Surefires restricted outside the US???

dandruff · Sep 9, 2008

I just received an email from battery junction about my UA2 order.

"Dear Jonathan T,Thank you for your purchase. Due to contractual obligations we are unable to ship Surefire products outside of the United States thus it is with deep regret that we are forced to cancel your pre-order for the Surefire UA2 Optimus. We have issued a complete refund for your entire order. If there are any items you would still like to purchase it will be necessary to place a new order for them."

Any idea why this suddenly sprung up? I'm not upset or anything but a bit curious as to what these "contractual obligations" are. And my order was placed almost five months ago. Judging from the email, can I simply reorder the UA2?

Outdoors Fanatic · Sep 9, 2008

dandruff said:
I just received an email from battery junction about my UA2 order.

"Dear Jonathan T,Thank you for your purchase. Due to contractual obligations we are unable to ship Surefire products outside of the United States thus it is with deep regret that we are forced to cancel your pre-order for the Surefire UA2 Optimus. We have issued a complete refund for your entire order. If there are any items you would still like to purchase it will be necessary to place a new order for them."

Any idea why this suddenly sprung up? I'm not upset or anything but a bit curious as to what these "contractual obligations" are. And my order was placed almost five months ago. Judging from the email, can I simply reorder the UA2?

Check your PM. There are some American stores still shipping SF overseas...

Tempest UK · Sep 9, 2008

dandruff said:
Judging from the email, can I simply reorder the UA2?

No. Not from a US SureFire dealer.

It was recommended to me that I try an Asian SureFire dealer as they are able to ship internationally, so I'll pass this recommendation on to you.

Regards,
Tempest

dandruff · Sep 9, 2008

Huh?

So now US dealers arent allowed to ship SFs overseas?

Tempest UK · Sep 9, 2008

dandruff said:
Huh?

So now US dealers arent allowed to ship SFs overseas?

It's not a new policy. It has been in place for years.

Regards,
Tempest

kramer5150 · Sep 9, 2008

SF is protecting its overseas retailers & business partners, it forces customers to buy from their local vendors. Its not an uncommon practice for niche-product manufacturers to do this.

**edit** I don't agree or disagree with the policy one way or another, its up to SF to choose how they make their products available.

Have you tried to contact them to find a retailer in Singapore? Their www site has some international contact information.

Outdoors Fanatic · Sep 9, 2008

kramer5150 said:
SF is protecting its overseas retailers & business partners, it forces customers to buy from their local vendors. Its not an uncommon practice for niche-product manufacturers to do this.

That would be fantastic if every customer had the opportunity to buy from a local vendor... But if you're outside of the U.S or Asia, you're pretty much screwed.

Tempest UK · Sep 9, 2008

Outdoors Fanatic said:
That would be fantastic if every customer had the opportunity to buy from a local vendor... But if you're outside of the U.S or Asia, you're pretty much screwed.

There's nothing to stop you from ordering from an Asian dealer.

Regards,
Tempest

Outdoors Fanatic · Sep 9, 2008

Tempest UK said:
There's nothing to stop you from ordering from an Asian dealer.

Regards,
Tempest

Why should anyone pay Asian taxes and import fees if they don't live there? I'm totally ok about ordering from a store that's even located in fricking Mars, as long as they charge me SF's official MRSP-- and not those inflated prices enforced by local not so "free-market friendly" Governments.

cernobila · Sep 9, 2008

This policy has been in place for a long time now.......the result is that Surefire products in AU from the local dealers cost a small fortune in relation to the prices available to the US consumers in US. As I understand, the dealers are not allowed to give discounts anywhere, so you can not even shop around either, they have to sell at RRP. Some dealers give away spare batteries with their lights but that's about it......one of the reasons I lost interest in SF products.

If you think that Surefire products are expensive in the US, try and buy the same thing anywhere overseas, even if you convert back into US$, prices are much higher.

Tempest UK · Sep 9, 2008

Outdoors Fanatic said:
I'm totally ok about ordering from a store that's even located in fricking Mars, as long as they charge me SF's official MRSP

Unfortunately that's just the way it is. The international dealers don't have a choice, either.

Regards,
Tempest

kramer5150 · Sep 9, 2008

Outdoors Fanatic said:
Why should anyone pay Asian taxes and import fees if they don't live there? I'm totally ok about ordering from a store that's even located in fricking Mars, as long as they charge me SF's official MRSP-- and not those inflated prices enforced by local not so "free-market friendly" Governments.

That stinks. I think you can blame your local retailer for hiking up the price. AFAIK, MSRP is exactly that.. a suggested retail price, below which the retailer can not charge, as-per business agreement with SF. If there is no ceiling however, then the local retailer can charge whatever they wish so long as its above the MSRP.

Its not only overseas, where this type of thing exists. My Local Lowes wants ~$85 for a 6PL.

Coop · Sep 9, 2008

Now if the non-US vendors would sell at the same prices as the US dealers. If you buy SF local here in europe, you're going to get screwed. The cheapest european dealer I saw used a 1:1 dollar to euro conversion, but in many places you will pay 200-300% of SF MSRP.

I think that if SF tells their dealers to who they can sell, and at what minimum price, they should also put a maximum in place. But even if they do that, I still think these kind of practices are a threat to the free market system.

cernobila · Sep 9, 2008

I wonder what percentage of all SF sales world wide go to civilians at the retail store level and what percentage go to private and goverment contractors.......does anybody know?......and hence, does SF really care about you and me as part of a bigger picture.

Outdoors Fanatic · Sep 9, 2008

kramer5150 said:
That stinks. I think you can blame your local retailer for hiking up the price. AFAIK, MSRP is exactly that.. a suggested retail price, below which the retailer can not charge, as-per business agreement with SF. If there is no ceiling however, then the local retailer can charge whatever they wish so long as its above the MSRP.

Its not only overseas, where this type of thing exists. My Local Lowes wants ~$85 for a 6PL.

Its not only overseas, where this type of thing exists. My Local Lowes wants ~$85 for a 6PL.

What are you talking about? Your Lowes is charging BELOW MRSP. Given the fact SureFire charges 89 USD for the 6PL, you are getting a heck of a deal compared to people buying from overseas vendors. Check it out:

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/24459/sesent/00

Tempest UK · Sep 9, 2008

kramer5150 said:
I think you can blame your local retailer for hiking up the price

I really don't think that's the case. SureFire prices in the UK are all very similar, regardless of the retailer. If it were the retailers themselves jacking up the prices from SureFire's MSRP themselves, then i would expect to see a lot more variation, and at least one selling at or close to the MSRP. They have to pay import and VAT, just as an individual would if purchasing from a US dealer.

Regards,
Tempest

Coop · Sep 9, 2008

kramer5150 said:
Its not only overseas, where this type of thing exists. My Local Lowes wants ~$85 for a 6PL.

I saw a 6PL in a shop here and it was 150 euro (at todays exchange rate thats just over $200), E2e was 200 euro and L4 250 euro... I don't even want to know what they'd charge for a U2 or a M6.

Illum · Sep 9, 2008

Surefires restrictions regarding international trade policies have made lengthy discussions in the past. Apparently this not only promotes international vendors but also for surefire to keep track of different products sold at different places.

items like the L6 porkys were originally intended and sold only in Surefire's Korea vendor, it was unintentional that the news of it arrived to the forum and as a result it has been recognized as a surefire light.

On the otherhand though, it could also be a way for surefire to charge you more in one place than another...with no second choice if you want to buy the light...other than maybe ebay

Outdoors Fanatic · Sep 9, 2008

Illum_the_nation said:
Surefires restrictions regarding international trade policies have made lengthy discussions in the past. Apparently this not only promotes international vendors but also for surefire to keep track of different products sold at different places.

items like the L6 porkys were originally intended and sold only in Surefire's Korea vendor, it was unintentional that the news of it arrived to the forum and as a result it has been recognized as a surefire light.

On the otherhand though, it could also be a way for surefire to charge you more in one place than another...with no second choice if you want to buy the light...other than maybe ebay

That sounds like a huge anti Free-Market policy. It's extremely disappointing to see this type of stuff coming from an American company... They should embrace open competition and free-trade between domestic and international dealers.

jzmtl · Sep 9, 2008

Well if it was your company which would you choose, principal of free market or money?

Surefires restricted outside the US???

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