Best place to order SF from in Europe

[Luca]

Hi all,

I decided to get an E2 after all the positive comments I read on this board. What the best place to order from (online) in Europe?. Having products sent over from the States is only profitable if you do it in bulk nowadays. Plus I always seem to get nicked by the customs resulting in import taxes etc...

Thanks a lot euro flashaholics

 

[lightlover]

Hi, Luca

The E2 is amazing, you won't regret it. As for buying in Europe, there don't seem to be any places with reasonable prices.
Even factoring in all shipping and import duties, the prices available from the States are still about 50-60% of UK walk-in or UK Internet shopping costs.

One small point, if you get an E2 from American sources, get a 12B for cheap batteries - you may even be able to get the new SF123's.

Plenty of good dealers around, just look up the posts in general.
I use Tim Flanagan (Great service), contactable at:
[email protected]
or
[email protected]

(Use both, he may still be having e-mail problems)

lightlover

 

[ho71ko]

Luca:
for Europe I could recommend www.toolshop.de (HP also in english) for Batteries (10 x DL123 for 38 Euro) and www.ph-import.com (HP only in German) for Flashlights. That's the General Distributor for Germany and the prices and service is really good. (E2 currently at 86-96 euro, depending on the finish).
There are no more customs in europe and Toolshop delivers free of charge inside the EU.
Hope this helps

Holger

 

[Velcro]

Talking about EU / US prices, I noticed that Toolshop has (very) high prices on most of the flashlights it offers (again, compared to US prices).

For instance; they offer the Streamlight SL-20X with AC & DC chargers for 201,96 EUR. You can get the same flashlight with the same chargers from the US from 'Big Country Supply' for $89.95 (the lowest price I've seen so far). And that's not the only example. Sure, the price doesn't include shipping and import tax, but even if you pay those it would still be cheaper then when you buy the light in your own (EU) country or from another EU country. That said, I do wonder just exactly how much you save and how it varies per EU country.


Greetings,
Velcro

 

[ho71ko]

My recommandation of toolshop was especially for the batteries.
I also think, that they are yuite expnesive in other things, but that doesn't bother me.
I do compare prices very precisely, believe me

Thats why I buy different things from different retailers.
I have to say, I would have been glad if 1997 (when I bought my first Surefire) somebody would have told me, what I know now. That would have truly saved me some money

@ Velcro: why don't you post some links to your retailers, maybe with some comments or recommendations??

Greetings,
Holger

 

[Luca]

ho71ko,

Hey ho71ko and what about your favorite supplier for SF nowadays? You make us all a bit curious about that. I just ordered an E2 from www.toolshop.de and everything arrived fast and fresh.

But I'd hate to know I have paid too much. I've done some fast research myself but found out that most US dealers don't want to ship to Europe and with those who do I found out that their prices match Toolshop. If you add up the shipping and import taxes.

So if you guys have better resaerch or connections.... (planning my next SF already

)

Thanks all!

 

[ho71ko]

Hey Luca,

great that your E2 has arrived. How do you like it?
I have an E1 and a M2 on order with www.ph-import.com (awaiting it tomorrow

)

I think you are right about ordering in the US. As a matter of fact, offers do look very good sometimes. But when you add Import Tax (GER for Flashlights: 8.5%), local VAT (GER 16%) and shipping cost (for instance http://www.botachtactical.com/ once ordered §36!!!) you don't win with it

Holger

 

[artar]

I (will) order my SF FlashLights from Helpi.
They sell most SF's for 10% less then ph-import or toolshop. But i think toolshop charges nothing for shipping.

 

[Luca]

Hi All,

That's right toolshop.de charges nothing for shipping within EU boundaries. Nuff said. (REALLY have to get them a link of this thread and ask for a BIG discount on my next order

)

My E2 arrived yesterday.... and so I have been playing around with it. I like it a lot. The beam is absolutely perfect. The power is... wooooh

Ok this is my first SF, so I don't have anything to compare it to except for my 2AA mag. What can I say, it's a lot brighter. The bezel is exactly the same diametre as the Mag, but it's 4cm shorter. It weighs very light when you pick it up, compared to the Maglite. I chose the HA finish, which caused the light to have a slightly lighter coloured bezel and rear end assembly. But you easily get used to that.

This sure won't be my last Sure

I think that the E2 is a very good compromise in power, runtime, price, weight. It looks a lot more portable than some other bulgier SF's like the M2. No offense, since I'm planning to get one too in the future (I hope) I like the fact that it's water and shockproof. Plus the fact that it comes with the P61 bulb,

But for now, I must absolutely thank everyone on the board for helping me make this choice. I think it deserves the award of best all rounder.

Also got a few sets of Brinkmann Nexstar lights for the maglite, thanks to Gandalf's hints. It makes that light noticebly brighter, with fresh batteries that is. When they get drained a little more, only the difference in colour remains obvious.

ho71ko: good luck with your M2 and E1. I guess you had a hard time choosing too...?