Hi. Hope this is the right sub forum to post in. New to Go. Where is the best place to buy a quality affordable board, stones and bowls etc? I’m in Cape Town, South Africa.
As a Chess player I had to import my board, pieces, carry bags, clock etc from the American Chess Federation online shop as there wasn’t anything comparable in terms of quality, standardised conpetition specs, variety and overall price comparison. Is this the same for Go?
Must one buy online internationally? If so from which country? I’m not necessarily looking for high end stuff. Just good quality, reliable, mid ranged, well made, standardized equipment that will last!
If you don’t mind me asking, how come it isn’t easier/ cheaper to buy from the EU? I don’t know about bilateral commercial agreements, so maybe the import tariffs are insane, but on distance alone I would have guessed much cheaper.
Hi. Unfortunately the Euro/Zar exchange rate is usually much worse (Euro being very strong Vs the Rand) than the Dollar/Zar rate. As such it was cheaper to import from the USA. Even after factoring in freight.
The other factor unfortunately are tariffs and import VAT. Luckily the importation of Chess goods had a 0% tariff but I got hammered with a 15% import VAT and then an additional 15% standard local Vat on top of that too! . So it is VERY expensive to import just about anything into the country in small retail quantities. But it’s worth it if it’s a specialist item one can’t find locally at all. My Chess goodies are exquisite and will last a lifetime! Hopefully I can find Go equipment that is the same quality.
One also can’t rely on standard sea freight (mail service) anymore. Our local post office is fraught with criminals intercepting parcels as they land at the Johannesburg International hub. So one is now forced to use insured tracked air freight couriers like DHL, FedEx or UPS.
Will do! I just installed an app called AhQ Go Player which allows one to digitise a physical Go game in real time by using a tripod mounted smartphone running the app. It also has OGS integration. I haven’t tested it yet so have no idea how good it is.
Btw are there Go boards that operate like the DGT Chess boards and pieces?
. So it is VERY expensive to import just about anything into the country in small retail quantities. But it’s worth it if it’s a specialist item one can’t find locally at all. My Chess goodies are exquisite and will last a lifetime! Hopefully I can find Go equipment that is the same quality.