Buying name brand gear overseas off ebay

[Jayspeed]

I'm all about supporting local business but there are a couple things I need that vendors I support are out of. There are 2 things that concern me. Authenticity of what you're buying. And customs fees if there are any. Last year I bought bodywork from China with out paying any fees. Spent shy of $500. There must be a dollar limit I assume, then a percentage is applied?

[Tekime]

US customs fees are very lax, I think it's around $2,000. I order $xxx stuff from overseas quite a bit never had issues.

If something disappears though.. good luck. I've never had this happen though with quite a few eBay orders. Sometimes they get held up for quite a while, 6-8 weeks.

[carsick]

Have not bought off eBay, have bought new gear (Alpinestars suit and Gaerne boots) from Germany direct from a distributor's website. Delighted with the price, quality, and delivery times. No fees or customs problems, packages clearly stated the contents. I tried to price match with domestic businesses by calling them, no luck. I paid 2/3 to 1/2 as much even with the shipping. Definitely not fakes, excellent quality and all the ridiculous packaging that comes with fancy stuff.

[theducman]

Doug, care to share the link to this place? I'm in need of a new suit

[Jayspeed]

The price is definitely attractive! Example: I can buy a suit that cost here 1250 for 900. The confusing part is, why not upgrade to the 1600 suit for the price you are willing to pay here. This is all assuming there won't be any customs expenses. And you have time to wait for the item to finally reach your destination.

[carsick]

Doug, care to share the link to this place? I'm in need of a new suit

Absolutely, just couldn't remember it when I posted. I'm sure you'll understand. They have a discount code at the top, and sometimes when you log in with your email and add an item to your cart, the price is reduced further.

https://www.fc-moto.de/en/Motorcycle...-Leather-Suits

[number9]

I would ASSume that a European retailer (particularly Italian, German or British) would be selling you genuine stuff at lower prices, simply because their prices are less because their volumes are so much larger.

Going from a random Chinese eBay seller, I wouldn't be so sure.

It's a small thing, but I got a chain & sprocket set for out of the UK for about half as much as the cheapest US vendor would sell. Shipping was cheap, no customs problems, and I'm happy. The handful of times I've gone to a European store (usually Hein-Gericke in Germany) it's clear the prices are significantly lower than they are here.

[MattR302]

I've bought $500 Alpinestars boots for ~$330 from motoin.de a few years ago. Delivery was about a week and a half via DHL, no added customs or fees.

[aldend123]

I've bought miscellaneous no-name stuff off eBay that came direct from China. Takes a little longer to ship, but otherwise the transaction was the same. I bought my moto boots from FCMoto in Germany. If I remember right, their checkout system provided a shipping quote that seemed appropriately high given the conditions and it was otherwise a normal transaction.

My limited perception is that there is a big problem with fakes on ebay. So I prefer to buy from established, known vendors for things I care about.

[nhbubba]

I've ordered boots through ebay from biker-land.de. Was immensely pleased with the transaction and product received.

Exchange rate helps.

[xxaarraa]

I would ASSume that a European retailer (particularly Italian, German or British) would be selling you genuine stuff at lower prices, simply because their prices are less because their volumes are so much larger.

Going from a random Chinese eBay seller, I wouldn't be so sure.

It's a small thing, but I got a chain & sprocket set for out of the UK for about half as much as the cheapest US vendor would sell. Shipping was cheap, no customs problems, and I'm happy. The handful of times I've gone to a European store (usually Hein-Gericke in Germany) it's clear the prices are significantly lower than they are here.

Can't speak to this particular situation about gear, but I find it interesting that you whitelist "Italian, German, British" retailers and blacklist Chinese quite generally. Just because something ships out of Western Europe means it's better than something that ships out of China? e.g., I have bought a few things from Australia via eBay that were absolute shit, because it was in turn sourced from a cheap Chinese supplier.

Point I am making is that where a product is made and where it is sold out of are two different things and quite hard to parse out in a globalized world.

American market economics are usually better than European, so stuff is almost always cheaper here than over in Europe where taxes are usually ridiculous. So I am surprised to hear all you guys getting better value from German companies. Not questioning it, just surprised.

[RandyO]

after seeing counterfeit Fram filters from China starting back 40+ years ago, I am suspect of anything that comes from China with a name brand on it,

[Kurlon]

Primary difference between buying from a European retailer vs a Chinese one is you have a chance of going back after the European retailer if something should happen. Not a chance with a Chinese vendor if push comes to shove.

[number9]

Can't speak to this particular situation about gear, but I find it interesting that you whitelist "Italian, German, British" retailers and blacklist Chinese quite generally. Just because something ships out of Western Europe means it's better than something that ships out of China? e.g., I have bought a few things from Australia via eBay that were absolute shit, because it was in turn sourced from a cheap Chinese supplier.

I'm actually glad you kept me honest. I am usually quite bullish on the qualify of Chinese-manufactured goods; when people complain that "ChiCom stuff is all garbage" (hello, Garage Journal!) I tend to reply and say that my iPhone 7 is made in China and it works pretty well.

My point was more that a random Chinese eBay seller is more likely to send you something counterfeit than a large, well-known European retail seller. Once you remove that condition from the European stuff, yeah, it's going become more of a crapshoot.

American market economics are usually better than European, so stuff is almost always cheaper here than over in Europe where taxes are usually ridiculous. So I am surprised to hear all you guys getting better value from German companies. Not questioning it, just surprised.

In general, I would agree with you w.r.t. market sizes and economics. But when it comes to bikes, certain Western European countries (England and Germany particularly, in my experience) just have ownership levels that dwarf ours. I wish it was different here

[Jayspeed]

I have on the way 2 dainese products. Gloves and suit. I'll let you guys know the outcome. Just a cap of the difference spent. $1650 vs $1118.

[AEG]

Has anyone else bought from https://www.fc-moto.de or Online motorcycle shop, buy online motorcycle equipment ?
I see some negative reviews on the internet. Obviously no one bothers to post review when transaction is going as expected.

thx

[boosten lebaron]

I was at the fcmoto store a few weeks ago so they are legit. I popped in just cause i was in the area. Big selection for your needs and the germans are pretty easy to deal with.
Becareful ordering from britian. Universally they have zero customer service skills and most of the garbage sold here is knockoffs or cheap chinese. Everything from helmets to motorcycles. Most sellers charge crazy money just to call them and ignore all emails. The exchange rate doesnt really work out well in your favor either. When i want a new helmet or suit i hop on the ferry and go to france, if i have time i head to belgium or germany. Sad but true.


I would add that sizing can be very weird over here in europe. Everything tends to run smaller. Its almost like there is no uniformity.

[dankatz]

Has anyone else bought from https://www.fc-moto.de or Online motorcycle shop, buy online motorcycle equipment ?
I see some negative reviews on the internet. Obviously no one bothers to post review when transaction is going as expected.

thx

I have purchased from fc-moto They had excellent customer service. I bought Sidi Adv Goretex and paid $330 including shipping when they were over $500 here. I've tried to keep my purchases to the US but the goretex tax is terrible!

[MattR302]

I had a good experience with Motorrad Helme, Motorradbekleidung, Jet Helme und Cross Helme im motoin Marken-Shop if you wanted to cross check prices

[AEG]

Thanks guys!