Products > Test Equipment
What is the European EBay?
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Traceless:

--- Quote from: jjoonathan on July 19, 2022, 03:17:51 pm ---I can't go 5 minutes without hearing about the EUR:USD 1:1 situation, so I can't go 5 minutes without thinking that maybe I should take advantage singlehandedly save the European economy by buying a nice soldering iron or something.

Unfortunately I don't know squat about the used test equipment market in Europe, except for what happens on EBay itself. Where should I be looking?

--- End quote ---

Hey jjoonathan, I also thought about buying stuff from the US in the past. Some items are considerably cheaper in the US than in Europe. Unfortunately you pay a big surcharge for taxes/duty and shipping (see examples from german ebay below, taxes and shipping are in the light grey fine-print below the item price). I guess the problem exists the other way around as well, so it is probably not worth it ;)

alm:

--- Quote from: Traceless on July 20, 2022, 08:38:29 am ---Unfortunately you pay a big surcharge for taxes/duty and shipping (see examples from german ebay below, taxes and shipping are in the light grey fine-print below the item price). I guess the problem exists the other way around as well, so it is probably not worth it ;)

--- End quote ---
Taxes and duty you pay either way, and you also pay for new goods. I don't think the same problem applies to the US, because as far as I know the thresholds for having to pay taxes and fees on imported goods are much higher than in the EU. Shipping depends a lot on the shipper. From the US to EU FedEx and UPS are insanely expensive unless the seller has a bulk contract, while they are very competitive domestically. So sellers may just ship FedEx/UPS out of convenience. That's probably where €200 shipping for a 34401A comes from. I'm not sure if the same applies shipping from the EU to the US, although obviously international shipping is more expensive than domestic shipping.

If you buy somewhat regularly, a freight forwarder can save a lot of money, especially if you combine multiple items. From the US to the EU I have good experiences, even for heavy test equipment, with PlanetExpress, but for Europe their only warehouse is in the UK, which is a bad choice post-Brexit. There are other freight forwarders that have warehouses in the EU. Forward2Me has attractive rates but I haven't tried them.
inaxeon:

--- Quote from: tv84 on July 19, 2022, 06:01:48 pm ---About the prices, I think you'll have to wait for EUR:USD 2:1... :)

--- End quote ---

Knowing my luck that'll probably about the same time GBP:USD is also 2:1. In the meantime I've been plenty busy buying e-waste fine vintage equipment from eBay.de/eBay.fr

Does eBay's GSP work in reverse? I normally find it's a very safe and economical way of getting stuff from the US eBay site to the UK...
LinuxHata:
Well, as an ebay seller since 2013, I can say that they went really nuts after COVID.
Before the covid, everything was simple.
Say, I was selling something for $100.
This meant that I would get $96.5 on hands (- paypal fees)
and ebay will take 10% of my sale, so this means $86.5, and $5 withdrawal fee, this is $81.5

After they switched to payoneer from paypal, things got really weird.

Say I've sold something for $100.
I will get $100-15% on my payoneer account, $85, but there's $12+2% withdrawal fee on payoneer, + $35 yearly "service" fee.
So, instead of $81.5 as in case with paypal, I will get about $70+ yearly fee. Very bad.

So why I'm writing this? many sellers, especially not so experienced ones, are not aware of these  increased fees, so keep prices low. So hurry, while they get familiar with these new fees :)
rf-messkopf:

--- Quote from: jjoonathan on July 20, 2022, 12:40:07 am ---Yeah, TE prices do seem systematically higher across the pond.

--- End quote ---

I'm buying test equipment in the US every now and then. Despite the shipping cost and import duties this turns out to be worthwhile sometimes. I guess that says it all about the EU test equipment prices.  :)


--- Quote from: jjoonathan on July 20, 2022, 12:40:07 am ---
--- Quote from: Ice-Tea ---there is no alternative
--- End quote ---
It's looking that way :/

--- End quote ---

You can check the used equipment dealers when you are looking for something specific or rare. Two outlets in Germany that offer modern equipment with warranty and additional services like calibration are

https://www.instrumex.de
https://www.rosenkranz-elektronik.com

They are not cheap. But every once in a while you may be able to find a bargain. It's also worth inquiring and saying that the listed price is beyond your budget and ask if they can offer anything cheaper. They also carry a lot of R&S equipment if you are looking for that specifically.

This dealer is a bit more of a flea market: http://www.rainer-foertig.de/. Also, I've bought from this dealer in the UK in the past: http://www.stewart-of-reading.co.uk. http://www.htb-elektronik.com/ currently has nothing listed on his website, but had good deals in the past.

Regular test equipment dealerships offer demo devices and do stock clearances:

https://www.sky-messtechnik.de/produkte/gebrauchte-messgeraete
https://www.datatec.eu/sonderposten-messtechnik?p=1
https://www.batronix.com/versand/sales/index.html

But I doubt that it pays off buying from them across the pond.
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