Estervals: Is The Party Over?

[peregrinus]

Some feel the party ended for USA customers, at least in practical terms, sometime last year. However, it seems to be officially ended for the present, or at least for my address.
When you try to check out at Estervals for delivery to the US you encounter the following statement when you reach the shipping menu:

Shipping Method

This is currently the only shipping method available to use on this order. Unfortunately it is not possible to dispatch into this country

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I see it as good they have stepped up and won't continue to put us at risk. Hopefully, the future will bring changes that will reopen business with this vendor. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

[peregrinus]

But I'm not holding my breath.

Me either.
At least I am now more at peace with going “overboard” and placing 3 orders last year.

 

[americaman]

Looks like you are right. My shopping cart says the same thing; not possible to dispatch to this country.

 

[craig61a]

Due to the fickle nature of the USPS, Customs, et al, they probably realized that shipping here and not having product delivered, returned and held in Germany or whatever that it wasn’t financially viable for them to send stuff here anymore.

A lot Cuban cigar shippers got stiffed a few years back when customs ramped up seizures of Cuban cigars, they stopped shipping here also.

Bottom line: It’s getting to be more of a gamble having tobacco shipped from overseas. I’m sure somewhere there’s a database of shippers addresses that trip the trigger.

Some vendors stopped shipping a few years ago. British and Danish companies no longer ship tobacco. And the credit card companies are involved too.

The heyday of cheap, untaxed, tobacco from offshore has pretty much come to a close.

 

[3rdguy]

Once again, a shipping buddy is your friend.

 

[hawky454]

Well, it was fun while it lasted. One of the things I loved about them is they would have some amazing flash sales. Things are changing fast, it wasn’t long ago that you could order from GQ Tobaccos without a second thought. It’s a shame for the newer folks that won’t be able to explore blends that aren’t imported here but we all saw the writing on the wall.

 

[bullet08]

There goes good thing, not that I utilized it. I say open the gate to the free trade!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I have a good friend in Ireland. He's gotten me a lot of Rich Dark Flake and Motzek blends. He travels Europe on business.

 

[pantsBoots]

I have a good friend in Ireland. He's gotten me a lot of Rich Dark Flake and Motzek blends. He travels Europe on business.

Is this your buddy, Sam, who studies whales both at sea and on dry land?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Is this your buddy, Sam, who studies whales both at sea and on dry land?

It is.

 

[pantsBoots]

It is.

Haven't interacted much with him, but he's a solid guy, fat-shaming notwithstanding.

 

[3rdguy]

I emailed them. This was the reply:

Greetings,

Yes, as customers in the USA do not understand that if you are shopping in Germany and import goods into the USA and have to pay customs duties for them, we have now stopped shipping to the USA.

Best Regards

Andreas Harm
(CEO)

 

[pauls456]

You just gotta love Esterval's rude and haughty attitude.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Too much available domestically, never found a need to go through the trouble of ordering tobacco internationally.

 

[3rdguy]

You just gotta love Esterval's rude and haughty attitude.

And his sentence structure!

 

[craig61a]

You just gotta love Esterval's rude and haughty attitude.

Rude and haughty...?

They’re running a business. As I understand it, everything that gets shipped back to Germany gets held by German customs. There is a cost to getting it out. Or an order get seized and held in the states while awaiting payment of excise taxes. The purchaser complains to their credit card company that the stuff they ordered was not delivered and gets a refund.

Bottom line: vendor selling at a loss isn’t a good business model.

They played that game for awhile, now the playing field has changed. How dare they refuse to ship here!

 

[kcghost]

"Turn out the lights the party's over".

 

[sandollars]

I stopped a year ago.....

 

[craig61a]

There goes good thing, not that I utilized it. I say open the gate to the free trade!

Free trade? Taxes have to be paid on free trade. And especially something as heavily regulated and taxed as tobacco. You can’t just drive to Canada and bring back cases of booze or Cuban cigars just because there is a tax advantage. You have to pay duty on it...