slowmail

I have a friend who will be traveling to Germany next week. Would I be able to order a Topas 82L from this (or any other website) with my credit card, and shipped to his name and hotel in Germany, with the necessary paperwork for a VAT refund when she leaves? Or would we have to actually put it on his card instead?

How complex is the VAT refund paperwork? How much time would he have to take at the airport, and will he be able to use the newly purchased Topas as his check-in? Does he receive the refund in cash, or does it go back to my card?

Is there anywhere that I could find a brief walk-though of the entire process?

Thanks.

sapguy

Thank you for the very useful info!

Ascotshoes

If the item being shipped internally within the EU (Including your friends German hotel) I don't think they will deduct the 19% VAT off.

If they do, it's done within 3-5 days. I paid using Paypal, and received an email within 3 days to say there will be a €95 credit back to my PP account.
A couple of days later, my luggage arrived in the UK. Totally efficient service
from a German provider.

At check out, I gave them my UK VAT registration number in the comments box and my employee German Bank discount code to get the extra 10% off.

The Cost = €609
The 10% Employee Bank Discount = €548
Less the 19% VAT = €460

= £360 GBP. Sweet.

I told my local UK Rimowa supplier and they couldn't believe how much!!!
Given the weakness of the Euro, they say it's close to their "cost" price
Not sure I buy that. But I know it's a bloody good deal for me.

I have another 3 Topas cases on the way :-)

germandude

Ordering at koffer direkt is cheaper because there usually is a 10% discount voucher available for this shop.

You can find the current discount discount code for koffer direkt here:

http://koffer-fuer-handgepaeck.de/%E...ms/2015/02/16/

Due to popular demand I posted an English version of the post. My English is not pefect, but hopefully easier to read than google translate.

germandude

Currently, you can even save more when ordering from koffer direkt as there is 15% discount code available:

http://koffer-fuer-handgepaeck.de/ko...-discount-code

nmh1204

You cannot get the tax back for ANY online purchases. It is only for in store purchases.

not that it matters, it's still a good deal

sapguy

Thanks so much for posting this. BTW, I was using my iPad and somehow cannot see the discount code, but on my laptop, I got the discount code which is 'koffer1170315' (without the quotes) for everyone's convenience.

Since the website is in German, I had asked some silly questions but have since gotten answers for all of them myself so I am putting them here for everyone's convenience:
1. The price shown on the koffer-direkt website after you go there from the URL provided by germandude does NOT reflect the 15% discount! Once you put the item in the shopping cart, you can apply the discount code at checkout, and the sweet price will show up!
2. The website mentioned FREE delivery for orders over 20 euros, and that's for Germany. For delivery to France and certain other European countries, it's 5 euros
3. For delivery to the US, it looks like it's 50 euros, but you will likely need to pay for customs and duties

Thanks again for providing the discount code. I will be buying a Rimowa Limbo Multiwheel IATA Cabin shortly

nmh1204

No company in Europe will ship Rimowa to America, this has been covered in other threads.

Also, some people (that ordered before Europe stopped shipping Rimowa to America) had to pay customs and duty.

If you want to purchase this in Europe, and claim the tax back, it must be a store purchase, not online

sapguy

Actually, koffer-direkt will ship to America for a flat fee of 50 euros, but I may have to pay for customs and duties so probably not worth it.

nmh1204

Really? They must've changed it. In the other threads, they cancelled any order to America that contained Rimowa. All other products they ship.

If you order Rimowa through them, they may cancel it, as Rimowa doesn't allow their suppliers to ship from America

Seems they're still not shipping Rimowa to America - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24551483-post199.html

jelts

I am in Singapore and would like to ask which site you got your luggage from. Any tips would be helpful.

RimowaTalk

http://www.koffer24.com/shop/en/cms/shipping

*due to legal licence regulations, companies are not allowed to ship Rimowa products to the countries marked

N1120A

Yes you can, and departing Germany is the easiest place in the EU to do tax back. Just go to the BGS counter and they will put it on your credit card. Much easier than France, where you have to use La Poste.

Or whatever company the shop you are buying from uses.

Actually, tons are made in Canada now.

Actually - they don't charge VAT if it is going out of the EU. Further, if the value is within your duty free allowance and you have traveled out of the US within the requisite time, they won't charge duty.

There are European companies that will ship it.

kruzor

I've done the same last week, had it shipped by koffer to Spain and picked it up in Madrid during my visit.

Now I am reviewing the Warranty booklet and it says "5 year warranty woldwide except US and Canada"? Did I get screwed? Did I just buy a 550 dollar piece of luggage not covered by warranty in the USA?!

kruzor

I just bought a piece while in Europe, ordered from Koffer. Looking at the brochure, it says "warranty 5 years word wide, except US and Canada". I have not seen anybody mentioned that! Does it mean my piece has no warranty since I bought it at Koffer!?