Dialyt, you should pay Black & Lizars a visit, at 8 Wellington Place, Belfast. I personally found the gentleman behind the counter less than welcoming and helpful, to the extent that I took my business elsewhere, but they do stock Swarovski and Leica binoculars. (Perhaps I didn't look like a serious customer because I'm in my mid-twenties.)
Swarovski make beautiful binoculars, but they haven't a clue about the importance of online marketing. Their website is comically bad: ugly and dysfunctional. Even ancient German companies like Zeiss and Leica have more useful websites, with large glossy PDF brochures available for download. These give one an idea of the "fit and finish" and "look and feel" of the products, which is essential information for making a choice.
The internet is where most people research a major purchase these days, and premium binoculars are things one tends to mull over for a long time before making the commitment (or maybe that's just me?). Lots of places in Europe have poor access to binocular stores, and the storekeepers are loath to let one just mess about with a bunch of binoculars for literally hours, only to leave without buying anything, and perhaps repeat this process for a few days over a couple of weeks before buying. But that service is the only thing they can offer over online stores! Their inability to see this astonishes me, and their fate is guaranteed if they don't wake up soon. The market of dupes who can't comparison-shop online is rapidly becoming extinct, and nobody will knowingly pay more if there is no added value.
Whoops, I'm ranting about the sheer ineptitude of the marketing and selling of binoculars once again. Apologies all around.
Give Black & Lizars a visit; I may have had bad luck there. Or maybe cross the pond and check out US stores, where customer service seems to be given some consideration. Prices are far better there too, due to the current exchange rate, better competition, and economies of scale.
