initially was looking to buy from America as the price seemed so cheap compared to the UK but wondered if there were import duties, tax, exchange rate etc to consider.

Ended up buying from a UK based firm for peace of mind!!

http://www.poolmarket.co.uk/ninebot-one.html

 

 

[Keith]

58 minutes ago, Juggler said:

I initially was looking to buy from America.

Ended up buying from a UK based firm for peace of mind!!

http://www.poolmarket.co.uk/ninebot-one.html

wow, so to get "piece of mind" you bought from a swimming pool supplies company. That must be some new interpretation of "piece of mind" I've not come across before. Good luck with warrantee repairs, spare parts etc.

To be honest, if buying from a company that is just a box shifter, then you may as well have bought from oversees as the main reasons for supporting a knowledgeable experienced in region supplier like Ian at Speedyfeet (http://www.speedyfeet.uk/default.asp) for the Ninebot you bought or the very active/knowledgable on this forum @Jason McNeil at https://www.wheelgo.com/shop/ for the excellent Inmotion, KingSong or IPS wheels he stocks is for that knowledge, support, parts, after sales service etc. 

However there really isn't a compelling reason to buy from America. The majority of these devices are manufactured in Far East so you would logically buy direct from the manufacturer and, having large batteries that have had a lot of bad press these days, they literally have to be sent by a slow boat from a China. Buying from America will take an equally slow boat, hit a price that has already been marked up and hit import duties, etc when it arrives in the UK. The weight, size and batteries in the wheel can also result in shipping costs running into £100s, I noticed one cheap $300 wheel with $230 shipping for example.

I am afraid I considered that any cost saving wasn't in any way enough to counteract the long delays and lack of support buying from China would bring, so I chose to buy directly from Wheelgo, in fact there is an excellent article about this on Wheelgo's site: https://www.wheelgo.com/cheaper-buy-directly-china/ 

however I'm sure that there are others on this forum who have successfully bought from overseas and, of course purchasing from any of the well reputed European companies should be no different from the UK.

[nute]

If you ask on this forum someone can generally provide contact details for the manufactures sales staff. I bought an IPS that way and the service was excellent, they sorted out the customs and the wheel turned up when they said it would. Very highly recommended. Add to that they have responded very helpfully to the occasional questions I have had since.

 

[Gimlet]

I've always found that the manufacturers are very helpful and supportive in sending spare parts and instructions or video links to show you how to make repairs. They obviously don't want to get involved in returns for repairs as the financial costs involved would wipe out any profits and make them an overall loss.

In conclusion, if you are happy and capable to make use of a screwdriver, Allen keys and others tools you should consider buying directly from the manufacturers but if not then buy from a good local supplier purely for their after sales support.

[Juggler]

16 hours ago, Keith said:

wow, so to get "piece of mind" you bought from a swimming pool supplies company. That must be some new interpretation of "piece of mind" I've not come across before. Good luck with warrantee repairs, spare parts etc.

To be honest, if buying from a company that is just a box shifter, then you may as well have bought from oversees as the main reasons for supporting a knowledgeable experienced in region supplier like Ian at Speedyfeet (http://www.speedyfeet.uk/default.asp) for the Ninebot you bought or the very active/knowledgable on this forum @Jason McNeil at https://www.wheelgo.com/shop/ for the excellent Inmotion, KingSong or IPS wheels he stocks is for that knowledge, support, parts, after sales service etc. 

However there really isn't a compelling reason to buy from America. The majority of these devices are manufactured in Far East so you would logically buy direct from the manufacturer and, having large batteries that have had a lot of bad press these days, they literally have to be sent by a slow boat from a China. Buying from America will take an equally slow boat, hit a price that has already been marked up and hit import duties, etc when it arrives in the UK. The weight, size and batteries in the wheel can also result in shipping costs running into £100s, I noticed one cheap $300 wheel with $230 shipping for example.

I am afraid I considered that any cost saving wasn't in any way enough to counteract the long delays and lack of support buying from China would bring, so I chose to buy directly from Wheelgo, in fact there is an excellent article about this on Wheelgo's site: https://www.wheelgo.com/cheaper-buy-directly-china/ 

however I'm sure that there are others on this forum who have successfully bought from overseas and, of course purchasing from any of the well reputed European companies should be no different from the UK.

Thanks for all your advise and links.

It may seem strange buying from a swimming pool company and I thought so too so I rang them and found out that the guy selling the Ninebots was himself an owner and rider. After a long chat with him I was satisfied that I wasn't going to get ripped off and that I had a 2 year guarantee. His price was much cheaper than Speedyfeet too. If I need spares I can still buy from Speedy feet should I need to.

[Scully]

I bought my first C+ from Poolmarket, they must have only just started stocking them. 

Funnily enough, I got the referral from Speedyfeets 'approved suppliers' list on their website. When I went to get mine they weren't riders, they didn't know anytihng about them. 
I wished i'd have bought from Speedyfeet, the extra £10-£20 is worth it for the ongoing savings / discounts speedyfeet offers for parts / more wheels. 

I redeemed myself though, Went and bought the E+ and wifrey mini pro from speedyfeet.

[Paddylaz]

Bought my name now-sold IPS Lhotz from Amazon, which in reality was really buying it direct from the IPS factory.

This was round about the time of those hoverboard explosions, and it ended up being delayed in the Netherlands for customs/security reasons. Eventually got it three and a half weeks after it was expected, but at no extra cost.

Runrui at IPS was and is fantastic, but better to stick in the future to tried and tested distributors/resellers who know what they're doing.