Where would be the cheapest place to buy colored mask?

[Koh]

cheapest i have seen so far is 115 at pbt's website... Does anyone know of another place that might have them at a lower price...

[Zara_athlen]

Buy a regular mask and just paint it. That would probaly be cheapest

[mrbiggs]

Buy a regular mask and just paint it. That would probaly be cheapest

Yes, but you have to be careful when you do that.

There's a couple threads on the topic of painting your own masks, I'll see if I can find them.

[LUDICROUS]

Yes, but you have to be careful when you do that.

There's a couple threads on the topic of painting your own masks, I'll see if I can find them.

Allstar.de have em for 98 dollars, but unless you can buy from a allstar rep, you'll have to pay a bazzillion dollars more to get it from blade or something.
Those masks arent FIE, but for a bit more they can be.

[CvilleFencer]

Even with the current exchange rate, getting them from Germany is still a bit cheaper than a lot of us vendors. Figure 130 for the FIE colored mask and about 20-30 for shipping. LP also makes colored masks but they, like Uhlmann and Allstar only offer them on the FIE model, which is kind of lame since it is the same mesh and they are basically saying if you want to look cool, you have to buy FIE and pay extra money to boot. I would probably go with an LP myself since the contour fit is pretty awesome by all reports (still have not tried it myself) and I like the extended bib on the LP masks but you really can't go wrong with Uhlmann either.

If you want a non-FIE mask you need to get a PBT mask. The entire time you are shelling out your $120.00 though, keep in mind that if not for the greed and avarice of the US vendor you would only be paying about $70 for that spiffy mask, which is what they pay in other countries that can order straight from PBT without the US middleman. You may have guessed I have a problem with PBT USA and as such I would order from LP or Uhlmann before I would them. Also with LP and Uhlmann for about $40 more you are getting an FIE mask.

[Koh]

thanks,

but how would one go about ordering from Uhlmann in germany when they want you to order from one of their US dealers....

[CvilleFencer]

Uhlmann could care less if you order from a German shop or a US distributor. I will attach two links below. Fechtsport Langenkamp is really good and easy to work with. Keep in mind the prices on their site include a VAT tax that is like 16 or 18% that you do not have to pay, so subtract that from the price. He is more than happy to send you either Allstar or Uhlman, whatever you prefer, and he charges the same prices as they do on their website. The other option is to order straight from Uhlmann. They seem to prefer larger orders but will still sell direct to you. I will include the web address' for both below. It is really very easy and painless to order from either one and I have never had any problems or mixups.

Uhlmann: http://www.uhlmann-fechtsport.de/inhalt_e.htm

Fechtsport Lagenkamp: http://www.fechtsport-langenkamp.de/html_en/start.htm

Best of luck and let me know if you have any other questions. It is usually a good idea to maximize your value buy ordering several things as the shipping tends to be about the same up to around 10 pounds IIRC. Maybe some nice FIE pants for under a $100 or an Uhlmann lame for around $90 perhaps? Order quick though, the Euro seems to gain about a penny a week it seems like. If a fencer hates Bush for no other reason it should be because of his weakening the dollar against they Euro which makes it hard to buy good kit overseas!

[Calder]

hmmm..ok, well this might get shamed, as it isnt from a "fencing" supplier of sorts, but a club member I know recently went to an auto body printing place that does the graphics for the sides of cars, buses, vans, etc. They produced an exact photo image of Bobba Fett and placed it over his Mask. Worked absolutely fantastic and only cost him about $50 because the size was so small (in relation to a bus!). The material is thicker then a light paint coat would be, but I imagine that they could do solids as well. So far it seems more abrasion resistant and looks amazing, judging from the wallops he took this past week and how well its held up to a few direct smacks. Ill try and get a pic.....

[Zilverzmurfen]

That sounds a bit geeky, but it'd be nice to see a pic if you can manage to get one!

[Calder]

That sounds a bit geeky, but it'd be nice to see a pic if you can manage to get one!

guess it depends on what graphic you have put on to your mask...as far as the "geek" element of it being bobba fett, your dead on....Chris is a Geek times ten...he just refuses to let his mask hide his "geek-dom."

[Gilbert Bailey - fencePBT.com, Inc.]

Cvillefencer makes many good points regarding ordering abroad. Ordering from Western Europe is getting much easier and cheaper. If you are ever in a manufacturer's store while traveling abroad you will always get the best deal/price. It is very different however doing business with Eastern Europe, China or Russia. We only do business with Eastern Europe but I hear the same thing from vendors who deal with the other areas I just mentioned.

Yes, if I were in Hungary and wanted to purchase the most expensive bottle of wine in a store I could get it for the equivalent of $3.00USD. That's a great deal. But if I wanted to have one shipped from that store to the US (or a palette for that matter)then the costs would go up quickly.

I know that some think that because an item can be purchased at the PBT shop in Hungary for X price that dealer pricing in other countries for anything other than X is outrageous. I can understand this thinking but I thought that I would go over a few points which are usually not thought of. I will use the example of the colored mask in question. This mask at today's price in USD after completing the euro conversion (which is changing daily to your detriment) would be $82.50USD. Contrary to what some think shipping items to or from Eastern Europe is not like doing business with Western Europe. Western Europe in some instances is almost like doing business with Canada. Eastern Europe on the other hand is very costly and has limited shipping options. Fedex is the standard method for shipments from PBT-Hungary to countries (off continent) where there is no dealer. To ship to the US you are looking at upwards of $60.00-$80.00 depending on what state you live in. In the past when customer's have had us check into sending something fedex that we didnt' have in stock from Hungary it would cost more in shipping than the actual value of the item. (Keep in mind that if you tried to add items to your order to leverage the shipment's cost that Fedex's pricing has a dimension multiplier for the weight of express shipments. Even if you only add 1-2 additional pounds, if the box size changes that will dramatically increase the price.) Next you will have the pay the Custom's fees. Lets forget about the debate if you are subject to tariffs or not. Even if you owe no tariff you will still have to pay a Fedex import clearance ancillary fee. This fee covers all of the fees Fedex is charged for submitting the paperwork to US Customs for clearance (even if you are 0.00 value.) If this process did not occur your box would just sit at US Customs indefinitely. It usually averages about $25.00 for 1 item. See http://www.fedex.com/us/services/shi...clearance.html for details. If you don't pay the fee you can't pick up/receive your shipment. In this example I would expect to pay about $150.00 - $170.00 for the mask. If PBT were in the UK or Germany and I were able to get the package via that country's post mail system and skirt US Customs by not having it declared (which often results in you not being able to insure the package since it has no declared value) then of course there wouldn't be much mark up over X. Also, if I lived in Poland or Belgium for example and order it from PBT via Hungarian post and within the EU system the cost wouldn't be much over X.

This example only illustrates a direct shipment to you (in the US) and does not take into account that we have to pay tariffs, much higher brokerage fees for clearance, the lease, power, water you name it to have it sitting on a shelf ready to ship out within 24 hours of its' order. It also doesn't take into account the labor of packing it, unpacking it, gas/transport, booth fee, hotel etc.. to have it at the booth for you to try on etc.. etc..

I think it is great that some can take advantage of ordering from Western Europe to save a bit here and there but to turn around and claim categorically that someone is greedy while not considering the facts is a bit over the top.