spoke with my contacts in the states the other day and was told that both LEUPOLD and Nikkon have instructed all whole salers not to ship there products to Australia.....the reason being that you can get a scope from the states to your door step cheaper that you can get it here....ie a LEUPOLD 3.5-10 x40 $850 here , i can get it here for $550 at my door step
intresting to see what else they try to stop
regards daniel

Try *dnrsports* on the US ebay, my experience has been more than satisfying...

bobby
i still dont have any problems getting stuff in , as i have a number of good sources in the states for just about anything
daniel

Granite Arms is the Australian distributer for Nikon and there is no problem with getting Nikon products in Oz.

I appreciate where you guys are coming from with ordering direct - I've done a bit of it myself over the years - but don't forget that buying direct from the US means that your warranty is only valid in the US.

it wouldn't matter with leupold scopes as they have a true lift time warranty and it will be fixed or replaced for the cost of sending back to them in the states

M98,
Any indication whether the push is from the Australian side? I'd be more inclined to believe Australian importers are pushing hard to become monopolies following the Australia Post stuff.
Cheers...
Con

quote:

Originally posted by BwanaBob:

I appreciate where you guys are coming from with ordering direct - I've done a bit of it myself over the years - but don't forget that buying direct from the US means that your warranty is only valid in the US.

With all due respect.....the warranty over here means jack-shit.The scope has to be sent back to the States anyhow.I say cut out the middleman.
If importers here gave good service( yeah right!)the scopes getting imported would halve.

Maybe it's time to buy something other than Leupold then ? Plenty of other options that are just as good at better prices . Zeiss Conquest , Bushnell Elite , Meopta etc.
I've had and have lots of Leupolds but at the end of the day they don't represent really good value any more . Local distributor has become a bit too powerful for our own good IMHO but Leupolds are overpriced in the U.S. as well I think .

Well said Bushchook ... but you really need to email and tell Leupold as well! Perhaps the best treatment for the local importer would be a concerted email campaign to Leupold, let the importer explain why there are disgruntled customers over here preparing to shift brands.
Cheers...
Con

when you guys get a chance, have a look through a Burris... as good and probably much better than Leupold, less $$'s and lifetime warranty, Aussie distributor...hard to beat that.

CON
my contact from the states told me it was the Australian importers putting the pressure on LEUPOLD in America
BUSHCHOOK i think you hit the nail on the head the little extra one pays for something like zeiss/swarovski/S&B in the long run becomes insignificant , , i say quality is cheap
i have a couple of zeiss 4x32 made in the early ninties, and putting it up against the current leupold 4x just leaves it for dead, even in the middle of the day , there seems to be a brightness/crispness about the zeiss
daniel