Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
Please provide a quote from any bakfiet-like cargo bike dealer in Europe for the delivered $ price to anywhere in the U.S including tariffs, shipping and importer/distributor fees. It is easy to type a make believe 20% less! bargain easy peasy order, not so easy to find it in reality.
Or perhaps you were suggesting that a U.S. customer fly to Europe and bring it back as a piece of oversized luggage on the return flight. That price should be eye popping indeed.
Any German bike shop will ship to the US in box, with VAT and ask the US-based customer to pay import duties.
To provide an easy example. These guys with a VSF bike out of Germany to the US. €641-19%+€50 worldwide shipping.
ebay link here:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/vsf-fahrradma...Nah6g#shpCntId
Duty to the US runs only 11%.
Import duty & taxes calculation result
Most bike shops will ship Worldwide all one has to do is pick up the telephone.
I do this all of the time with stuff from Japan to Europe but use TENSO as a reshipper (mail box in Tokyo, reships to me in the UK ... I pay not Japanese tax and pay the VAT and import tariff on the stuff I receive.)
I'm heading up to Copenhagen to be an external reviewer on a PhD thesis and could ask the cost of shipping a nihola to the states if you'd like.