With Euro in the free fall, an obvious question to dealers..

[shaky hands]

... of Steyr, Morini, Pardini, etc.: should we in the US expect lower prices from you?

It gets to the point when it becomes cheaper to fly to Europe and buy a pistol there. An LP10E in Germany sells for 1629 Euro (Schiesssport-Buinger). When you are leaving the country you can also claim back 19% VAT, which brings the price down to 1320 Euro. With the current exchange rate of 1.05 this comes to $1385. Now compare this with what Pilkguns charge for the same pistol, $2300, and a trip to Europe becomes quite attractive.

[SamEEE]

... of Steyr, Morini, Pardini, etc.: should we in the US expect lower prices from you?

It gets to the point when it becomes cheaper to fly to Europe and buy a pistol there. An LP10E in Germany sells for 1629 Euro (Schiesssport-Buinger). When you are leaving the country you can also claim back 19% VAT, which brings the price down to 1320 Euro. With the current exchange rate of 1.05 this comes to $1385. Now compare this with what Pilkguns charge for the same pistol, $2300, and a trip to Europe becomes quite attractive.

Something something .... free market will regulate itself .... something.

To spin a yarn: recently shipped a Pelican 1510 from the states. Even with 100USD (should have filled it with tools!) shipping it worked out 225 dollars cheaper than buying it locally.

[Rover]

I'm planning on Luxembourg, Deutschland, und Belgium.

I have an urge to piss good beer again.

[therider]

... of Steyr, Morini, Pardini, etc.: should we in the US expect lower prices from you?
.

Forget about it! The difference will be pocketed by the importer/ producer.
There has never been a reduction in price of any good produced in US when wee euro got stronger.

By the way, as I wrote other times, the cheapest in Germany is Holme, in Erding. I payed 1320€ for LP10E and MGH1 is sold for 1040€ , vat included!

[seamaster]

Does Holme have a web site?

[Lenny]

Is there a problem ordering air pistol from Europe through the internet? It's not a firearm. There are no Federal Laws against it. At least not that I know of.

[shaky hands]

By the way, as I wrote other times, the cheapest in Germany is Holme, in Erding. I payed 1320€ for LP10E and MGH1 is sold for 1040€ , vat included!

Thanks for the tip! Do they also sell Pardini K12? Edit: it seems they don't. In which case my question would be, what is a good place in Europe to buy it from?

Does Holme have a web site?

Yes, they are not listed among the Steyr official dealers, but I was able to locate them via Walther dealer search. They are at

Rennweg 27
85435 Erding
Germany
http://www.holme-onlineshop.de/

Unfortunately the website has no English translation.

[Mike M.]

You have to remember that there is a lag in the supply pipeline. No importer cares what you can theoretically buy items for at the current exchange rate, they care about the exchange rate when they bought their stock. If the exchange rate should stay where it is now, the distributors will wind up eating a loss. But it would have to stay that way for a long time....a year or more.

[therider]

Holme has a web page...just google Holme Erding.

No, he does'nt sell Pardini. However Pardini k12 sells in germany for 1300Euros.

[Wynne G Oldman]

The Russian Rouble is now roughly half the value that it was about a year ago. There's a dealer in the UK selling Baikal MP-46M's for £275 brand new. Great for someone who wants to buy one, but not so good for me, who paid the going rate of £450 just over a year ago, and now wants to sell it.

[TomAmlie]

I don't envy Pilkguns, Champion's Choice, and others who try to accommodate us in the US market. It's a very "thin" market, and if they keep an item such as an LP10 or P44 or K12 in stock, they may sit on it for weeks or months, having their money tied up in inventory, and being buffeted by changes in exchange rates (as now). If they don't keep it in stock then potential customers will be tempted to go to another dealer.

One thing to keep in mind is that if the item is defective you'll have much better access to support from a US dealer. I realize that quality control from the Steyr, FWB, etc. is very good, but on the off chance that the item is D.O.A. you'll have more trouble shipping the item back to a European dealer.

[mctrucky]

Don't you guys in the states have some 'protectionist' laws to aid your home arms manufacturers (i.e colt, S&W, Ruger etc.) from being undercut by foreign manufacturers; with one of the stipulations being that a gun has to come into the country via an American manufacturer and as such you have to have Pardini etc established as American companies , and they need to be in the supply chain. And following this, popping over to Europe to pick up a cheap gun to import would be against the law - even for a pellet gun?

I used to work for a car company who had the same issue and had to set up an American division to enable access to the market.

Not claiming to know about this, just something I heard when discussing this very subject a month or two ago.

McT

[william]

Don't you guys in the states have some 'protectionist' laws to aid your home arms manufacturers (i.e colt, S&W, Ruger etc.) from being undercut by foreign manufacturers; with one of the stipulations being that a gun has to come into the country via an American manufacturer and as such you have to have Pardini etc established as American companies , and they need to be in the supply chain. And following this, popping over to Europe to pick up a cheap gun to import would be against the law - even for a pellet gun?

I used to work for a car company who had the same issue and had to set up an American division to enable access to the market.

Not claiming to know about this, just something I heard when discussing this very subject a month or two ago.

McT

Not at all true. Last I checked Larry Carter was still importing Benelli pistols (and Hämmerli as well?). Importers have a license totally separate from manufacturers. Importing an air gun is no more a legal problem than going to Sweden to buy a Volvo. Less problem, actually, since you don't have to launch any pellets in order to import it as "used." The big question is whether TSA seizes the empty cylinders in your checked baggage as bomb components (nitwits that they can be!).

[TomAmlie]

Don't you guys in the states have some 'protectionist' laws to aid your home arms manufacturers (i.e colt, S&W, Ruger etc.) from being undercut by foreign manufacturers; McT

Don't give them any ideas!