Hi everyone, as a lot of you know I still want a nice Go set and don't have one atm. My birthday is coming and I have an important job interview next Tuesday which can rescue me from unemployment. In top of this, Kuroki is celebrating his centennial anniversary with some juicy discounts in the blue label series.

I'm not an expert of any kind and my budget is really tight (400€ -ish) so blue label is the only quality I can afford and I think I'd be more than happy with a regular shin-kaya board (but size20, I just really like thick boards). Of course I'd like to purchase the thicker stones the better too, but with shipping cost and taxes everything skyrockets to nonsense (I live in Spain).

For example: the set with size 30 stones, kuri XL bowls, and size 20 shin-kaya board is around 255€. What a deal!, I told to myself, BUT:

Shipping cost: 115€ (sea is REALLY SLOW and I worry about humedity, this is is the cheapest AIR service Kuroki provides and last around 3 weeks)
NOW THE TAXES!!!

21% IVA + 3% (ish) duty + 28€ administrative fee...

And worst of all I think the % is applied to the value of the order PLUS shipment... if that's the case the set would finally cost around 485€, so it almost double it's priece.

Questions!

1. Is still worth it at that price?
2. Is there any method of avoiding this savage increase of price?
3. Maybe I can purchase something in EU of same quality for a better price? (I really want to purchase in Kuroki but omg the taxes...)
4. General feelings about the set, maybe you think it's worth it to pay more for a better one (size stones related, etc)


Thx for the info and for sharing your own experiences, I hope I can manage to do "something" and finally get a nice set.

No legal way of avoiding postage and import tax, if the price is too high, maybe something from "go game guru" web shop would be good enough & a more acceptable price.

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I am John. John-I-Am.

And do you know if they apply the % to the cost of the purchase or they add the shipping costs? My brother is getting married and they'd travel to Japan in their honeymoon, if he takes the set with him, would he still have to pay all the taxes and duties?

You are currently unemployed. You have a job interview which gives you a potential job. And you are already thinking about spending a lot of money on go equipment.

I think you have your priorities wrong. Wait till you have a job and a nice buffer in the bank before you start thinking of spending it. You never know what emergencies are going to arise.

And I am speaking from experience and the hindsight of 64 years of existence. Delay the purchase of a go board for at least a year.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

I agree with above.. don't think of it as a strictly negative / fiscal austerity point of view. Delay the purchase for a year or so and reward yourself w/ a purchase that is say 20% better than what you can afford now. This way you both save money and get yourself even nicer w/ some of the money you have saved up.. its win win..

Ok, I suppose you're right and I should delay the purchase. Thx for all the advices!

You can't avoid paying the 21% tax or the admin charge - however you don't have to pay a 3% import tax on board games. I imported from Kuroki, back in the days when the UK VAT rate was 15% and if you ask Mr Kuroki:

Please would you write on the customs label

Oriental Table Board Game "Go"
Import code 9504909090

then you don't pay the 3%. You need to check the import tarriff code for your country - google will fix that.

Good Luck - John

Color me Scottish, but in your situation I would not spend more than 50€.

But what it is worth is what it is worth to you.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

Hi,

I'm from Spain too and I decided to buy from go game guru. The prices are high but the quality of the product is very good and you get rid of taxes and so on. The problem with Kuroki is, as you point out, the IVA, the duty taxes and the shipping costs...

By the way, where are you from? I'm looking for players in Girona

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My blog about Go and Boardgames: Alejo's Tenuki