Buying O/S

[Zeeke]

Does anyone buy gear from the states?? ive thought about getting some stuff from Cabelas and maybe in the future a decent bow.. (even tho the prices for bows here seem to be pretty bloody good)

Just curious on opinions or if anyone has any troubles

Tim

[Mozza]

it can be cheaper Zeeke, but there are a few things to watch out for like duty and taxes and also you don't get the after sales service
just something to think about

[aussiehunter]

ive bought a lot of bits and pieces from o/s with no problems,except personally myself id prefer to buy all my bows from a trusted dealer here,that i know if i hav a problem will help..thats just me..cheers pat :D

[tracker]

Zeeke, I've bought from Cabelas with no problems EXCEPT...

the first time I ordered I picked the the cheapest postage and it took around 12 weeks to arrive. Since then I've used the <slightly> more expensive delivery option and it only takes 2-3 weeks.

Mick.

[PeterM]

I get all my gear from O/S, one cause it cheaper and I get in a reasonable time frame, but like Aussie I buy my bows here, only for warranty reasons.

[Zeeke]

thanks for the info.. if i was going to buy, id probably consider buying here due to warranty, but other items that i can get a better deal on, ill possibly order OS..

thanks for the info

Tim
p.s. out of curiosity... what items have you ordered?
p.s.s ignore if im being rude

[brian]

i've ordered a few bows and heaps of arrows and componants from kustomking which is a big trad shop in the US. never had any problems and i will continue to shop there in the future.
one thing i've found is it can be a lot cheaper than buying in oz - particularly carbon arrow shafts - but it really depends on where you shop.

i've had a couple of shop owners complain to me that too many people are buying from overseas, but after some of the bad experiences i've had in a couple of brisbane shops, i'm more than happy to take my bussiness and money elsewhere.

[brian]

yeh pat - i think there are probably a few others who've had trouble too.
i will point out however (and i havent been to ALL the shops in brizzy) that so far the best place in terms of customer service i've been to was daryl reeks. hes a good guy to deal with, and even when i was a total beginner he still treated me like a valued customer. cant say the same for the other shops - at one of which i was treated as though i was too inexperienced/unknowledgable to be a "worthy" customer.
that is no way to run a bussiness IMO.

[Warlocke]

I buy overseas because where I live there is no decent archery shop.

When I order archery items from the capital cities it takes me longer to get than from the USA.

If I didn't work on my own bows and wasn't proficient in bow tuning or maintenance, I would only buy locally.

[Piggy]

I have purchased 2 items from Cabellas and both arrived less than a week from ordering

[Mick Smith]

I'm selective about where I buy stuff from. Cabelas charge a flat rate of 40% of the merchandise total for airmail postage (excepting some particularly heavy items). Kustomking charge the buyer actual postage prices. So, if you're buying something that's fairly cheap, but a bit on the heavy side, it might pay to shop at Cabelas, but on the other hand if you're buying something that's light but expensive, you'd be better off to buy from Kustomking. You can use the system to your advantage. :idea:

Both Cabelas and Kustomking offer excellent service. Airmail postage takes about 1 week to Australia. Kustomking are good to deal with because they pack the goods well, yet they don't go overboard. I've had dealings with another US mail order company (3 Rivers Archery), in which I ended paying far too much for postage because they used a heavy oversized cardboard box, full of padding, when in fact, a simple padded post bag would have been sufficient. Other than that, the service was excellent.

Bear in mind that the maximum overall length parcel that can be posted from the US to Australia is 42 inches. If you buy a bow longer than this, be prepared to pay an outragious shipping fee of AU$100 plus through private courier companies.

Mick

[Zeeke]

Thanks for the info ... been useful.. the only archery place i know of near me is at Nambour (Sunshine Coast).. and its a sporting goods store.. so very limited items..

Thanks again
Tim
p.s. Would like to thank all the members on the forum for there posts, im bit of a quiet guy out in public so im too nervous to go to an archery club and check out bows and equipment, but thanks to your posts im learning a bit and its been a great read.. look forward to future reading.. and hopefully maybe meeting members one day and possibly being able to photograph there hunt for them

[Antarcher]

I've bought all my gear form OS as the only local shop around here with archery gear is a rip off. I've bought binos, spotting scope, pack, camo, bows and boots. Saved heaps. The only thing I buy local is arrows as they are pretty competitive here.

[aussiehunter]

brian ,i know what ur saying about brisbane..... and i agree and thats my home town...cheers pat :D

[humphrey]

hey mate, ive bought a few things from cabelas, and depending on what it is it can be bloody cheap. not putting local businesses down, but at the end of the day if it saves you a lot of money then i cant see any sense in buying local. a particular melbourne shop (i wont name names) marks up some of their items by 200%. a particular item i paid $300 for over here i found out later i could have got for $110 from cabelas. again, not trying to badmouth anyone, but makes me reconsider a lot of purchases. but then again, just as often other things work out far more expensive overseas. :roll: