Becker exports?

LECTER

LECTER

Joined
Mar 27, 2008
Messages
1,146
Here's a question (don't know if it's been answered before) but, why is it so difficult to get Beckers in Europe??

Spoke to Beth at Ka-bar and didn't really get an answer other than they don't ship here! :confused:

Missing out on a HUGE market imho.

Maybe Ethan or Moose can chime in? ;)
 
Check out heinnie.com

They've got Beckers and Kabars. And what they dont have, they can get. Excellent customer service and cheap shipping to all of europe.
 
PropThePolecat said:
Check out heinnie.com

They've got Beckers and Kabars. And what they dont have, they can get. Excellent customer service and cheap shipping to all of europe.
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Thanks.

Terrible prices though. $130 for a BK2 (before shipping)? No thanks.

The point I'm making is why Ka-bar doesn't have dealers here in Europe.
 
LECTER said:
Thanks.

Terrible prices though. $130 for a BK2? No thanks.

The point I'm making is why Ka-bar doesn't have dealers here in Europe.
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Sounds like a good entrepreneurship/business opportunity to me
 
Hello,
First post but I thought this might be a good time to start posting! I'm in the UK and have been lurking on this sub-forum for about six months now and have always found the chat to be friendly and inviting. So much so that on Friday morning I ordered a BK2 from Heinnie which arrived Saturday morning......... Yes, they really do excel in customer service ! So if you're in Europe please give Heinnie a go, they can generally order most knives that they don't already stock (they do stock BK&T).
The only (for some, major) let-down is the cost, due to exchange rates, import duties etc. buying American made knives is expensive compared to the US website prices.
Hope this helps.

Also......I've not yet had a chance to use my BK2 too much but am looking forward to testing it against my Ranger RD6!.

Dave.
 
I feel sorry for you guys. If it's any consolation, you're paying what they're worth. It's us in the US that get some kind of weird discount :).
 
Hi BRL,
Must admit I think it's great value for money even at the sterling price, just a shame that we get robbed by those in power at every opportunity!

Dave.
 
BRL said:
I feel sorry for you guys. If it's any consolation, you're paying what they're worth. It's us in the US that get some kind of weird discount :).
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I got mine for 80 Euro ($109) with shipping and was happy to get it quickly at that price. I rage when I see it for sale for $60 in the US.

I'm going to hit up family in the US when I decide on my next knife for sure.

Just seems a pity that such great knives are hard to come by here.
 
I buy knives from US dealers that will ship internationally using Express Mail International most of the time. Shipping cost is about $35 each time.
 
I've never seen a Becker here in Taiwan. I've seen tons of Ka-Bar, Benchmade, Coldsteel, Spyderco, Buck etc. etc. but never a Becker.

I'd buy a BK2 in a heartbeat!!!
 
LECTER said:
Thanks.

Terrible prices though. $130 for a BK2 (before shipping)? No thanks.

The point I'm making is why Ka-bar doesn't have dealers here in Europe.
Click to expand...

Going international has tremendous costs and implications. Trade barriers include quotas and tariffs which are very challenging to overcome, not to mention that you must deal with the legal constrains of each country to which you sell. In the particular case of the Beckers there must be also complex legal restrictions because if they are required to be classified as weapons (rather than tools) the entire import process becomes more complicated and the importer goes under further scrutiny. It is a legal mess that few US companies are willing to go through.
 
Sorry to hear about the price bump up, guys. Its nothing personal, but getting US made stuff into other countries is a pain in the wallet.

Kabar sells to distributors, who in turn sell to dealers, who in turn sell to the end user. With all the mark ups for profit/tax fees, it gets the price up. Which, pisses me off, because the ideals behind BKT is affordable knives, high quality.

I wish there was something I could do, really, but there just isn't.

Moose
 
dallastxco said:
Going international has tremendous costs and implications. Trade barriers include quotas and tariffs which are very challenging to overcome, not to mention that you must deal with the legal constrains of each country to which you sell. In the particular case of the Beckers there must be also complex legal restrictions because if they are required to be classified as weapons (rather than tools) the entire import process becomes more complicated and the importer goes under further scrutiny. It is a legal mess that few US companies are willing to go through.
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I used to work in import/export. ;)

Funny how you can buy just about any other knife (US or non) here.

Beth gave me a list of distributors but they're all inactive.

Asking double the price still doesn't justify the import costs etc.

I was told by Ka-bar that they don't send to Europe; was wondering if there's a specific reason.

My connection here in Germany buys them privately and resells them, gets no dealer reduction.
 
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LECTER said:
I used to work in import/export. ;)

Funny how you can buy just about any other knife (US or non) here.

Beth gave me a list of distributors but they're all inactive.

Asking double the price still doesn't justify the import costs etc.

I was told by Ka-bar that they don't send to Europe; was wondering if there's a specific reason.

My connection here in Germany buys them privately and resells them, gets no dealer reduction.
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I'm not sure what happens between the distributor/dealer levels, but that's gotta be where the jump is made. I know what the VAT is on just a few knives, I couldn't imagine what it would be on say a pallet full of them.

KABAR does sell direct to end users, but you get to pay MSRP. They don't sell direct outside of CONUS though. To anyone. There have been special circumstances, but its rare when it happens, like on LE knives that are made just for Beckerheads. That's the only one I'm aware of.

Perhaps you should find a distributor and get setup as a dealer, it seems like you could make some moola, mon frere.

Moose
 
Everyone in Europe who needs a dealer, pm me, there is a great German online shop that sells everything Ka-Bar and ESEE have to offer, plus Wetterlings axes, spec ops stuff, paracord, etc etc etc. Very good customer service, too, I called the guy there a few times and he was always super polite and helpful.

BK-2 79€, ESEE-4 89€, BK-9 109€... best prices I've found on this side of the pond!
 
moosez45 said:
I'm not sure what happens between the distributor/dealer levels, but that's gotta be where the jump is made. I know what the VAT is on just a few knives, I couldn't imagine what it would be on say a pallet full of them.

KABAR does sell direct to end users, but you get to pay MSRP. They don't sell direct outside of CONUS though. To anyone. There have been special circumstances, but its rare when it happens, like on LE knives that are made just for Beckerheads. That's the only one I'm aware of.

Perhaps you should find a distributor and get setup as a dealer, it seems like you could make some moola, mon frere.

Moose
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I'm seriously thinking about doing that Moose.
maethor said:
Everyone in Europe who needs a dealer, pm me, there is a great German online shop that sells everything Ka-Bar and ESEE have to offer, plus Wetterlings axes, spec ops stuff, paracord, etc etc etc. Very good customer service, too, I called the guy there a few times and he was always super polite and helpful.

BK-2 79€, ESEE-4 89€, BK-9 109€... best prices I've found on this side of the pond!
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Yeah, I know him very well too. ;) He's a good guy and awesome service!
 
LECTER said:
Yeah, I know him very well too. ;) He's a good guy and awesome service!
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Would you tell me where you live? There's a big meet in Poland that a friend of mine is organizing, and everyone interested in knives, bushcrafty/outdoors stuff and/or survival is invited! It's the first weekend of October, maybe you would like to come?
 
maethor said:
Would you tell me where you live? There's a big meet in Poland that a friend of mine is organizing, and everyone interested in knives, bushcrafty/outdoors stuff and/or survival is invited! It's the first weekend of October, maybe you would like to come?
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I'm in Hamburg. Thanks for the offer. Let me get back to you tomorrow. :)
 
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