Calloway/Taylor Made Preowned - Why US only?

Ivefoundgod

I've recently been made aware of the existence of these websites. For those unfamiliar, basically an official 2nd hand shop for Calloway and Taylor Made clubs. Some unbelievable value on offer on both sites.

My question is, why isn't there a European equivalent? I know there's golfbidder.co.uk which is fine but not really the same thing and I know the prices are going to be cheaper in the US in general but surely most golfers would prefer to buy directly from the manufacturer rather than 2nd hand off eBay/Adverts etc. Anyway just curious if anyone knows why these are US exclusive sites.

PS. I'm aware they offer overseas delivery but not really useful to us with customs likely to eliminate any money saved.

PARlance

It's so much easier to run that kind of operation in the US.
I'd say they would have one if they thought it would make them money.
But there'd be so many more challenges to making money for it in Europe.

Much easier (and cheaper) to throw a set of clubs on a truck/train/low cost transport and get them from the east to west coast of the US than it would be getting them from Belmullet to Russia

Ivefoundgod

ajcurry123 wrote: »

It's so much easier to run that kind of operation in the US.
I'd say they would have one if they thought it would make them money.
But there'd be so many more challenges to making money for it in Europe.

Much easier (and cheaper) to throw a set of clubs on a truck/train/low cost transport and get them from the east to west coast of the US than it would be getting them from Belmullet to Russia

I get what you mean but we're all used to paying delivery charges getting stuff delivered in Europe, surely they could just charge say €10 delivery to cover costs? Seems like if golfbidder.co.uk can deliver to most of europe, no reason why those big name brands can't.

GreeBo

I think maybe as the common European market picks up a but this might become more common for mainland Europe, but its always going to be painful for us on the outskirts; mostly for the reasons AJ suggests, transport.

Mikeyt086

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

I get what you mean but we're all used to paying delivery charges getting stuff delivered in Europe, surely they could just charge say €10 delivery to cover costs? Seems like if golfbidder.co.uk can deliver to most of europe, no reason why those big name brands can't.

But €10 wouldn't cover the cost of delivery at all. I've been selling some football jerseys on ebay recently, and it cost me €12 to send one jersey (think of how small and light that would be) recorded (you absolutely have to send them recorded) to Sweden.

The awkward shape and weight of a golf club/multiple clubs would mean a significant amount more than €10 in shipping.

It's just too awkward really.

Gin77

I bought a taylormade R11s 5 and 7 wood from that site a couple of months ago clubs arrived within a week. I looked up a promo code and got an additional discount. I paid €180 delivered by fedex and didnt have to pay any taxes possibly because we werent home and they delivered to a neighbour. clubs looked brand new, the 5 wood had plastic on the head when it arrived. I wouldn't have minded paying tax either. Golfbidder is a rip off and poor quality gear, I bought. a 3 hybrid off them and I wasn't pleased.
They let you trade your clubs but give you very little for them. I had a 3&5 wood ping K15 they offered £45 each (no chance)

slave1

I've got 3 deliveries from Callaway, all in excellent condition and come with 1 year warranty, about 9 months into using my driver it started rattling, I phoned up Callaway (in Texas) on a Monday morning and had a brand new driver delivered (and rattle one collected) from the house on Thursday, no cost and no grief, highly recommend them.
Reason for non-Europe would be volume and economies, I'm in Florida at the minute and call into every golf shop I pass and clubs/gear are very expensive in store versus their online pricing so I'd say a lot go thrifty US golfers order on line, the roads are full of the likes of FexEx trucks, big business over here.

Ivefoundgod

That doesn't sound too bad Gin77, I wouldn't mind paying taxes as long as it wasn't too pricey. Glad you said that about golfbidder, I'd been looking at picking up a few clubs from there to try out.

Any idea how much delivery is from the US?

pinseeker

Would there have been no taxes as the clubs are second hand?
ive been told that anything used is ok but not sure if that is the case?

Ivefoundgod

pinseeker wrote: »

Would there have been no taxes as the clubs are second hand?
ive been told that anything used is ok but not sure if that is the case?

I've looked into it, got a solicitor friend to check. You only pay VAT on items up to 150 (including delivery) then a courier charge of around 15-20.

slave1

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

I've looked into it, got a solicitor friend to check. You only pay VAT on items up to 150 (including delivery) then a courier charge of around 15-20.

Jibberish, VAT is applicable from something like €22+ for imports from outside the EU, new or secondhand is irrelevant, P&P subject to VAT also.

Ivefoundgod

slave1 wrote: »

Jibberish, VAT is applicable from something like €22+ for imports from outside the EU, new or secondhand is irrelevant, P&P subject to VAT also.

Isn't that what I said? I meant you have to pay VAT on everything, go over 150 and its VAT and customs etc.

OilBeefHooked2

For fairness and balance, I have to say I have bought clubs from golfbidder numerous times and have always had good experiences, IMO their ratings are on the conservative side, i.e. a 6 is really a 7 or better.
Also it's foolish to think you will get the true value of an item when you're trading in, the only way to get the true value is to sell privately.

Ivefoundgod

david-k wrote: »

For fairness and balance, I have to say I have bought clubs from golfbidder numerous times and have always had good experiences, IMO their ratings are on the conservative side, i.e. a 6 is really a 7 or better.
Also it's foolish to think you will get the true value of an item when you're trading in, the only way to get the true value is to sell privately.

I've never used Golfbidder but just from browsing the shop I've always thought it's a bit pricey. I've seen 12 year old irons going for €200 on there. Pretty ridiculous considering you can get a brand new irons for €300.

Agreed about trading in, they're never going to give you the actual value, madness to expect it. The PGA value guide site does a good job of showing the difference between trade-in value and sale value.

slave1

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

Isn't that what I said? I meant you have to pay VAT on everything, go over 150 and its VAT and customs etc.

Ah, got you now, VAT and then excise duties once you breach €150 including P&P, from memory the courier charge for handling the taxes was fixed at €14.

Ivefoundgod

slave1 wrote: »

Ah, got you now, VAT and then excise duties once you breach €150 including P&P, from memory the courier charge for handling the taxes was fixed at €14.

Yeah when I read my post back I could understand the confusion, poorly worded

€14 isn't that bad then if you can get good value. I suppose it all depends on how much you're paying for the club in the first place.

Gin77

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

That doesn't sound too bad Gin77, I wouldn't mind paying taxes as long as it wasn't too pricey. Glad you said that about golfbidder, I'd been looking at picking up a few clubs from there to try out.

Any idea how much delivery is from the US?

My two clubs cost $50 or €30 roughly

GreeBo

Ivefoundgod wrote: »

I've never used Golfbidder but just from browsing the shop I've always thought it's a bit pricey. I've seen 12 year old irons going for €200 on there. Pretty ridiculous considering you can get a brand new irons for €300.

Agreed about trading in, they're never going to give you the actual value, madness to expect it. The PGA value guide site does a good job of showing the difference between trade-in value and sale value.

you can't just compare prices like that unless they are the same clubs!
ping beryllium are 15+ years old and would cost more than new AP2s for example.
also there are lots of older irons that are arguably stl better than assume of the new cheap stuff.

Ivefoundgod

GreeBo wrote: »

you can't just compare prices like that unless they are the same clubs!
ping beryllium are 15+ years old and would cost more than new AP2s for example.
also there are lots of older irons that are arguably stl better than assume of the new cheap stuff.

Ha, true enough but I meant in general, the average player is better served with a newish set for €300 than an old set for €200. To be more specific, I've seen Callaway x-14s for around €200 (not pro series). To me, thats very expensive for what is essentially an obsolete club. I'd rather pay an extra €100 for Cobra S3s, Mizuno JPX-800HD etc.

To be clear, I agree that some older clubs are still excellent, but not 10+ years IMO.