USA based shipping address? Help

[redfox1971]

Hello can anybody fill me in on what this is or means,I emailed opt internet sales for a part for my celestron cpc800 scope and they have emailed back saying,This part is listed as avalible from our US distributer but not able to sell outside the US due to dealer constraints,if you have a US based shipping address i'd be happy to ship this to you.I see their are companys that you can sign upto that gives you a address in US and then they foward to UK,Has anybody used these companys?.

[glowjet]

I am afraid there are constraints on a lot of products against being sold outside the confines of the USA, those outlets that do advertise as shipping World wide, but then only astro gear not covered by the restrictions, your only recourse is to have a friend or relative you know in the US that would be willing to re parcel the product onto you once it had been delivered to them, hope this makes the situation a little clearer for you. Not able to help on the matter of the outlet giving you an address though, not come across that one before

[gdheib0430]

Yep if you need the product and can't find it anywhere else i am more than happy to shoot you my mailing address in the states and forward it on your way Heck, not really sure how much postage will be but more than happy to pay it for you...maybe a small 1.25" extension tube as payment . na but seriously I am more than happy to help out just shoot me a PM.

Good note: most astro companies are based on the west coast (believe it is because thier viewing is great due to very low LP) so it takes a week or so to get products over to me on the east coast. Easy to ship for me though work on the base so post office deals with overseas stuff all the time.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I tried buying something from the USA once only to be told that Ireland already has a dealer who sells the same brand as they do and that they were prohibited from selling outside of the USA or to a country that already had a dealership there.

[Photosbykev]

I had this when I tried to buy a Coronado BF-15 blocking filter from Opt Corp. I ended up buying from HandsonOptics who were happy to ship the same product to the UK

[calibos]

Ran into this problem last May. Not sure if it was a restriction imposed by Televue or just the particular company not shipping worldwide. At any rate they had no problem accepting my Foreign Visa card and address as long as I had it shipped to a US address. Quick chat with the aunt in Seattle on facebook and everything was arranged. Full set of Ethos and a 31mm Nagler winged their way across the atlantic about a month later for half the price they are over here because of discounts and exchange rate at the time. You snooze, You lose

[LukeSkywatcher]

This seems to be an American issue/legality,because i have also bought items from the UK of this brand and the UK retailers had no problem whatsoever in selling me the items even though there is an Irish dealership of this brand right here in Dublin.

It's very strange.

Just curious..................

How much do these companies charge for their service to provide you with a shipping address in the USA and then forward the good on to you?

It's a good idea if its not too expensive, but most stuff you can buy in the UK.

If the goods are damaged in transit when sent by these companies.........................isnt your warranty with the original retailer null and void?

[redfox1971]

Thanks for the help and advice chaps,gdheib0430 that was a mighty nice offer,thank you,I may take you up on the offer if i have no joy with the dealers in uk,I am waiting to hear back from them first,I just cant belive celestron are giveing us such a bad service.The part from opt was $78 so how much to ship i dont no and the size of the part is roughly the size of a big 2inch eyepiece.

[ixalon]

Unfortunately this seems an increasingly common tactic manufacturers place on retailers to protect the price differential between the USA and Europe. I'm sure they'd love to also control exports between EU states, but I believe that's illegal. I suppose it also protects retailers in regions who may have greater day-to-day costs.

That's a great offer from gdheib0430 Otherwise I would have suggested The smarter way to buy from the USA | BundleBox who can give you a US postal address and forward packages on to you (for a price). I've used them for bits and bobs and they seem pretty reliable, but not sure if I'd trust them for valuable/fragile optics though.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I just cant belive celestron are giveing us such a bad service.

I didnt want to name names but yes that is the company i was meaning.

Celestron dealers in the USA simply will not export to Ireland because there is a main Celestron dealer here in Ireland.

Makes no sense to me as the cash goes to Celestron.

Office politics aside...............

I order the bulk of my gear from FLO and am more then happy happy to do so. I am not tied down to a single brand which i am here in Ireland.

[UnderTheRain]

Quite often the restrictions are to do with import duty into the UK. There are sites that you can use that are just essentially mail forwarders. You can set up an account and then they forward your items to you but the costs include the import duty which you are liable for.

Brian