New Aero Stockist in Canada!

[HPA Rep]

<snip>

It's interesting to note that I have never once paid any customs tax on a single item I've ordered from overseas or Canada....and in saying such surely will on the next one.

Of, course; that's how Mr. Murphy has designed it. ;-)

 

[HPA Rep]

Well that order was short lived, he did in fact inform me that they will not have the eastman stock ready to ship until october and offered a free pair of glasses if I wanted to wait. No sense in waiting until October for me though so order cancelled

Glasses??? Might be worth the wait for these:

 

[Doctor Damage]

Not quite so. As previously stated on TFL in other posts to you directly, as well as to all others, Canadian customs has reliably and regularly deemed our shipments to Canada as made in the USA, thus qualifying under NAFTA as duty-free, and I have no recall of any Canadian customer ever telling us they paid duty, just national and, if applicable, provincial taxes. If you subtract the 18% duty you noted above, then our price in your scenario of currency conversion would be about $1, 366.00 CAD.

With all due respect, gear not made in the U.S. Canada or Mexico entering Canada is subject to full duties, in this case 18%, so it makes sense to incorporate that into calculations, even though (as you say) so far Customs Canada has overlooked this when it comes to HPA shipments. Canadian purchasers need to be aware of their full exposure and they will have no recourse if Canada Customs does wake up one of these days. Correct me if I'm wrong, but HPA's prices include U.S. customs duties, which means HPA's Canadian customers are paying U.S. taxes for which they will not gain any benefit. Again, I say this with all due respect to HPA and you Charles, but I think transparency is important given the amounts of $$ involved with Eastman and Aero stuff, and the unpredictability of customs people.

 

[HPA Rep]

<snip>

If they can swing it, it is a large savings for us. Some stuff, like Cockpit, is just over priced to begin with. $500.00 for an M-65 copy seems a bit much, I just picked up an NOS real one for $50.00 at my favorite Army Surplus shop in Toronto. We'll see if there is enough market for them to stay afloat.

B

Well, while not advocating for or against Cockpit, there is really no comparison of current-production M-65's vs. surplus-priced versions produced in large government contracts 40 years ago.

 

[Radz108]

<snip>
(Remember that History Preservation's prices already include U.S. duties, so we pay U.S. duties and Canadian duties.)
<snip>

Not quite so. As previously stated on TFL in other posts to you directly, as well as to all others, Canadian customs has reliably and regularly deemed our shipments to Canada as made in the USA, thus qualifying under NAFTA as duty-free, and I have no recall of any Canadian customer ever telling us they paid duty, just national and, if applicable, provincial taxes. If you subtract the 18% duty you noted above, then our price in your scenario of currency conversion would be about $1, 366.00 CAD.

Could you please clarify how we are paying $1,366CAD for a standard B3 from your store?
Your website states your B3 is $1,185 US with $53.75US for shipping
For a total of $1,238.75US without possible duties and taxes
That's $1,646.70 CAD with today's conversion

 

[HPA Rep]

With all due respect, gear not made in the U.S. Canada or Mexico entering Canada is subject to full duties, in this case 18%, so it makes sense to incorporate that into calculations, even though (as you say) so far Customs Canada has overlooked this when it comes to HPA shipments. Canadian purchasers need to be aware of their full exposure and they will have no recourse if Canada Customs does wake up one of these days. Correct me if I'm wrong, but HPA's prices include U.S. customs duties, which means HPA's Canadian customers are paying U.S. taxes for which they will not gain any benefit. Again, I say this with all due respect to HPA and you Charles, but I think transparency is important given the amounts of $$ involved with Eastman and Aero stuff, and the unpredictability of customs people.

Yes, we certainly do include all duty and fees in our prices and anyone outside the USA will be paying for USA-based services they may or may not get any benefit from in the same way I may or may not when I buy from Canada; in fact, paying for services you may or may not need is inescapable anytime one purchases from outside their own town because the cost for such services is all rolled into the gross profit of any given item/service, but I highly doubt very many actually ponder such economics and allow this to influence a purchase in any significant way or they'd buy nothing. I'd say 30 years of Canadian customs overlooking duty is a pretty consistent pattern, though, as you say, it's not a guarantee and I've never stated this in any manner that wasn't fully transparent.

The risks of buying in this fashion are no different for anyone who may say they've never paid duty on goods coming from anywhere in the world, thus such buyers are willing to take the gamble, knowing that even if they do pay duty, they still come out well ahead when viewed in their history of purchases over time.

 

[HPA Rep]

Could you please clarify how we are paying $1,366CAD for a standard B3 from your store?
Your website states your B3 is $1,185 US with $53.75US for shipping
For a total of $1,238.75US without possible duties and taxes
That's $1,646.70 CAD with today's conversion

Eeeks! So sorry about that in my post. It's been corrected now to read as USD. I do loathe to play the conversion game because currency conversion is so fickle and no one will ever know what they are paying until they actually pay for the goods inclusive of bank markups, duty and tax (if applicable), fees, etc., but as some sort of reference, yes, it needs to be accurate and I appreciate you pointing the error out.

The shipping and insurance, however, only applies to domestic sales, so that specific amount shouldn't be factored in. Thank you.

 

[Interbak]

Well, while not advocating for or against Cockpit, there is really no comparison of current-production M-65's vs. surplus-priced versions produced in large government contracts 40 years ago.

Agreed, but there's no way I'd pay 10 times the money for a current production knock off from Cockpit. There stuff isn't bad, but it's not a $500 jacket!

 

[AllanP]

I think the 1,190 CAD ELC B3 is a one off on sale item. their standard pricing of Aero and other Eastman are in line with ordering straight from the UK, minus probably customs.

The thing is they are obviously based on China, and probably want to branch off to Canada. Ozzy leather seems to be pretty established on the Chinese Ebay Tao Bao. I also don't think they have a storefront, their address on google maps is a residential suburb, and one of their contact numbers is based in BC.

It's possible that all of their stock are still in China, and the 2 cheaply priced ELC B3's are just brought over in a suit case from China, which means they didn't have to pay Canadian duties and taxes.

I still think this is pretty convenient for Canadians if the service turns out smooth. The current way of ordering is just a lot of hassle and extra money we have to pay with customs, shipping, taxes on top of VAT included pricing, and then there's the risk of the size not fitting. I'm even thinking about taking a trip to Scotland at some point to buy from the physical locations.

 

[HPA Rep]

I think the 1,190 CAD ELC B3 is a one off on sale item. their standard pricing of Aero and other Eastman are in line with ordering straight from the UK, minus probably customs.

The thing is they are obviously based on China, and probably want to branch off to Canada. Ozzy leather seems to be pretty established on the Chinese Ebay Tao Bao. I also don't think they have a storefront, their address on google maps is a residential suburb, and one of their contact numbers is based in BC.

It's possible that all of their stock are still in China, and the 2 cheaply priced ELC B3's are just brought over in a suit case from China, which means they didn't have to pay Canadian duties and taxes.

I still think this is pretty convenient for Canadians if the service turns out smooth. The current way of ordering is just a lot of hassle and extra money we have to pay with customs, shipping, taxes on top of VAT included pricing, and then there's the risk of the size not fitting. I'm even thinking about taking a trip to Scotland at some point to buy from the physical locations.

I agree with you. I'd also add that I think most of their ELC pricing is one-off sale/intro pricing, hence the seeming appearance of the true retail prices above each item, which reflect near reality. Even if they could justify longterm discounting by over $200 on just an Original-Maker A-2, I'd think it would be a rather narrow market in Canada they'd be satisfying: Canada isn't China or even the USA. But this seems good for Canadian buyers to be able to have a company, at least for now, to deal with in the same country and using the same currency. American buyers, on the other hand, should be voicing the same concerns Canadian buyers have voiced in buying outside Canada and paying duty, conversion fees, processing fees, return-merchandise costs and hassles, replacement/warranty issues, etc. It's the same story for as long as I've been doing this: if you can buy within your own borders, the benefits are significant, most especially evident the first time something needs to be addressed and the buyer must go back to the point of sale for whatever resolution is required.

 

[willyto]

I know we have these brands in the UK but curiosity did not kill this cat. I just discovered a new Aero style from peeking in here, The Moonshiner based on Aero's Bootlegger but a button up. Hoorah for the buttons. Anyone else?

I created a thread about it when it was released!

 

[rocketeer]

I created a thread about it when it was released!

Yes just saw it. Looks a great jacket, you getting one Willy?

 

[willyto]

Yes just saw it. Looks a great jacket, you getting one Willy?

Not unless I win the lottery.

 

[Cooper A-2]

For me its a bit difficult to understand ELC's and Aero' s agency policy.
There is another seller on the bay selling ELC jackets and this quite a lot.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eastman-Lea...189263?hash=item1c7da7210f:g:o1cAAOSw-0xYXKlc

Ken and Gary should back up their local agents a bit more and not allow someone to torpedo their business by discounting of a few $.... and some discounters are not even based in country.
Gary? Ken?

 

[ProteinNerd]

Drifterproductions (the seller from eBay) used to be a member here. I vaguely remember some scandal or something.....did he get banned?

 

[Sloan1874]

He was a shill for AL and used Aero's name endlessly to punt them.

 

[Cooper A-2]

Wowowow!
and ELC / Gary is trusting someone like this....pinch me...
Cheers

 

[Superfluous]

Drifterproductions (the seller from eBay) used to be a member here. I vaguely remember some scandal or something.....did he get banned?

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/rjl-ltd.85441/

 

[the loco]

Will definitely consider that option for some jackets that would like to buy (A2, Irvin, two-tone J106, Buco J100).

 

[Cooper A-2]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/rjl-ltd.85441/

Thx for the rapid feedback...
Nice pedigre...Sure the black sheep is in the crowd or heard again...Just changed his costume...