Buying from Premier Reticles

martinhunt

Hello everyone, this is my first post. Iam a UK member and my father lives near Ballinrobe.

Has anyone Bought a Leupold scope from Premier Reticles in the US , and do you get charged tax or import duty on a parcel when it arrives.

Thanks Martin

Rew

Generaly you will get stuck for about 25% in tax for stuff coming from the US. I can be a bit hit and miss but generally anything of any decent value will be caught. I got caught for tax on a parcel woth about 250 their recently.

martinhunt

Thanks, I am looking at a parcel worth $1030

Rew

Unless they mark it down in value I would say you will be asked for about 25% of the package cost (inc the shipping costs BTW).

If they do mark it down it will only be insured for the amount they put on it.

Clare gunner

Usually they do mark the value on the package. Smart folks get the following done;
NOTE I an not advocating screwing our govt out of money.I will leave that up to your own morality:rolleyes:

Send it by United States Parcel Service ,it isnt checked very much anymore.They are concentrating on the courier companies.
Ask the seller to low mark the value of the product.Some will,some wont.You are ok up to $80,as anything that will not be checked.
Ask the seller to mark on the package,somthing like sample,or repaired item,etc or somthing ambigious like that.Again not worth the hassle to check it out.

Rew

Remember that the value maked is the insured value of the item. Marking it as a repair is a great idea.

martinhunt

Thanks for the information all, but Premier Reticles play it by the book as far as labeling goes. They wont even send with a different carrier.

Cheers Martin

bernard93

martin,

what are you looking to buy?

martinhunt

Bernard , I am looking for a VX3 LRT 8.5-25x50 boosted to 20-50 with a Varmint Hunter reticule to use for field target shooting.

bernard93

martin,

you could try to buy it of a dealer in the states, get them to send it to Premier Reticles for the upgrade, then send it back to who you bought it of and let them send it back to you.....

you could try...

www.bearbasin.com

www.leopoldscopes.com

www.riflescopes.com

www.theopticzone.com

it worth a try.....

bernard

thelurcher

Try http://www.gungoodies.com/
Dealt with him before - can get a lot of stuff not listed on the site at great prices.
Uses common sence when shipping stuff as well :cool:

If the company you're dealing with are using UPS - I'd walk away - they'll rob you with customs charges - guaranteed to get caught - fair enough - but they'll charge 12% extra for screwing you for customs :mad:
Not worth the hassle - and to add insult to injury they take literally weeks to deliver - I've found selecting surface shipping from the US to be faster.

If shipping is on the invoice then you will be charged on that as well - as said.

Case in point: bought stuff months ago from US $69 - paid $20 shipping -
After 3.5 weeks got a call from UPS driver looking for an extra $54.50 :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Thats 108% charge for shipping etc.

Rang his manager and customs and they both said the fee was correct and customs said to take it up with my TD :rolleyes:
UPS manager said: 'Oh yea, we've had that here for ages'.
SO WHY DIDN'T THEY DELIVER IT!

Better stop - getting wound up again

Traumadoc

Try ebay and search for "leupold 8.5" most seem to ship through UPS though.

Umiq88

if your buying something in us easist way is to get it shipped to someone over there and get them to ship it to you

to avoid customs make sure they put a customs label on the package dont write a price down on it and make sure you tick the gift box on it and customs wont go near it

oldzed

Alternatively , you could ship over a junk scope and have a nice shiny new scope sent back marked as a 'repair' , I have done this with 2 leupold vx111 8.5-25lrts, The first one i bought cost $720 and i had to pay 167€ to clear it but even that one was good valueas they were 920 sterling at the time , I bought the next 2 using the repair scenario, Premier have been very slow to ship lately , I believe they are flat out converting leupolds for the us army in Iraq as there is a shortage of mrk4 scopes and they are converting vx3s with mildots and mrk4 knobs to make up the difference these are then being mounted on ar10s and sar 25sfor section long range use .
hole in the wall and mid south are very keen on prices out of the US by the way.

martinhunt

Oldzed, Will Premier Reticles do the "repair" And if so does it have to be an old Leupold.
Martin

Clare gunner

If the company you're dealing with are using UPS - I'd walk away - they'll rob you with customs charges - guaranteed to get caught - fair enough - but they'll charge 12% extra for screwing you for customs :mad:
Not worth the hassle - and to add insult to injury they take literally weeks to deliver - I've found selecting surface shipping from the US to be faster.

If shipping is on the invoice then you will be charged on that as well - as said.

Case in point: bought stuff months ago from US $69 - paid $20 shipping -
After 3.5 weeks got a call from UPS driver looking for an extra $54.50 :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Thats 108% charge for shipping etc.

Rang his manager and customs and they both said the fee was correct and customs said to take it up with my TD :rolleyes:
UPS manager said: 'Oh yea, we've had that here for ages'.
SO WHY DIDN'T THEY DELIVER IT!

Are you sure that was UPS and not USPS??
That sounds like an experiance I had with USPS,which had all it's work contracted out by another courier company in Europe who has/ a "branch " in Dublin.Proably in somones garden shed in Dublin.This was the crowd that was charging all and sundry 25 euro per US parcel for customs duties with the threat of returning it to the US.They took two months to deliver a parcel from Midway USA to me.Ok it was Dec,but by end of Jan???Cmon.Second time they pulled this stunt I smelled a big rat! I had to drive to their depot,because their driver "couldnt find my house",[four days later,and 21 days overdue from the US,that even the company I was dealing was going to offer me a refund,]who was a hired in man with a van.At the depot the 25euro scam was piulled again.I wanted to pay by Credit card.They wouldnt accept it,policy.Despite having the amex&mastercard symbol on their invoices.VERY ILLEGAL BTW,no cheques ,company,or otherwise.Cash only.Complaints got nowhere ,phone no permentaly engaged,no response to emails.Fortuneatly USPS copped the problem in Ireland and terminated their contract.GOOD RIDDANCE!!!
UPS OTOH has never let me down,deliverd and only asked for money for customs,if the value is marked on the delivery chit.Or billed me later from the UK,I simply ignored it for four weeks until it became a final demand letter then offerd a quater of the value which they accepted ,never to complain.

Trouble with UPS,DHL,FEDEX etc,is all their shipments start in the gun paranoid UK for Ireland .Plus the RA sent a few handguns from Miami in 1998 via Fedex to Ireland ,so these companies parcels are strictly vetted by HM customs.Not that of course anyone of us would dream of ordering somthing ILLEGAL:) .But try explaining to some Brit customs officer who has impounded your folding stock or 30 round ammo clip that such stuff is legal in the ROI[still]
USPS OTOH starts in Frankfurt Main airport,and therefore orginates from Europe to Ireland,
Basic fact is;dont get a true value put on the customs declaration.

thelurcher

UPS alright.

I've found USPS to be very good - obviously depends who they have things contracted out to?

federerfan

Dont get me started about couriers..lol

Aside from the fact that shipping costs nowadays have sky rocketed...

UPS & FEDEX especially pee me off with their mission statements about service etc, and then they contract out to the local hackney firm !

I had a package locked in a guys car for a week while he was on holidays ! I kid you not....

What did I get from FEDEX? An email explaining how important I am to them...

Cant cash that anywhere...Good luck with the shipping Martin

Fedfan

Croppy Boy

I was intouch with Dick Thomas of Premier Reticles some months ago and he told me that he would not send a scope to Rep. Ireland as we are on a restristed list in America. He said he would have to get a licence to sent it here and this entailed too much paper work to be worth it for one scope.

He would however, send it to Northern Ireland, which is not on this black list, but if you were paying by credit card, the address on the card could not be in the Rep.

I have a Leupold scope that I was going to send to him to bump up the magnification but am afraid I will be caught for duty and VAT by the British government if I give an address in the North. Does anyone know of a way around this?

Clare gunner

[

QUOTE=Croppy Boy]I was intouch with Dick Thomas of Premier Reticles some months ago and he told me that he would not send a scope to Rep. Ireland as we are on a restristed list in America. He said he would have to get a licence to sent it here and this entailed too much paper work to be worth it for one scope.

BULL!!!!.Ireland isnt on any restricted countries list.You can check this out on the US State Dept list website.Only thing that upsets Uncle Sam about Ireland is non biometric capable passports and privacy issues on passenger details.The equipment would be on a restricted list for export and since we are talking scopes.This would have to be an extremely up to date milspec rifle scope.I think the words not worth it for one scope is pertinent here.
It is actually EASIER now to export stuff from the US than it was ten years ago.Only thing they can be funny about are barrels and fully assembled firearms and recivers.

He would however, send it to Northern Ireland, which is not on this black list, but if you were paying by credit card, the address on the card could not be in the Rep.

Ya! Easy to see why,it is easier to track a duff credit card in the UK to a duff address than it is down here.Or in case you are the last active IRA voulenteer who hasnt stood down, [not to mind the densest who buys things on his credit card ]so the Bill can track it to wherever.
I see Dicks problems he is worried about getting paid and doesnt want to bother himself with one single order,and is doing some CYA.

I have a Leupold scope that I was going to send to him to bump up the magnification but am afraid I will be caught for duty and VAT by the British government if I give an address in the North. Does anyone know of a way around this?

Simple really;Get in contact with Leupold Germany,explain the situation,ask them to do the upgrade,pay in Euros,do not worry about customs etc,as it is within the EU.Tell Dick and premier to go shove it where the Sun dont shine.:mad:

Croppy Boy

First of all, Clare gunner, any supplier in the USA sending a scope to the Republic of Ireland has to obtain an export licence, regardless of the specifications. If you do not believe this, go and ask them.

No such licence is required to send one to any part of the UK.

The thread being titled “Buying from Premier Reticles”, I would have thought it might have been of some interest to some that this company appears to have a policy of not sending scopes to this country for the simple reason that they do not want to do the necessary paperwork.

You seem to think that I am a member of the IRA. This is just downright insulting and does not bare comment.

Millions of people use credit cards over the net every day maybe you think they are all stupid!

You suggest I send my scope to Leupold in Germany to have the power bumped up. It’s the first I’ve heard of Leupold doing this kind of work and think it unlikely. There are several companies in America that do work on scopes but Premier Reticles would be the main one.

civdef

First of all, Clare gunner, any supplier in the USA sending a scope to the Republic of Ireland has to obtain an export licence, regardless of the specifications. If you do not believe this, go and ask them.

It's not unknown for a dealer to tell stories Croppy Boy....

Croppy Boy

Sinclair, The Optic Zone, Premier Reticles and SWFA will all tell you the same, an export licence is required to send a scope here.

It's unlikely they all got it wrong.

bernard93

got my leupold target scope of sinclair last year with no problems, no export license required.....

bernard

Clare gunner

[

QUOTE=Croppy Boy]First of all, Clare gunner, any supplier in the USA sending a scope to the Republic of Ireland has to obtain an export licence, regardless of the specifications. If you do not believe this, go and ask them

.
Croppy boy,
First off;I have bought in my shooting life[30 plus] and in person at least a half dozen scopes in and from the US including nite vision and laser and have never had this paperwork stunt pulled on me.This includes a couple of scopes from US military suppliers as well.So I do know what I am talking about.The only things that are resticted for export are;current US milspec sighting equipment,thermal vision,and GEN IV night vision.If you can buy it over the counter in the US in a gun shop or police supply without any paperwork .Or in any electronics shop,the State depts attitude is it is common knowledge or technology,and there is no point restricting it's export.Check the US state Dept website for further info on this.I also have it from people who export surveillance equipment and NVG from the US,and deal with this on a daily basis,who tell me that it is actually EASIER now than it was ten years ago to export stuff of this kind rom the US.

No such licence is required to send one to any part of the UK.

Yes because the UK is a US ally and trading partner.However I would like to see you explain to the Gardai/UK police how you, an Irish person,with an Irish address are reciving a package from the US to a UK address containing a "sniper scope".
As you can be double damn sure PR will pass on this info as well.Especially that you contacted them from Ireland which [ACCORDING TO PR] is on a restricted list.That would look very suss to Irish/Uk LEO.As well as the UK being so gun paranoid as well.

QUOTE]The thread being titled “Buying from Premier Reticles”, I would have thought it might have been of some interest to some that this company appears to have a policy of not sending scopes to this country for the simple reason that they do not want to do the necessary paperwork.[/QUOTE]
Indeed it is good to know,as I wont go near that lot ever.As they seem not to be botherd with the little guys,as they are nice and fat on US military contracts,and can try to fob off the little fellows with the "paperwork"excuse.

You seem to think that I am a member of the IRA. This is just downright insulting and does not bare comment.

I NEVER IMPLIED that!!I said that it would be a very stupid terrorist that would order on a personal credit card [the most traceable form of a transaction] anything from the US or on the internet and then have it sent to his own address.Also as I said above how would it look if you did the above thing of shipping it to the UK and then to Ireland???t would look like an IRA type move.Also I stated that it is easier to track a credit card transaction to a UK address than it is here in the Republic,so that if you were doing somthing suss ,like not paying PR,they can track the person quicker in the UK than they can here throught the UKs databases.Ireland doesnt have many personal databases open to the public as the UK does.Again I am speaking from experiance on this.
How this makes you out to be an IRA member is beyond me.Might I suggest rereading the post and growing up abit to differentate between a tounge firmly in cheek post and a accusation??

Millions of people use credit cards over the net every day maybe you think they are all stupid!

Quite frankly ,yes there are some incredibly stupid people out there with their credit cards and financial data on the internet.Things like Nigerian scams,going onto porn sites and handing out creditcard info on these sites.Doling out CC and bank details on complete get rich quick schemes,etc etc.
Of course I am not implying that YOU are one of them,lest you take immediate offence on this.

You suggest I send my scope to Leupold in Germany to have the power bumped up. It’s the first I’ve heard of Leupold doing this kind of work and think it unlikely. There are several companies in America that do work on scopes but Premier Reticles would be the main one.

[/QUOTE]

Well,maybe a phone call or email to them in Germany might enlighten you??
Dont worry,they DO speak English.I do belive their website is www.leupold.de, but maybe google it to be sure.No skin off my nose if you do or dont,Just thought some folks might like to save a few Euros and international hassle

Croppy Boy

I'll bow out of this one......For the sake of piece and quiet.

martinhunt

Thanks for everyones help, I was just trying to find out if I could save some money by having a scope shippped to Eire. As it turns out its cheaper to have it sent straight home.
Cheers Martin