Buying overseas

[dontbeaburleyman]

Hi All!
What do I need to know to purchase pipes, tobacco etc from Europe and other non-USA countries?
How is the conversion rate determined? How are payments usually handled? What is a "normal" shipping time and do they use UPS exclusively or other vendors? I assume there are countries that won't or can't sell the the US?
Thanks for any information you can give me!

 

[stvalentine]

German sellers will ususally ship pipes and tobacco to every country. Payment through Paypal is widely accepted although some would only accept payments by bank transfer. Some take credit cards too.

Shipping by DHL is very quick. When I send parcels over to the USA it usually doesn´t take more than a week for them to arrive (I am not a dealer but a just a private Ebay-Seller). The US customs procedures seem to be quite relaxed as well and most of the time the parcel should be delivered to your doorstep wothout even paying custom charges/dues.

All in all I believe there is no reason not to buy god from Europe these days.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Das ist recht, although, even our best tobacco source The Bundes Republic of Deutschlands Tobacconist are seemingly becoming more hesitant when it comes to overseas shipping within europe and U.S directions alike, not to mention the UK based retailers

where tobacco online selling is obviously coming to end in the near future,

 

[zitotczito]

I bought as much as I could afford from overseas recently since the rules have been changing. I will just have to live with what I currently have.

 

[stvalentine]

8O Ouch, that´s quite irritating and I didn´t know that. I tried to find some reference to it on HU Tobacco and DAN Tobaccos site but to no avail. Well, what a bright future for us with governments caring so much for us.... :roll:

 

[tschiraldi]

I have bought several pipes from Italy. Never had a problem.

 

[sablebrush52]

I have bought several pipes from Italy. Never had a problem.

Pipes aren't tobacco. The restrictions are on tobacco for the most part. Like a few others here, I did some stocking up earlier this year as well as last year, as it didn't take genius to see the direction in which regulation was headed.
Of course, I never buy tobacco, I just buy "hobby supplies".

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Of course, I never buy tobacco, I just buy "hobby supplies"."
:rofl:
Regards,
Jay.

 

[bigpond]

Each vendor is different but most do cover these details on a FAQ page. You might have better luck in checking that first and coming back here to ask about a specific vendor.

 

[ericusrex]

DAN no longer ships tobacco to the US. I had my order shipped to a friend in the UK who I see every summer. He's going to deliver it to me. Had to pay VAT this way.
James Barber can't accept credit cards from the US but will take a bank transfer or transfer using transferwise.com (very easy transaction, BTW). No VAT.
Hu tobacco's will ship but also won't take US CCs. I got around this by paying with Paypal and using my credit card. No VAT.
Smoke King UK will not sell to US.
The German companies ship DHL. It's a bit expensive so you need to make sure your order is large enough to justify.

James Barber shipped using Royal Post.
BTW, when you're looking at prices, be sure to look at quantity as the EU offers many more sizing options than you'll find here. Also, pay attention to whether listed price is "inc. VAT" or "exc. VAT". VAT is a 19% (or thereabouts) tax that does not apply to US purchases.
If you find any other sites that ship to the US let us know!

 

[ssjones]

I've never bought tobacco from overseas.
I have purchased pipes direct from retailers and via Ebay. Paypal does the conversion at the then current rate. Shipping via regular mail takes 10-15 days. So far, I've had no issues. When I sent pipes overseas, via USPS, I always label them "pipe repair parts".

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Paypal does the conversion at the then current rate."
Not strictly true Al. I recently purchased some baccy from Ireland via Paypal for ~€85 and was charged ~€3 over the going rate at the time!
Regards,
Jay.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

This is get thrilling, especially if you happen to live in country where regular Mc Barens tobacco is around $ 17 per pouch and selling brands are very limited(5)-so are we supposed to take so called tobacco tours around europe via plane or by buss-all this is so damned ridiculous- perhaps i'm better off emigrating to the States

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Can't believe U.S becoming sililar tobacco hating empire such as majority of Eu and Scandinavian countries already now,because lots of powerful tobacco producers are located in this country with numerous highly trained lawers in them payrolls, they are able to fight back and make an contrattack

 

[sablebrush52]

Can't believe U.S becoming sililar tobacco hating empire such as majority of Eu and Scandinavian countries already now,because lots of powerful tobacco producers are located in this country with numerous highly trained lawers in them payrolls, they are able to fight back and make an contrattack

The headwinds for this have been building for a long time, literally decades, while many of us have been blissfully frolicking in a tobacco paradise. There's already push back in court, and an amendment in the House that would move the predicate date from Feb 15th 2007, to the final date that the FDA ruling goes into effect. I believe that would move the date to 8/8/2016.

But in general, the hearts and minds of the population have been won and smoking is a social no no here in the US. The headwinds are spreading internationally, which will probably end the consumer level market for importing for personal use.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

and again we are powerless

and literally those lawmakers force people to offence the existent law by making up restrictions which limite and are bad against

our tobacconists and consumer civil rights

 

[Briar Baron]

The Danish Pipe Shop have sent me several small tobacco orders to Australia. Always great service and they reduce the price by the 19% when sending outside the EU.

 

[dochudson]

No problems with pipes from Italy or Ireland in fact the ones from Italy get here quicker than US purchases. Cigars from Spain also arrive very quickly.

 

[mawnansmiff]

And when one takes into consideration the vast amount of taxes governments the world over makes from the sale of tobacco and related products these restrictions make so little sense.
One has to wonder what will replace that revenue once they have finally banished tobacco to the dustbin of history.
Will alcohol be the next target of the so called 'do gooders'?
We live in scary times.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Jay, in the US (My state of Alabama), there is so little money actually collected from tobacco, that it doesn't matter. There are so few smokers nowadays, and the tax is a mere percentage, so very little is actually collected. But, the taxes are meant to be sin taxes that merely discourages people from buying these things. The taxes on tobacco really just goes to fund the collecting of the taxes, what is left over in my state, merely trickles into the general fund, but it is a mere pittance.

We and our lawmakers like to use the sin taxes in discussion here in the US, as if billions are getting collected, but after collection and managerial costs are removed, it's squat. Merely a discouragement.