Where to buy binoculars in London (1 Viewer)

[Troubador]

I apologize for my non glass related statement offending those on the forum. I will keep my beliefs and opinions regarding those avenues to my self and close friends.

Andy W.

Thank you Andy.

Lee

 

[Troubador]

I personally think he deserved Gordon's response. As a moderator, shouldn't you also ask Andy W./Dries1 to refrain from needless and irrelevant political jabs in a thread about optics shops?

Jos
I understand exactly where you are coming from and all members are entitled to their opinions. But this is not a question of opinions nor a question of what anyone deserved, it is a question of what Birdforum allows.

Birdforum is full of needless and irrelevant chatter, it brings a fizz and vigour to the place and lightens up the sometimes deep and esoteric discussions about optics: it should never, ever, lead to personal attacks.

Lee
Moderator

 

[wllmspd]

Richmond or Bushy parks in south west London, rspb Rye Meads up north. Woodberry wetlands too. I believe that Morden hall park and down the river Randle are good too. Some of these sites are more suited to scope use, but bins will be infinitely better than no optics! There can be quite a lot in the city if you just look up.
Much of the countryside is open fields, so you would need to drive a lot, but from talking to Americans, you consider a drive to scotland as “short”! WWT and RSPB sites concentrate the habitat and so are a better bet.

Do as I do in foreign climes.. look left, look right, look up… you never know where the cars will try to get you. At least we’re not as bad as Holland with billions of human powered missiles (bicycles) at every step. The Underground train frequency is much improved than it once was. Enjoy the trip.

PEterW

 

[maico]

I used to run a business based on arbitrage. Moving mainly German prestige stuff from cheaper to more expensive markets. The trade was mainly German or UK sourced exported to America.
These days everyone can check pre-tax prices online so it largely disappeared.
Gray market photo equipment on Ebay is similar on each national website.

Shopping around in the UK is cheaper than Tokyo which I have visited a number of times.

One standout is used cars. Used German prestige are often way cheaper in the UK than the US. Normal older used cars are much cheaper in the UK than France. Right hand drive keeps used prices down.

 

[Peter Audrain]

It does seem as if the only place one would end up paying much less (as an American) by buying in the U.K. is with Leica, Swarovski, and Zeiss, which squares with your experience, maico. If the pound continues to weaken against the dollar as political events unfold, the advantage might get more pronounced. The biggest built-in price advantage is that all U.K. prices include V.A.T., which is a hefty percentage, and which can be recovered on leaving the country. No U.S. prices are quoted to include sales tax, and I, at least, often end up forgetting about it until right before clicking 'Buy'!