Thread: Buying scopes from America

Hi all

I know there is probably another thread hiding in here somewhere on this topic , but i thought id just start another myself.

Im looking at buy a scope from America , is there any sites anyone would recommend or brands that are not aloud to sell internationally?

A Vortex scope is what im after but have heard that i may have issues getting one into NZ.

Thanks.

No problems getting scopes into NZ, it's the exporting thats usually a pain but Vortex aren't ITAR restricted so you are good

Liberty optics is probably best choice for Vortex scopes.
You may want to check what deals you can find locally as a lot of NZ places have such sharp prices its hardly worth importing.

Leupold doesn't allow its products to be sold internationally from a US vendor, so most websites wont ship them, some will but they aren't supposed to. Think Nightforce is similar, but mostly everything else is able to be shipped overseas.

I believe Vortex doesn’t allow its products to be exported out of the US either. Saying this only because I tried.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

I believe Vortex doesn’t allow its products to be exported out of the US either. Saying this only because I tried.

No that's not correct all good with Vortex but saying that I always bring them out in my luggage. Try Sportoptics I just got a GenII with a 13% discount great price $2175 US. Your best bet is to find someone travelling and get them to bring it back.

@Dermastor, Sportoptics won’t allow selection of NZ as a shipping destination. And they say they don’t ship internationally in their T&C. I think we are talking about buying online, not suitcases. But I agree, if you do happen to have someone friendly who can do that, great.

Online, I tried to buy Vortex from Brownells and somewhere else can’t remember which one, and both companies emailed and said they were not allowed to export due to Vortex’s country restrictions.

If you go to the Brownells website as did about 30 secs ago, it will show you the restriction once you’ve added the product into your cart.

If someone else has a website that will go around this restrction that’s great, I am all ears, would love to know.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

@Dermastor, Sportoptics won’t allow selection of NZ as a shipping destination. And they say they don’t ship internationally in their T&C. I think we are talking about buying online, not suitcases. But I agree, if you do happen to have someone friendly who can do that, great.

Online, I tried to buy Vortex from Brownells and somewhere else can’t remember which one, and both companies emailed and said they were not allowed to export due to Vortex’s country restrictions.

If you go to the Brownells website as did about 30 secs ago, it will show you the restriction once you’ve added the product into your cart.

If someone else has a website that will go around this restrction that’s great, I am all ears, would love to know.

How does the NZ importer/distributor react when you send it back to them, or do you send it back to the States ?

Dunno @Kiwi Greg, haven’t had to return anything. I believe, may be wrong here, that’s its a straight no questions asked replacement from the local distributor, even if your dog ate it, they’ll give you a new one. Burn it, run over it, drop it from the top of the Sky Tower. The wording of their warranty is incredibly generous and I have never come across a complaint that they haven’t honoured it. Always a first time though.

I did wonder if they would replace my rangefinder after I was witnessed dropping it in a flooding creek. But that was probably a bit of a long shot so I didn’t ask. Come summer when the water level is right down I am going to walk that creek bed all the way downstream and see if it got hung up on the lanyard somewhere. That would be an interesting test.

I brought a nightforce compact from euro optics. After a while a bit of crap starting floating around on the reticle. I sent it back to the states and they sent me a new one.

With the Kiwi dollar being so weak, it's hardly worth it sometimes. If you want to go down the Leupold track, I know of a certified Leupold retailer who is selling $300-400 below what the major sporting stores are selling them for. He has low overheads and isn't in it for the money.
PM if you'd like to go further with it.

Brownells wouldnt ship a vortex venom to me. Opticsplanet did it no worries. Opticszone also confirmed to me they would ship the venom. Asking the business you are buying from always helps.

Well that's very interesting @Towely, because Optics Planet didn't used to.

So I just tried, and the transaction went through to the credit card stage, so yeah, looks like they will.

But here's the rub.

The price.

Total cost, shipped for a Vortex Viper PST Gen II 3-15x44 Second Focal Plane EBR-4 MOA Reticle: USD 957.

That's NZD 1,443 at Google exchange rate, not what your credit card would charge you.

Reloaders price for the exact same scope: NZD 1,459.

No prizes for guessing where I'd buy it from. I assume looking at this that Vortex has put some kind of price protection in place to ensure that international sales are roughly equal to local sales? Because that didn't used to be the case. When I bought three new rifles all together in Aus I tried to source Vortex scopes from the US from reputable dealers as they were so much cheaper, but failed, and I tried pretty hard.

@scottyrees is worth following up because I vaguely remember something along the same lines.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Well that's very interesting @Towely, because Optics Planet didn't used to.

So I just tried, and the transaction went through to the credit card stage, so yeah, looks like they will.

But here's the rub.

The price.

Total cost, shipped for a Vortex Viper PST Gen II 3-15x44 Second Focal Plane EBR-4 MOA Reticle: USD 957.

That's NZD 1,443 at Google exchange rate, not what your credit card would charge you.

Reloaders price for the exact same scope: NZD 1,459.

No prizes for guessing where I'd buy it from. I assume looking at this that Vortex has put some kind of price protection in place to ensure that international sales are roughly equal to local sales? Because that didn't used to be the case. When I bought three new rifles all together in Aus I tried to source Vortex scopes from the US from reputable dealers as they were so much cheaper, but failed, and I tried pretty hard.

@scottytrees is worth following up because I vaguely remember something along the same lines.

The dollar has dropped which makes quite a difference

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

The dollar has dropped which makes quite a difference

Also gst and ita charges on top of that

Originally Posted by MSL

Also gst and ita charges on top of that

Yes the credit card exchange rate fees etc can be easy to forget to factor in as well

Originally Posted by scottyrees

With the Kiwi dollar being so weak, it's hardly worth it sometimes. If you want to go down the Leupold track, I know of a certified Leupold retailer who is selling $300-400 below what the major sporting stores are selling them for. He has low overheads and isn't in it for the money.
PM if you'd like to go further with it.

I'm talking about a kiwi retailer by the way. No need to look overseas.