European Store 14.03.2013

Message from Liquid`Nazgul

After a long anticipated wait, we can finally announce that our European store will open one week from now. Our European store will be open to customers inside the European Union, offering them access to faster shipping and removing the need to pay local customs charges. Unfortunately, the European store will be limited to European Union only. Logistically, this was the best way for us to provide high quality service to the largest group of people.

Every time TL takes on a new project we face a learning curve, and the European store might have been the steepest yet. When we first mentioned our intentions of opening a European store, I can honestly say we didn't fully understand what we were getting ourselves into. Setting up a warehouse and store in the US had gone more or less smoothly, and we did not expect all of the unique problems involved in setting up in Europe. This past year we have spent a lot of time looking for new production and shipping partners, calculating prices, and taking care of countless small details. It took longer than expected, but moving forward it will allow us to have a much better foundation for the store. We're incredibly happy to finalize this process and open our European store.

It needs to be mentioned that we haven't been able to stick to our original pricing plan for the items. At first, we set out to provide faster shipping outside the US, eliminate customs charges, and maintain a near identical price to the US store. Although we were able to deliver on the first two goals, maintaining a similar base price turned out to be unrealistic, and the base cost on our EU store products is slightly higher. The main culprit here is VAT (value added tax), and the prices you will see in our store are with VAT included. For a more detailed explanation, please read our sales manager disciple's post below.

While shipping will be much faster for EU customers when compared to ordering from the US store, the total price after adding on shipping and handling will vary from product to product. In the case of some products, such as the hoodie, the total price will be noticeably cheaper (about 6 Euros) than ordering from the US store. But for the most part the total price with shipping and handling will be similar whether ordering from the US or EU store. In cases of orders of 2 items or more, EU store customers should save significantly on shipping compared to the US store.

In short...

• The European store can only ship to European Union member countries.
• The base price of EU store products is higher than the NA store due to VAT, while shipping and handling from the EU store is cheaper.
• The total price of buying products from the EU store including shipping and handling is similar to the total price of buying from the NA store.
• Shipping time from the EU store is significantly faster than from the NA store.
• Shipping costs for orders of 2 or more items should be significantly cheaper than from the NA store.
• The Golden Rule - all items included to the order after the most expensive one get charged 50% of their full shipping rate.
• Shipping rates for the UK are even lower. The Golden Rule applies for all orders in the UK as well

One year after first announcing the European Store, I'm proud to say we have learned a lot and have something great to show for it. The TeamLiquid store has set up shop on two continents, and can provide better service to even more esports fans around the world.

The Full Monty - EU Store Pricing

Item	EU Store Price	EU Shipping	EU Total Price	US vs. EU**
3S Shirt	18.95	6.00	24.95	1.16
Winged Horse Shirt	15.95	6.00	21.95	1.24
3S Poster	9.95	6.00	15.95	-0.92
Classic Poster	7.95	6.00	13.95	0.15
TSL Poster	5.95	6.00	11.95	-0.31
Hoodie	49.95	12.00	61.95	-6.41
3S Pack	42.95	12.00	54.95	2.30
Mousepad	19.99	9.00	28.99	-2.52

*All prices in Euros, with VAT already included.
**Price difference for EU resident ordering a single item from TeamLiquid's EU store compared to the US store. Green is cheaper, red is more expensive.

The Golden Rule about Shipping

With the EU Store we are delighted to announce new shipping rate calculation system which is consistent and easy to understand across all items. The Golden Rule in this case means that all items included to the order after the most expensive one get charged 50% of their full shipping rate. For example if you've ordered a hoodie and a shirt, you will pay 15 Euros for both - 12 for the hoodies and just 3 for the shirt. In case all items you've purchased cost the same, for example a Spirit and a Swarm shirt, the 50% rule still applies, so you will just pay 6 Euros for the shipping of the Spirit shirt and 3 for the Swarm. On top of the convenience this new system is providing, the customers are going to save a significant amount of money when they place orders for multiple items. Also, because our warehouse is based in the UK, those ordering from within the country will enjoy even cheaper base shipping rates.

Some Sample Orders

Here are some examples of orders from the EU store to demonstrate how our pricing and shipping might work out. For the most part, orders with multiple items will be much cheaper!

The Elephant in the Room: VAT

disciple, TeamLiquid Store Manager

The huge factor in the EU store prices is the common VAT charged on all goods sold across the European Union member nations. I'm sure all my fellow European TLers have a general idea about this tax – why it is paid and why it is such an integral part of the economy in the Union. The VAT in Europe is much higher than the equivalent sales taxes in the US, and it is a major part of doing business here, from setting up our price list for the products to determining the shipping rates for the packages.

The VAT in the Union is approximately 20% of the sold good's value, with some differences depending on country and trade situation. For the purposes of the TL Europe store, it will suffice to say that our warehouse is based in the UK, and thus all our orders inside the European Union are going to be charged with the UK VAT rate of 20%.

Keeping up with the VAT regulations and rules hasn't been easy. For some time we thought we could avoid paying VAT altogether, as we thought we could stay under specific VAT-free sales thresholds for the UK and other Union countries. But just recently the VAT regulation in the UK have been changed, making it mandatory for non-UK based companies to register for the VAT in the UK, regardless the volume of their business. Thus, having our warehouse in the UK meant that our trade was immediately subject to the 20% VAT starting the 1st of December 2012. This forced to us to immediately re-evaluate our prices and shipping rates.

Originally, our goal was to achieve the same prices for our products as in our NA Store, as we strongly believe in treating our community fairly. Unfortunately, that goal is no longer achievable for us. Looking back, starting the venture with this expectation was naïve to some extent, as it's not uncommon to find goods being sold more expensively in Europe than the US. Our lack of knowledge at the time misled our European customers to think we could offer our items in Europe for a lower price. I sincerely regret fueling false expectations, as my intention was always to try and provide our customers with the best value for their money. Still, I firmly believe the EU store improves the conditions for our European customers dramatically in many regards, but at the same time I can understand the disappointment some of you might have now seeing our prices and shipping rates, having waited a whole year.

On the whole, the VAT-included price increase on our goods compared with the NA store is 15%. We've tried to lower the prices wherever we could to make up for the 20% VAT. When you take shipping and handling into account, the total price of buying items from the EU store is about the same as buying from the NA store (with the exception of the hoodie – more on that below). In that sense, there's not much of a price benefit we can offer our European customers by opening the EU store. But there's still a couple of ways the EU store can benefit our EU customers greatly.

First and foremost, customers of the EU store will enjoy much improved shipping. Thanks to her majesty's Royal Mail, shipping across Europe will take approximately 3 to 5 days business days. That's a lot less frustration than waiting four weeks for a package from the US. Naturally shipping inside the UK is going to be even faster and cheaper. Additionally, the shipping costs for orders of two items or more should be noticeably cheaper when ordering from the EU store.

Additionally, a few of the items actually will be cheaper to order from the EU store, once you take shipping and handling into account. Notably, the TL Hoodie is around 6 Euros (around 9%) cheaper for Europeans to order from the EU store. The TeamLiquid Razer Goliathus mousemat and some of our posters are slightly cheaper as well.

Finally, there's no risk of eating an additional customs charge on imported goods. While many packages manage to slip under the customs radar, in strictly legal terms, a tax must be paid on goods imported from the states into the EU. For example, if you lived in Sweden and order from the US store, there was a chance that customs would slap 25% tax on top of the item price and shipping. With the EU store there's no risk of having to pay that kind of "hidden" cost.