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Old 12-02-2019, 01:38 PM   #1
FalconSpearo
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Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

Hello Y'all,

So basically, I have come to realize that some companies in certain countries carry the same products I usually buy but for far less of a cost. I will use an example to further explain: DiveFactory.co.za is a South African based company that carries and sells Rob Allen products for more than half the price compared to companies in the USA on the same exact products. However, This company DiveFactory ,for example, does not ship to the US. I have come across this issue with several other foreign companies that do not ship spearguns to the US. It's kind of annoying that because I live in the US all the companies here mark up the prices a few hundred dollars to earn a crazy profit. While other companies in other countries still earn a profit and provide a fair price for the product. I guess its capitalism at its very-core lol

So my question is: does anyone know any company that carries well-known brands at half the costs and can ship to the US? Or is there a loophole that someone knows on how to get Spearguns into the US? (Or gear in general)

I have come across several websites that sell $500USD spearguns for $100USD. I just need to get them to me in Miami, Florida, USA

I would greatly appreciate this information! Thank you!

Cheers!
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Old 12-03-2019, 05:28 AM   #2
Sea_Bass
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

Legally, what you are trying to do is against the law. Importing/Exporting from other countries gets taxed as per US Law and Policy. This is why the price increases. By avoiding the tax you are stealing from the US, not a good idea. This isn't my opinion, nor do I think it is right, but it is what it is. The only way you might be able to work this is on used items from private sellers (not businesses). Maybe Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist ... but I doubt it.
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Old 12-03-2019, 07:53 AM   #3
Red Tide
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

Your best bet would be to contact one of these manufacturers and have them build you your own OEM brand. Generally if you order 1,000 guns they will be happy to to do this and give you a great price. Then all you have to do is import them. Importing from Europe you will pay a VAT tax, then a 10 % Tariff when it gets here and another 10 excise tax when you sell them. You will then need to rig them, market them, build a good reputation for customer service, rent or buy a place to store them, electric, phone, internet, website, insurance, sales tax, ship them to customers and deal with the headaches that go with running a business.
Better yet you could cut out the middleman, open a factory here and find a way to bring a better product to market at a better price. If you make a living doing this, it would be Capitalism and the American Dream for sure.
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Old 12-03-2019, 02:07 PM   #4
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

It's not against the law what you are trying to do.

What you are running into are Distribution Agreements.

For example, Rob Allen has an exclusive Distribution Agreement with TritonX in the USA. Triton X are the only ones who can sell Rob Allen Gear in the USA either Wholesale to other stores or retailers or Retail in Direct Sale through their Webstore. So they buy from Rob Allen at for example $100. They bring into the USA and pay shipping and import Duty which may add $20. Then they add on their markup. So that Gun may now sell to the Retailer ie store for $200-$220. Then the Retailer adds on their markup so that Gun may now sell to you for $440. If Rob Allen were to send you a gun direct and Triton found out about it. They would threaten to sue Rob Allen for breech of contract.

So you wind up getting a Gun at 4X the cost of the gun sold out of the Factory after RA makes their profit.

Why not buy a gun from a US Builder direct? They're going to maybe double their cost of manufacturing. But they also will pay their local employees a fair wage, and buy all of their materials for building locally, etc.
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Old 12-03-2019, 02:37 PM   #5
popgun pete
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

Yes, distribution agreements are what you are running into. It can be a problem if the local distributor does not want to bring in a certain model, yet it is available from overseas suppliers. Some local distributors get lazy and only import what they think will sell, and become unresponsive to consumer demands. Some resellers in Eastern Europe don't seem to worry too much about distribution agreements, but don't always stock a wide range of brands.

You could try "Divestock" in Estonia, they shipped me an item from Mares that the distributor was not interested in importing.

Last edited by popgun pete; 12-03-2019 at 11:58 PM. Reason: extra comment
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Old 12-04-2019, 05:36 AM   #6
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

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Originally Posted by Behslayer View Post
It's not against the law what you are trying to do.
Yes it is. If no tax is paid by the seller, distributor, or buyer ... it is against the law. The tax must be paid by someone. If Rob Allen sent him a gun from without the US directly and Rob Allen didn't pay the tax or the buyer didn't pay the tax ... it is against the law.

The tax will be much less then retail seller mark-up, and it seems you are trying to circumnavigate the mark-up, but the tax must be paid by someone.
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Old 12-04-2019, 03:33 PM   #7
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

Tax will be collected at Customs, or if you pay via PayPal, they in some countries will pay the tax and automatically add it to your payment amount. For example everything that I buy from overseas has 10% tax added to it which goes straight to the government and that includes the cost of shipping.
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Old 12-05-2019, 02:04 PM   #8
thomaslockie
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

Hey big guy! there is nothing wrong with trying to save some money!!! but business is business...if it is a premium company then chances are there are exclusive agreements... who the f)&^c cares about a gun made in SA??? buy Italian or European like Picasso or buy US made like Riffe... Depending on the fish you shoot, any spearo worth his salt will tell you she/he has a "quiver of guns".... one gun doesn't work well in all situations... If you want to save money buy a great name brand from a company that has the cash to buy in bulk like Austin's dive in miami, scuba.com in califa or liesure pro in nyc.... that's the only way to save cash... also think about financing on amazon... the first time you are at Farnsworth Bank at Catalina and a bruiser pod of 40 lb yellowtails school yr booty, you are gonna wish you had a Riffe islander or D Wong tuna pick so you have a really long shot.... shooting cobia or hogfish in Miami is different... punt up the money and you will be in the game!!!! think "quiver"... best of luck!!!
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Old 12-06-2019, 11:47 AM   #9
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Re: Which Countries ship spearguns and gear to the US?

Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconSpearo View Post
Hello Y'all,

So basically, I have come to realize that some companies in certain countries carry the same products I usually buy but for far less of a cost. I will use an example to further explain: DiveFactory.co.za is a South African based company that carries and sells Rob Allen products for more than half the price compared to companies in the USA on the same exact products. However, This company DiveFactory ,for example, does not ship to the US. I have come across this issue with several other foreign companies that do not ship spearguns to the US. It's kind of annoying that because I live in the US all the companies here mark up the prices a few hundred dollars to earn a crazy profit. While other companies in other countries still earn a profit and provide a fair price for the product. I guess its capitalism at its very-core lol

So my question is: does anyone know any company that carries well-known brands at half the costs and can ship to the US? Or is there a loophole that someone knows on how to get Spearguns into the US? (Or gear in general)

I have come across several websites that sell $500USD spearguns for $100USD. I just need to get them to me in Miami, Florida, USA

I would greatly appreciate this information! Thank you!

Cheers!
Have you looked at MAKO Spearguns? They sell direct. I've shot many hundreds, if not thousands of fish with those guns. They do NOT "mark up the guns a few hundred dollars".
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