Dutch growshops MUCH cheaper than UK!

[TrichomeUK]

High all,

I would like to save UK growers money, and for most growing supplies, growshops in Holland are MUCH! cheaper than their UK counterparts, and the hydro shop owners here know very well!

They are taking their last chance to rip-off Britain, but Dutch shops are gaining more popularity nowadays.

All of the commercial growers use Dutch suppliers, as they'd have a heart attack going to the local UK shops, when they see the prices!

It is UK hobby growers who are the targets for the daylight robberies, and a lot of it can be avoided.

So, if you're a hobby grower, or someone looking to expand, then check out these links! :

www.hometech.nl

www.smokeys.nl

www.natminds.nl

That's for starters - this will be ongoing, with reports from happy UK importers! (i.e. hobby growers).

I would recommend going to Holland personally, especially for Carbon filters, etc., which are 1/3 the price.

Here's an private mail I received at Overgrow, from a respected UK grower there:

Howzabout this for a result....

Got an email from smokeys today about the fans and filters...

They said, including p&p, for the 250m3 - €100 (£64)

and for the 400m3 - €134 (£86) !!!

That's fan AND carbon filter!!!

Compare with growell... 250m3 fan - £90 + filter £90 = £180

or 400m3 fan - £110 + filter £120 = £230

Some price difference, huh?

Well, I'm ordering the 400 on Monday and I'll see which is the fastest method of payment... they gave me four options;

1. banktransfer

2. cash with registered post.

3. cheque

4. paypal

I'll let you know how it all pans out m8..

L8er!

For now, I'll continue with the research and keep you all posted!

T:uk

[oldtimer1]

Sorry T:uk but I don’t totally agree here. Yes some of the uk hydro suppliers charge big time. But they have problems as well. It is not a level playing field. For years the Dutch and other European manufactures have been shafting us. Most of them run a cartel thing. Take a top manufacturer like canna, to sell its products in the uk a reseller has to buy from their uk wholesale distributor. Any uk growshop found buying from a European wholesaler gets blacklisted as a grey marketeer and they sure as hell try and make life as difficult as possible for any one found trying to get round this or undercutting the rrp. This way they can charge as much as they think the market will bear in each country they outlet in.

We have been putting up with this shit for years hence cars, tellies and nearly every appliance end up costing more here.

Ok it is true that some things will cost a little more anyway some because of our tax. The Dutch retailer should be adding our local vat and customs import to any retail they are selling and sending to the UK..

With transport costs I know for instance that a pallet load of fertiliser from Groningen to London costs £120 plus vat for carriage alone if it was to Scotland it would cost a lot more. But that is still a shed load less cash than buying from the local cartel outlet. The uk reseller ends up paying wholesale at nearly what the same product is retail in Holland.

Now this is normal business practice brought this side of the pond originally by the ford motor co I believe. To me its sharp practice verging on criminal. Its not, at the moment its perfectly legit.

Thing is, the emerging uk growshops don’t have the clout to beat this, and you, by buying from Dutch resellers who make as much or more profit than the uk reseller for your own short term gain are not going to help change this. Bringing the closed shop cartels to light may do so! Its just not talked about because of the pressure these European co’s can bring to bear. If you want things to change and the market protection go let this see some light of day. It shouldn't be, we are supposed to be in a common eu market and these entrenched practises should end. Some of the uk retailers manage to make bigger profits by taking a van out to Holland and buying from a local wholesaler and bringing it back. This is still very profitable for them! Even with the cost of the ferry, van, and wages, this should tell you how much the cartels are profiteering. You can tell by the way if a grow shop is doing this because the products will not have an English label.

I have to say that Biobizz charge the same wholesale from their wholesale outlet in Holland to every one! Only the freight cost changes so not all of them are at it and some are honourable.

It is yours and every ones right to buy where you can get things the cheapest. But it seems to me also fair to point out why this is in part at least the case. The point is the uk resellers are not to blame for the price discrepancy and a lot of them are working on lower margins than their European counterparts.

By the way the first person to break a weed related European price fixing cartel was Mikes Weedseed. They managed to bankrupt him, but the trend he started was later taken up by Gypsy thats why seeds cost less now.

[Fred Flint Stoned]

On the subject of seeds OT1. Od you think taht gyspys are as good quality as other, more expensive seed retailers?

The reason I ask is some ppl say you need to be a great grower to get the same results from gypsys seeds but what do you think.

I will find out for myself I suppose.

[oldtimer1]

Fred if you buy Sagarmatha seeds from G they are the same seeds you get from Tony at the Sagarmatha shop in the dam. The same goes whether they be sensi seedbank, DP, Serious or any of the other seedbank seeds he resells. He sells the real deal from each seed bank, He doesn't sell fakes.

[Oldpink]

I'd have to agree Gypsy seed's are the real deal

I have have D.P a few time's as well as sensi and there in the breeder's pack's and they produced result's for me time after time

Also I agree about the UK being shafted in prices

but i'm afraid Trick you seem to be aiming all of this toward's tayside hydrotek

can you explain why

OP

:rasta:

[PaulPot]

Trichome, thanks for the info mate, i need a fan and carbon filter and didnt realise it was going ot cost so much in the UK.

Ot1, just a couple of points mate....

Isnt carbon filter, extractors, etc manufactured in this country? Surely B&Q and anywhere else that sells such things doesnt import them from Growshops in Holland, therefore there is no reason for them to be sold on at such a high price in the UK. Cars, etc are different but im pretty sure if we were getting shafted so much by Europe on things like filters and fans (not major items like cars) someone would have begun manufacturing in the UK long ago.

Vat and import taxes arent applicable. Vat would be added at source (Dutch vat, and should say so on their order....possible prices are Dutch vat-inclusive) and Customs Duty is only applicable to goods coming from outside the EC.

Also re seeds: There is an online seedbank that sells feminised seeds for £30/10. These same seeds, from the same seedbank, are sold at my local headshop (the guy showed me their brochure) for £75/10. Even if he was paying the same as what is charged on the website, a 150% mark-up is a bit heavy, remember he has practically no other costs to import them therefore is almost all profit!!!

We are now in the common market with freedom of choice, hats off to Trichome for showing UK growers that there is a SERIOUS alternative to rip-off Britain for hobby growers.

P

[TrichomeUK]

Sorry OT1, this is 2002, and as PaulPot says, the tax is already added in Holland, and there are no import duties in the EU.

I know the UK growshops are making a killing, and that importing/picking up stuff in Holland is much cheaper.

Oldpink - this has been going on for some time, the Dutch research that is.

The PM I posted from someone at OG was before HydroTek opened his mouth.

I am genuinely interested in driving down the UK market price, much to the upset of 'entrepreneurs' like HydroTek.

HydroGarden wholesalers in Coventry are going to have a shock if I have anything to do with it!

All the best

[Joolz]

Just checked out the links you supplied Trichome ?

Just my opinion for what its worth !

www.hometech.nl

Could well have sold Lti extractors with matching carbon filters but unfortunately the whole site was in Dutch.

www.smokeys.nl

There is an English translation which is a big plus for us who don't speak the lingo .

Couldn't find an Lti extractor, but I did find:

250 m3 DDL 96-96 which needs to be built into a box, so moderate carpentery skills would be needed to install it.

Also found a UFO exhauster, which in my opinion looks, based on the photo supplied, like an inferior copy of an Lti extractor, which I assume is the reason for the lower price ?

www.natminds.nl

All the products are listed as product codes and no corresponding pictures to show you what you are actually buying.

OK if you know exactly what you are looking for, but to a newbie it could become confusing.

Compare with growell... 250m3 fan - £90 + filter £90 = £180

or 400m3 fan - £110 + filter £120 = £230

Some price difference, huh?

I take it the Growell prices you state there are for the LTI EXTRACTOR range with matching CARBON FLTER ?

As you can see from my quick reveiws of the sites you directed us to, none of them appeared to sell the identical same product , which kind of makes any comparison with uk prices impossible.

, no offence mate,

It's like putting a beemer next to a skoda, and then saying the skoda is a better car because its cheaper.

[TrichomeUK]

Wake up and smell the coffee Joolz,

Here's a post from OG, just posted by Lambuster:

Well now, that kind of attitude won't win many customers, m8!

When shit like that gets out, I doubt anyone would want to buy their overpriced "goods". I actually took a look at their website and found very little of anything on there, but that's besides the point.

In my opinion, places like this are supposed to give people the information they need... and for me this includes saving money on equipment whenever possible... Isn't that the point of all those threads on here about home made bubblers, DWC systems, nft trays etc.?

Well I'm sorry, but bollocks. You've given me a great heads-up with smokeys.nl m8.... and I owe you one for that....

I've ordered their extractor fan and carbon filter (400m3 for £87!!!) and if anyone from the UK growshops wants to bitch about it then bring it on!!!!! LOLOL

Just cos we find bargains and pass them on to other people doesn't mean that we should get crap like that... and for that matter, it doesn't mean that I'll never buy from a UK growshop either... some things are obviously easier to get locally, but when you can save a lot of dosh (in my case nearly £150 on just these two items), it just makes sense.

Doesn't it?

Props to you m8, cos you're trying to help people save a bit of money and this stuff's expensive enough... 'kin 'ell m8, you should go into competition with 'em!!!!! Buy your gear from holland and then undercut the twats over here!!!

Pos K to the max.

More will follow...........

[TrichomeUK]

Joolz,

If you used your initiative, as I did, then you would:

a) easily find prices of the fans....and yes.....even translate the Euros to Pounds....imagine that!

b ) found an online language translator.

How about this, which took me 2 mins to find:

http://www.worldlingo.com/products_service...ranslation.html

I used the translator for the more text-based pages, eg. Cool tubes on Hometech.

All the best

[TrichomeUK]

By the way, if you'd done any research, you'd realise the fans are not called LTI's - don't know where this comes from - Growell??!

They are called RVK (in-line centrifugal) fans and are manufactured by Systemair in Germany.

All the best

[TrichomeUK]

Now, that's more like a business response Hydrotek, better than the "you're a little prick hiding behind a PC" from earlier today.

Notice the difference in tone readers? (despite the 'busy body' bitching)

You should have learned from the spam master Gypsy, who has done well because he has the balls to send illegal goods to the US, his low prices and his excellent business manner.

For your reference, another good business man is Nol in Haarlem - maybe contact him and learn more about customer service?!

T:UK, consumer champion for UK growers

[Fred Flint Stoned]

There is a great article over at overgrow on to make a carbon filter with a fan and scented cat litter. A little invention and this particular subject could be dead.

I agree with tricky but it does seem to be personal as he (you) did accuse the guy of spamming and that is being personal because it was directed at him (or to be technical, at his person).

This site is about friendship and helping so lets leave the fighting to other sites - people can think for themselves IMO.

[TrichomeUK]

High Fred, the filters you mention are great for micro-grows, but not for larger set-ups: better to get a 'pro' filter for a 1/3 of the UK price, from Holland.

Using www.dictionary.com,

"spamming" = To send (a message) indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups.

So, you see, I was abiding by the dictionary definition, not a 'personal attack'.

All the best

[TrichomeUK]

BTW: Fred; "people can think for themselves IMO. "

>> I totally agree: provide the information and let people decide for themselves.

I don't stand to gain anything financially, just the knowledge of helping others, whereas the likes of HydroTek do, of course, want to make money out of people here - i.e. a 'captive' audience.

All the best