Import of parts to Europe and European alternatives - All experiences welcome

[RockClimber]

I Wanted to start this topic to share all experiences about import to Europe and possible alternatives for American products that are available in Europe.

I personally am from Belgium and drive a Jeep Wrangler JKU, and finding parts and gear can be a pain in the ***. I read about a lot of interesting gear on this forum, only to find out there is no dealer in Europe.
I'm considering ordering a Gobi Stealth Roof Rack and a Tuffy Security Deck. Both large Items that are only available in the US, and will probably cost me double once shipping and taxes are included.

Does anyone have experience with importing parts in to the EU? I was wondering if anyone has an estimate about shipping costs and additional tax fees?
European alternatives for the Tuffy Security Deck are always welcome, but I can't seem to find any.

Regards

 

[tuffy]

As far as the Tuffy security enclosure you're looking for, the Tuffy website should be able to get you a quote to ship it. Unfortunately, it's difficult to get a European dealer to stock products! We at Tuffy, and many of our US dealers, ship items around the world on a regular basis, so it can definitely be done!

 

[redneck44]

Having owned several American vehicles importing stuff is fairly straight forward, the only sting in the tail from a UK perspective is that duty is paid on the whole cost of the package (including postage) so while UPS etc is very quick it can add to the bill considerably, US postal is slower but much cheaper, however many vendors won't use it.

Sometimes the UPS service has been astounding, I ordered some climbing gear, late one Friday night and it landed on my doorstep the following Monday morning. I also do fairly regular Carhartt clothing orders for myself which pretty much always ends up being cheaper than the UK sourced stuff, you also get American sizes and quality rather than the watered down undersized euro version.
I've never had a problem ordering from the U.S and their customer service has always been great.