Group Buy - Bore-Tech Cleaning rods

Cass

Little more information.

I have been talking back and forth with the customer care agent dealing with the order. His name is Jesse Rambo.

They are going to process the order now, and build it onto a pallet to give us an extra charge down to the last penny. We will have an exact price in a coupe of days.


As for taxes and duties. It is a "risk" in that there may be a charge. However given the order is split among many people it will be minimal for each person. Also i will try and see what charges will be applicable. The item is not available here, nor are there any franchises/dealers so i believe (and i could be wrong) that in such a case(s) duties/taxes may be excused or lessened. If not it still will not be a huge issue.

However my reason for buying direct from the states is the cost saving. In the states, and taking the conversion rate into account we are paying approx 50-55% of the price elsewhere. It may be easier, quicker and without duties from the UK, but the cost of the rods, and accessories are nearly double that of the states. So what you save in taxes & duties you would pay out more in the actual price.

All that being said if the price is close to but still less from the states, it is more about being able to get the items. I have tried numerous dealers, and even Vegeta can attest to the difficulty he had when trying to source one himself. For the quality of the gear i am surprised more dealers do not stock it.

lb1981

how do you want payment Cass?,the main reason for my huge order is the value,I will get years from it ,spend a bit now save a lot in the long run

Cass

I was working it out (approx)

The price of a rod form the states is €36 Euro for the most expensive one. The same one from the Uk is €64 Euro. That €28 extra for the rod alone. So if we pay charges for tax & duty on just one rod it'll be at a max of 26% (VAT & Duty). So the rod will cost €44, and the shipping will be charged no matter where we order from. So we save €20 per rod, and respectively with each item.

The shipping charges will be respective to each order. So if a lad orders one rod he pays for the shipping of one rod. If a lad orders 20 rods he pays the cost of shipping for those 20 rods. I think this is fair. Plus as each large order is infact a number of smaller orders it will not fall to one lad to pay for it all. As he breaks up the larger order among the lads he spreads the cost among everyone.


If this works out we have a contact point for future orders.


As for payment. I will be contacting people by this evening with details. The best option (for me ) is either bank transfer or PayPal. This way the money is immediate, and into the account my Card works from. With PayPal i'll transfer it to the account myself. Postal orders are fine, but i'd rather avoid them as it means i have to wait, and cash them then go to the bank, and lodge them .IOW delays.

If anyone cannot do the bank transfer or PayPal contact me via PM, and i'll organise something.

As the order is being done up there is not "backing out". It means they have to strip the order, take out anything not paid for, and then re-pack it. Plus it makes us look foolish. So the name of the game from here on out id speed. The quicker we do our part the quicker we get the order confirmed. As said a week or so ago i would ideally like to be paying for this on Monday, and having the order within 2 weeks. IOW before the end of the month.

Cass

Damn you all.

I got the confirmation e-mail with the entire order. I have to go through it now, and compare what is on the order (all 4 pages) against the list i have here.:eek:

I know what i'm doing this evening. :rolleyes:

Cass

Just after going through the order. Everything they e-mailed is accounted for including the last minute additions to previous orders. So whatever was ordered is accounted for.

Cass

Just got the estimated shipping cost. It will be confirmed tomorrow. $250 - $280 at most. This, i think, is excellent. A friend recently ordered a rod from the sates on it's own, and was charged $80 for one rod due to size.

I am in the process of adding up everyone's total. I will PM each person, and then post here when i've sent the last one to let everyone know i have sent it.

As for taxes/duties. How do you wish to handle this? I know that the maximum charge will be 4.5% Duty, and 21.5% VAT. So we have two options;

1. I can add this cost to the total price, split per order, and if not charged issue refunds when lads are collecting.
2. I can add it to the total, if charged pay it, and then collect respective amounts per lad/order as necessary when lads are collecting their gear.

Which suits?

renandstimpy

what ever suits you as far as im concerned ..... money waiting

Cass

To be honest, and avoid me having to go back to school, i reckon it'll be best if we just break down the charges for the items, and shipping. If the tax & duty comes up i'll pay for it, then PM each lad with when, where to collect, and any outstanding balance for the extra charges. If there are no T&D charges then it saves me having to issue refunds or work out the estimated cost per order.

That suit everyone?

fiestaman

Yes i agree. Just as a.matter of interest, where are you from? For collection i ask.

Cass

I'm in Laois lads, but have no trouble traveling a bit, and i have trips to Dublin most every 2 weeks or so.

I'll it to ya'll somehow. Better than UPS.

lb1981

Go with whatever is easy and suits yourself , less hassle the better

Cass

All PMs sent out.

Tikkat3

Cass wrote: »

All PMs sent out.

Payment sent

Thanks Cass

lb1981

Money sent , on bread and water for the week:D

Cass

Just waiting on two lads (getting that today via bank transfer) so all systems go.

Transferring money to main account, and should have the order paid for by Friday evening to Saturday morning.

Will let you know more when i get it.

Cass

Quick update.

The order is ready to ship. The payment details are being finalised (still waiting on two lads, and the money collected so far is transferring from PayPal), and once payment is made the itmes are shipped immediately.

I was given a timeframe of 4-5 working days for delivery unless there are any delays from customs on either end. So even if there are delays we will have them before the end of the month.


More as i get it.

Cass

Update.

Payment has been confirmed, and tracking number received.

The order is on it's way.:D:cool:

All going well we are looking at Tuesday or so. That is 4-5 days, not counting weekends, and allowing for no hold ups with customs on either end.


I'll update with more details when order arrives or if i get notification from customs. Once it arrives i'll split out the orders, and then contact lads here to make arrangements to have them collected.

Cass

Just got an e-mail from UPS. They have provided an expected delivery date of Friday the 22nd (this Friday). So we might have it sooner than expected.

More as i get it.

Cass

Quick update.

The package arrived in Germany the following day (Wednesday) after being shipped. It sat there until the early hours of this morning (Friday) at which time it was shipped, and is now sitting in Dublin.

The revised delivery date on Wednesday evening was Monday, but now that revised delivery date has disappeared, and there is no delivery ETA. So either it will arrive this evening as originally planned or on Monday. Will give more as i get it.

damanloox

No worries Cass - it'll be there sooner or later. Hopefully without a bill from revenue

Cass

On Friday evening i checked the UPS site as the packages never arrived. There was an "Exception" marked on the tracking info. When i tried to call UPS ireland were closed. So i contacted Bore-Tech, and Jesse was on the ball as usual.

Simple problem, and was easily fixed. The Irish post system caused a little problem because we don't have zip codes or postal codes. To avoid this i supplied my full address, numerous contact details, and even GPS co-ordinates to the house. However it was quickly cleared up, and i made a phone call to UPS today to confirm everything was okay.

The chap told me that the packages were marked "out" this afternoon,meaning they were being collected for delivery tomorrow (Tuesday). So all going well we'll have them tomorrow. As for time i was only told before the end of the day. So i'm house bound all day while i wait for them.


When they arrive i'll post again and make arrangements for collection. It'll have to be in person as none of us want extra charges for further postage, etc. considering we have not yet found out if VAT/Duty is going to be an issue.

In relation to collection i'll have a poke around yer profiles, and PMs, and see if i can arrange for one big meet up or multiple meet ups over the course of the week that suits ye, and me (IOW not too much driving for any of us).

Hopefully will be posting tomorrow with "THEY ARRIVED" so till then..........................

Tikkat3

Cass wrote: »

"THEY ARRIVED"

and without undue attention

Thanks so much Cass!

renandstimpy

we could all meet up in mayo :D:D:D

Cass

I was thinking my driveway..................... :P


Although that means me getting out of the chair so it might be easier to have a "drive thru". Pull up to the living room window, and i'll hand out yer order.

















Do you want fries with that.

renandstimpy

and dont forget the portion of curry :D

Cass

Can't have chips without the curry sauce.

Tikkat3

Cass wrote: »

Can't have chips without the curry sauce.

Drooool! A man after my own heart there! Never had one ordered without the other to drown it in

Cass

Good news - The order has arrived. just gone through it, and everything seems in order. There is one issue with a pack of brass brushes. It was meant to be a 3pk, but seems to be a single brush. In the grand scheme of things not a major issue, but i have contacted Bore-Tech, and am waiting on a reply for how to get the other two brushes.


Bad news - We got hit for Duty & Taxes. Was expected really. The cost was almost exactly what i projected it would be with the exception there was an additional €15 "handling surcharge" which is a bit of a joke. However i'm not going to try and divide that among the lot of us so the original amounts is sent to you all is what is needed. I've paid all the charges, and will collect the respective amounts from each person when we meet up.


I'e only just finished checking the order so am now going through the order to split off into the individual orders. It'll take a little time, but i'll make contact this evening (late this evening ) when i have them sorted to arrange collection/meet ups.


Will do a review then later of the entire process to give others an idea of how it went, and what to expect when dealing with the companies in question.

Cass

All the orders are split up, and ready to go.

If lads could contact me via PM with their area so i can "bunch ye off", let me know when suits (day/time), and i'll try to sort out meet up times.

Cass

Now that it is over i though i'd do a quick review of the entire process.

Bore - Tech

Could not have been happier with my treatment from them. From the offer to "mock build" the order to give an idea of shipping, to the instant & rapid responses to all e-mails, and queries they were a pleasure to deal with. Friendly service, and professional while not too "rigid" in their dealings. Overall an excellent company to deal with.


UPS

We were unlucky in this regard. The size of the order meant normal postage was out. Not a fault of UPS, but still a gripe. The cost of shipping was actually very fair. Considering the size of the parcels/packages. The tracking system was great and allowed me to follow the packages every step.

If there were any complaints it would be this.

• Not all countries have zip codes or post codes. Considering the drivers are Irish and used to the postal system here the hiccup with them not being able to "identify" the address was silly, and resulted in a two day delay.
• Secondly, the charges for VAT & Duty. We know we are going to get hit with them so why leave it until the driver is at my door to inform me of the price. Only for i made up the costs myself (based on previous experience with such charges) i could have been left without my delivery for a few days while i went got money and arranged an alternate delivery day. So IOW advanced notice of the charges.

Other than that not a bad word to say. They were quick (delay included), and while the VAT & Duty is not their fault the shipping price from them was good.


VAT & Duty & Charges

An unfortunate cost in most dealings nowadays. The goods were charged at 23% VAT and 3.4% Duty. This is taken on the total amount of both the goods, and the shipping which is a fecking joke (paying VAT & duty on shipping we're already paying for :rolleyes: ). Then there is a surcharge for the handling of the goods while they work out how best to shaft you. That cost €14.50, and i had to pay VAT on that too.


So if ordering be prepared to pay these amounts. Factor them into total costs, and decide if it's worth ordering when everything is totaled up.




Summary

Overall i'm happy enough (as i hope the lads are) with the entire process. I checked other sites, and avenues for the gear including European shops, but it worked out cheaper to order from the states even factoring in shipping, and customs. For example UK prices were nearly double that of American prices when conversion rates of the different currencies were taken into account. If it were for one rod/one person, i'd buy locally. The shipping for one rod alone, from the states, is in the region of $80+ due to size (not weight). So the group buy made things cheaper for everyone.




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