Taking advantage of the strong dollar and buying from Europe

[fullfatboy]

Since the dollar is so much stronger I expected that perhaps some of the European made equipment would come down in price here in the US. This is not the case at this time from what I've seen. My question is this - has anyone ever purchased directly from Europe and if so, what sites/sellers do you recommend for smallbore equipment (Anschutz)?

[patriot]

Why is it when the dollar drops we get price increases and when it rises we get nada. Years ago my father purchased a Spanish engraved over/under shotgun while on a trip. The aggravation and legal cost of getting it into the US was ridiculous, and that was 45 years ago. Your might contact one of the importers, but if you want a current production Anschutz its probably better to just purchase it from Carl or Homer. One told me not long ago that they had a large $hipment of rifles delayed by red tape; it finally arrived. I recently asked the other if we would see prices drop on Annies, they said they were working on it. Perhaps Anschutz was planning on pocketing the windfall.

Mark

[COBelties]

As for equipment/supplies, I just bought direct from Tec Hro for some items not readily offered in the US and the benefit of the exchange rate was pretty good. Shipping via DHL was about $50 and I received the order in about 1 week.

I have found a few suppliers who are passing along the savings in equipment and rifles, Neal at ISS has been good, Larry at 10.9 ties his jacket/suits online pricing to the exchange rate and I know some local dealers that have fluctuated. It seems to be more about what they bought their current inventory at, versus what the dollar strength is now, since alot of them buy a one time in one large purchase (especially with firearms) due to import fees. So a 2013 they bought and imported in May last year is going to be more expensive.

[David Levene]

I suspect that what you are seeing is a time lag caused by distributors and retailers stocking the items they sell most of.

You are then dependant on the exchange rate at the time they purchased that stock.

On more unusual items they will purchase to order and the price will be based on the current exchange rate.

Throughout any international supply line there's always a compromise between stock availability and the exposure to price variations (up or down).