I'm kind of interested in acquiring a Les Howis (Marksman Bows Ltd) target bow for my collection. He's a highly-regarded English bowyer, been building recurves since the '60s. I've found a few on ebay UK, but all of the auctions say "May not post to United States." Is that just a polite British way of saying the seller prefers not to ship across the Atlantic, or is it some kind of regulation (national treasure and all that, eh?).

Can any British LWers shed some light?

I've no idea why they shouldn't post to the USA ...sorry

I have a couple of Marksman bows .. they really are superb.

The only commercial bow ever to be made in Sherwood Forest

Dave, us Australians suffer with the same situation when trying to buy gear from the USA. I think it is all about the extra pain involved dispatching to another country. Freighting a bow to Australia from the USA via FedEx usually costs about $75 to $100 USD and extra packaging. I have only had one person refuse to send me a bow from the states because I was a foreigner. He thought I was from Austria, even when I explained there are no kangaroos in Austria.

If they're not in Austria, then where are they?

Phil, that's a nice looking bow. Wish I'd have come across one when I was over there a couple months ago... Looks a bit like a Bear Tigercat or Bearcat. Would have brought it back on the plane.

I run into that in Canada. SOME U.S. folks must think shipping to Canada is overseas. It's mind numning. 50 of the bows I. buy say the same thing. I think folks may also have no idea how to fill out the customs form . It's dead easy.

I shipped one bow to Italy.I was more concerned that it would get there in one piece than the hassle of jumping through the hoops to get it there.

The import duty on a new bow was $600, on a used bow, $75, this one went out as "used sporting goods, archery" at the request of the buyer. I had shot it some so it was actually"used".

The bow was snake backed as well which was prohibited in Italy but customs never opened the package.

I wouldn't do the same again because the bow wasn't insured, if it got lost in the mail I am sure the buyer would have though I scammed him. I spent a lot of time worrying about the transaction going through smoothly, too much time.

The sharp Euros have a mailing service here in the US. I sent one to a guy in Italy last year thru his US mailing service, I sent it to the FL service, they forwarded it to him. No Problem!

I've sent a Robertson to Australia. No issues. The very first thing I think, when I see a foreign buyers name or location, is the buyer is a fake scam of some sort. Kinda like the banker emails from Thailand.

Not meaning to upset you guys but if I knew a guy from from the Leatherwall it would be very different and I'd be a bit more open.

BTW- good to see you folks here.

I have shipped bows to France,Austria,Canada and Singapore and had no problems.The last thing I shipped was to the UK,the package was held here in customs for over a week and then was held in customs over there for a bit.It took almost 4 weeks to get there,The guy was bugging me after a week at first.Once I shipped it and gave him the tracking number its out of my hands.It was such a hassle I would have to think long and hard about shipping out of the country again!Shipping a T/D bow was a lot cheaper then a longbow,the USPS post office won't ship anything over 60" max length Internationally.You have to use a different shipper like UPS and it gets real expensive!I priced sending a 68" longbow to a guy in Australia,it was as much as I was selling the bow for.I do feel for you guys wanting to purchase a bow from another country!

I don't think it has much to do with legality, it's about paperwork. I have sent overseas several times, and all I specify is that they pay all the fees incurred with that shipment. Most folks agree to that since they know customs can impact that. I only take paypal as payment. If you look at Ebay you will see a lot of British sellers selling to the US and anywhere else, so it is up to the seller alone whether or not they want to do that.

You could send a question to the seller and offer to pay all incurred fees and see if that will work. I don't think it is that hard to ship a bow across the pond. I bought a Border Bow and had no problems. I wouldn't think Scotland and England would be too dissimilar.

I usually always pay for the bow and shipping. I have found the easiest way to pay was by a certified bank cheque from my bank that was drawn on a USA bank. I post the cheque to the seller and he sends the goods once the bank cheque is cleared. Completely safe for the seller and the only risk is to me if the mail is lost or the seller doesn't send the article. It usually takes a week USA to Australia.

We have the same situation all the time in Canada...the eBay shipping note simply says they may not ship to Canada...just one more reason I no longer pay any attention to bows on eBay...I am more than happy to not spend money with people who have so many buyers waiting in line they do not need it

DDave

I shipped a bow quiver to Canada once, I think it sold for about $25 but shipping was something like $50, it was a huge pain in the a**, not worth my time, but the guy in Canada lived in a remote area so he was accustomed to paying high shipping from the US (at least that's what he told me). Based on that experience, I wouldn't be inclined to ship international, simply because it's a hassle, nothing against folks living outside our borders. I suspect for people living in the UK, shipping to the U.S. is equally troublesome.

Shopping either direction is no problem except shipping costs sometimes are ridiculous. I myself buy a lot of my archery stuff (3Rivers, Thunderhorn, EFA and others) at your country. Shipping even when it came to longbows never was a problem. For the other direction over the pond almost every European carrier has services to the states. I myself even shipped liquor from Germany to my buddy in NC - no problem.

I've sent items to Canada with no problem. The only issue for Canada is the customs over there and the subsequent costs.

if you have any acquaintances/friends in the UK ask them to buy & ship to you - on the understanding that you will pay all costs. Do you know which model you want? There's the classic wood handled 1-pieces from the 60's, the chunky 1-pieces from the 70s & the TD's from then on. There's a few (10) in my album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/? set=a.138856482867836.36470.100002304553118&type=1&l=501230855 f (N.B. pics are 4 yrs old so might have a few more now) Here's some more pics of 3 of my favourites: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/? set=a.690139247739554.1073741870.100002304553118&type=1&l=f6a7 57536a If you take a look through my FB albums you'll find a few more Marksman bows....

If you take a look through my FB albums you'll find a few more Marksman bows....

Thinking on - i'm interested in potentially acquiring one or more of the following: - BP Rogue, Renegade, Spoiler, Equalizer, Silencer TD, Eliminator, Marauder TD, Equalizer, Centurion; - Adirondack Duoflex, Predator, Conqueror - Eddings (Supercast) Spartan, Trojan, ....

Not all at once i hasten to add nor at silly prices. ....maybe we could help each other?

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