I've a friend in the Netherlands who is willing to pick me up some optics. Where would be the best place to shop, either over the net or in a store. Would this be a cost effective option or would it be cheaper to buy in the US? Thanks Cowman

cowman,

I doudbt you can find cheaper scope in EU than Midway,Graf,... This for Weaver,Nikon,Burris,Busnell,Leupold,Nightforce,..

Regarding the S&B,Zeiss and Swaro scopes. Your friend in The Netherlands must search a lot to find a dearler who proposes cheaper prices than in the US for Eu's scopes. But it could be possible to find it.

I purchase all my Leupold and Zeiss scopes through Graf in the US. Cheaper than in Belgium or in Germany.

BER007, Thanks for the advice. Here I was hoping to pick up some Zeiss 10x40s for a hundred bucks...Cowman

Have look on www.hesvanzweeden.nl Their shop is in Arnhem and they have (for Dutch standards) pretty good prices for Zeiss and Swarovski.

I have found the US type scopes to be a LOT cheaper in the US than in Europe, in particularly if you buy over the Web. What do I mean with "US type scopes": the type of scopes directed at the US market, examples include all Leupolds, Zeiss Conquest series, Zeiss 3-9x32 (I think it is?), Swarovskis 1" series (e.g. 3-9), etc etc.

I find the price difference less striking when looking for a European type scope - typically something like a Zeiss 2.5-10x50, Swarovski's PV series or most Schmidt & Bender offerings. Maybe you can find better web prices here, but maybe not. European scopes with mounting rails are typically not sold in the US at all...

One problem you might run into with a US based (web-)vendor, is that some of them are not too keen to ship to Europe. Sooo, if you happen to know somebody going to the States and back again in the near future,,,, parcels can also be UPS'ed to hotels...

Anyway, look via your favorite search engine for the scope you are looking for. Normally 5-10 minutes of searching will save you a hundred bucks or more... For some scopes, ebay comes up with some astonishing deals.

A last word of caution: in the States, there is rumoured to be what is termed a "gray market" for some optic components. Normally, the term is associated with a dealer selling you a product without the standard warranty. Checking in advance can never hurt...

Btw, the old style (Classic) Zeiss 10x40 should be available mail-order over the web for somewhere between 6-800 US$. Cabelas once ran an offer for them for around $600. Cabela's is normally a crummy place for shipping to Europe, though - they calculate their shipping costs as a percentage of the price. So it is great if you are buying an item for $3.50, but not so great if you spending multiple hundreds of $$$$. Watch out for shipping costs - some vendors would like to ship with FedEx, I accepted that offer once, and ran up an astonishing shipping bill. Surface mail is slow but cheap(ish). Best option is to have the item hand-carried across the pond - usually saves on sales/import tax in destination country as well...

- mike

[ 06-30-2003, 02:35: Message edited by: mho ]

Cowman,
I have purchased optics directly from Frankonja (sp?) in Germany. Their export department is in Wurzburg. When they sell for export they deduct something like 18% for taxes already included in the advertised price. Sorry I don't have an e-mail address handy as I'm currently in Baghdad.

Good Luck,
Ben H

Thanks again for the help guys. I checked out the shop in the Netherlands and the price for the Leica 10x42 BN was $200 more than the same thing in the US. I wasn't able to find a website for Frankonja, but did run into a very aggressive porn site while looking for it(grin). Cowman

Postal dealing accross the pond on optics is IMHO a bad idea

Warrantee on imports can be bad news

Spec can be different (esp reticle thickness on scopes)

Standard US Postal doesn't allow for claim back for 6 months

Taking the above into account I don't think the price difference is worth it for a Euro scope/binos.

I am a great fan of getting stuff by post from the US having got a set of Redding competition dies for the same price in $ as it would have been in � and some astonishing postal service from Harrels (5 days before credit card cleared) Lee and a sports shop for mounts. But I would draw the line at optics.

My Zeiss binos had an optical blemish that the dealer swore blind he couldn't see - I exchanged them the next day - try doing that over an ocean!