Has anyone ordered EZ Flow products recently from USA

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chris6080

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Has anyone placed quite a sizeable order with a US company recently (possibly last Friday) for EZ Flow products?

Am asking because a good friend of mine has been billed for over £400 for an order that she didn't place and it will be delivered to her!

It seems that an admin mistake has been made by the company and in order to avoid sending the order back to the US (when it arrives) I thought I would write a messge on this board in the hope that someone here is expecting such an order.

If so, could you please send me a private message with e-mail address and if it turns out to be the order in question perhaps we can sort it out at this end.

Please do not ask details of the order or company concerned on this board as it would not be prudent to disclose such details in a public domain

Thanks
 
hi chris,

i dont want to worry you, just give you somw advice.

there shouldnt be any individuals buying EzFlow from the states apart from the distribution companies.


http://www.thenailgeek.com/showthread.php?t=6186


as you can see this has been brought up before!!!!


antony
 
antnbuckley said:
hi chris,

i dont want to worry you, just give you somw advice.

there shouldnt be any individuals buying EzFlow from the states apart from the distribution companies.


http://www.thenailgeek.com/showthread.php?t=6186


as you can see this has been brought up before!!!!


antony
Any Company that sells EZFlow in the USA or any other country should not sell to an individual person or persons, where it crosses contractual boundaries...........
So USA stays in the USA and UK stays within the UK...aso.......
The Company that is shipping orders for EZFlow products to the UK, is breaking it's Distributor contractual agreement and they would be aware of this when they became EZFlow subdistributors...........as in, a contract would have been signed somewhere along the lines , outlining all the doe's and don't , were international selling and shipping would be concerned............

I personally would take no responsibility for any stock arriving via this way........
Most companies don't ship until payment has been made............... so I would refuse the delivery and send it right back...............
This may sound harsh and unsupportive to the dilemma, but any company that deals in an unethical and also illegal way.........distributors contractual laws......... deserves to have their stuff returned with a firm , no thanks we have our own distributors here...............

Just my humble personal oppinion
and this may not reflect the oppinion of other Geeks here on the board lol........
 
I second that!! I would imagine California Nails taking a very dim view on this when 'whoever did place the order' should have done so in the UK and however agreed to send it - should not have done so!!

BTW Chris - not getting at you at all here - can see why you posted to sort out your friend - £400.00 is a lot of money - I would imagine however that Antony would be most interested to know who the order is actually really for!! :D
 
Thank you for your message.
I did read the thread you pointed out to me quite some time ago.

However, I would like to point out the following:

1. How is one to know that EZ Flow products should not be bought from anywhere other than the UK (if you live in the UK)? I have never read it anywhere else other than on this board and clearly not every nail tech in the UK who uses EZ Flow products reads the Nail Geek board. Where is it written? Is it written in the California Nails brochure for instance? I really don't know the answer to this. I certainly haven't seen it in any of the nail mags.

2. I have just had a look on the EZ Flow website (ezflow.com) in the States and on the 'Where to Purchase' page there is just a map of the USA. This does not list international distributors nor have I found anywhere on the site that says you must purchase from your own country's distributor.

3. I have seen that some mention eznails.com in particular. There are quite a few sites in America that sell EZ Flow products internationally, not just eznails - who I understand have ceased to trade to the UK. Have all these other companies been contacted to stop selling to the UK? A quick search I have just done suggests not.

4. I can understand the frustration of California Nails if they have purchased the right to be sole distributors in the UK and therefore expect all UK citizens to buy their EZ Flow products from them. When the internet was a luxury to the privileged few, policing such matters was probably quite easy, options were limited. But now that more than half the population of the UK has internet I would imagine trying to get people to purchase solely from California Nails is near on an impossibility. It is not only California Nails that has the problem. How about OPI, Creative etc? Products from all these companies can be bought from the States at greatly reduced prices.

5. Although I am not the person who has the problem at the moment, I admit that I have in the past bought a lot of products from the States in the past. Why? Because they are cheaper, if you do your sums right that is!
Whilst it would be nice to remain loyal to the UK, at the end of the day, everyone in business is in it to make money - as much money as possible so that we can all have a nice standard of living and retire happy!

I have no regrets in purchasing from the States nor will I discontinue to do so. It is a free world and I am all for free trading.

Chris :)

i dont want to worry you, just give you somw advice.

there shouldnt be any individuals buying EzFlow from the states apart from the distribution companies.


http://www.thenailgeek.com/showthread.php?t=6186


as you can see this has been brought up before!!!!


antony[/QUOTE]
 
I do feel that we should buy from within our own country. I can't see why it works out cheaper when you have to pay shipping and taxes on the goods brought :confused:
 
I agree Lesley, If we dont support our local distributors then one day they may not be there and then how would we get next day delivery on the emergency pots of gel that we manage to expose to our UV lights LOL.
 
If you where to contact EZFlow in the USA and would want to place an order you would be referred to a Distributor in your country of origin...........
As you would for Creative and a few other companies............

It comes down to Company ethics and how they conduct themselfs in business........
If you buy products directly from the states, there will be import tax, import duty, shipping fees and the like...........unless you order loads the cost will be not any cheaper then buying here in the UK.........
I did look into this at length and not prepared to wait 6 weeks for my boat to come in .............the cheaper shipping option!!!!!
Big importers have their orders shipped the correct and safe way..............then the cost is distributed across the whole pallet................

The reason EZFLow only have a map of the States on their website is.......... they only will distribute directly to the states , but if you send them an email, with regards to purchasing, they will give you a distributor list for your Country in question........

What worries me is, how do companies like this send their stuff over to this country..........
Will it be correctly labels as hazardous goods.....and send over on a cargo plane..... or just shoved in a parcel and unsuspecting tourist or travelers sitting on top of this stuff...................I know that I don't fancy sitting on top of a lot of flamables during my flight...............bad enough sitting cramped with my legs under my chin..........lol

It all comes down to how desperate a company is to sell to people outside their jurisdiction and braking possibly shipping laws, import laws, health and safety laws and after all who is going to come after them...no one, it's the person that has brought the goods from another country................Customs and excise just love this sort of thing................They might let one parcel through and we all might think, hey this is great, but they do watch out for this sort of thing................

I know, I got stung for a huge import and customs and excise bill that far out weighed the cost of the original products..............


This is not a post about "oh no don't do this, or how could you" and the "I would never do this", because I have and got wise after my oh so not cheap parcel.............. this is about be careful, be smart and don't get into trouble..............and don't be taking in by promises a company makes that doesn't uphold good and safe business ethics.............
JMHO
 
You are right in that you have to do the calculations and work out if it will be cheaper shipping from the States or not. If you get a quote before ordering including shipping then you can get a rough idea of how much it is going to cost including import taxes in the UK. Yes, you have to do your homework. I am really talking about the big companies that ship internationally as they have the best deals and they do not take the risk of shipping the items incorrectly. It wouldn't be worth it. When I used to order from the States regularly, they arrived in the correct manner, I paid my import taxes and I made a profit. And above all, the goods always arrived on my doorstep in 2 working days. A far better service than some companies I can think of!

So, it can work in the right circumstances and like I say, I don't think I am alone in wanting to run a success business at minimum cost.
 
1. All products coming in via the distributor comply to UK & EU cosmetic safety regulations, those coming via the net do not. That's a fact you may not be aware of.

2. Should an insurance claim ever arise with a client where the goods have not been purchased from the legally authorised distributor, your insurers may not uphold your claim leaving you personally liable - in brief your insurers grant you insurance at such a cheap rate because they know they can hold the product supplier accountable in any relevant claim. If you have removed that safeguard for your insurer without telling them, they have every right to refuse any claim leaving you personally liable for whatever amount your client may sue for - not a great option in these days of more litigious clients.

3. If you have a problem with a product, who are you going to return it to?

4. When you're looking for education where do you go? To the distributor? Many distributors make little or no money out of education (educators make money - distributors barely profit), accepting that the product sales will help subsidise their huge education costs. If you take away that opportunity long-term you weaken the tools the industry can provide you with.

5. The US supplier of your goods is not declaring their hazard levels to the shipper. Monomer is a class 9 hazard for air shipping, fyi i understand that's the same hazard as ammunition. If you're encouraging that behaviour doesn't it make you wonder what you'll be sitting a few feet above next time you fly?

6. Finally, price. It is true, the headline cost of a product direct from the US can look cheaper. However, by the time you've paid for freight and duty where applicable and added on the VAT you should be declaring, the cost saving is minimal. And if there is a little extra cost may be, just maybe, the excellent and inexpensive education you enjoy, the backing of a distributor who can supply you with MSDS and help represent you when Health & Safety try to get you to wear "nuclear facility style overalls" (this happened to us recently), who will take any product back for quibble-free refund, who insures all the products they sell so you're covered too, who provides you with a friendly and personal service, who ships you within a couple of days whatever you want, who works to provide a better, more exciting industry through promotional efforts to the consumer press or orgainsing competitions, and so much more besides may be that's worth paying the due price for.

At the end of the day we see enough in the magazines about non-standard salons, hear plenty from our customers directly on the subject and act as best we can. You want to be a non-standard customer, that's your decision but the consequences may not leave you with the industry you currently enjoy.
 
Great post "Uncle" - could you fill out your profile so we can get to know our "Uncle" - we know who our "Mum" is LOL.
 
Hi just thought I'd add my little comments..

I beleive in supporting the UK economy buy buying from other UK businesses even if it does cost me a few more bob..
 
My step daughter has just recently completed some training and (instead of asking re: products) she spent a fortune by buying Ezflow products from a site from USA. Where can she get them from in UK please. (i havnt used them myself before so cant help her) thanks
 
Hi

pm antnbuckley he is the ezflow person on this site.
 
Who did she do training with - if it was EZ Flow then why did she not buy from where she trained? If it wasn't with EZF then why did she not train with them if she wanted to buy their products - I am confused.

novo said:
My step daughter has just recently completed some training and (instead of asking re: products) she spent a fortune by buying Ezflow products from a site from USA. Where can she get them from in UK please. (i havnt used them myself before so cant help her) thanks
 
What an excellent post from 'Uncle'.

I completely understand Chris' point of view on the subject (as well as many others) yet I can firmly say that if the products were being distributed legally than I would be shocked that it would cost you less.

By legally, I mean:
  • Declaring the hazardous nature of the goods
  • Shipping accordingly
  • Paying the appropriate taxes on importing goods
Heck, air freighting the goods accordingly will virtually double your cost of the goods (if not more), then you have taxes on top of that.

If they are not declared and shipped legally, you (and the distributors shipping the goods) could be done big time (Let alone be responsible for a very serious and unfortunate accident).

Hope this helps ;)
 
The Nail Geek said:
What an excellent post from 'Uncle'.
Agreed.

Uncle has made some excellent comments in what we have found to be a very immotive topic.

Instead of concentrating on the 'big' picture he (I assume he) has given some very constructive pointers and information as to how this can affect us in our every day business.

Thanks for that Uncle.
 
But who is the man from Uncle
 
Fab Freak said:
But who is the man from Uncle
In my opinion it's best maybe we don't know. The reason being, that when ever Samuel or I have given out the same information in the past ... no one listens as we are labled the 'greedy suppliers' ... !! Perhaps it is better that the info is just there as cold hard fact and then (for some odd reason) it is given more credibility. Go figure.

Question??? :?: Are those who are buying 'cheaper' direct form the USA charging the cheaper USA pricesfor their nail services???? huh??

NO I bet they're charging UK prices for their nail services .... now who actually are the greedy ones??? :rolleyes: I rest my case.
 
Surely the situation of distribution rights and export of products from abroard should be handled between distrubutor and distrubutor in an appropriate manner.
Chris wrote..
1. How is one to know that EZ Flow products should not be bought from anywhere other than the UK (if you live in the UK)? I have never read it anywhere else other than on this board and clearly not every nail tech in the UK who uses EZ Flow products reads the Nail Geek board. Where is it written? Is it written in the California Nails brochure for instance? I really don't know the answer to this. I certainly haven't seen it in any of the nail mags.

Good point, just how is anyone suppose to know?
I remember the thread a while ago when someone innocently bought a kit from the US not knowing the situation. After she was tarred and feathered I sincerely hope that she enjoyed using EZ Flow and went on to form a good relationship with California Nails.

Chris also wrote that she's not the one with the problem that was detailed in her intial post.

The point I'm trying to make is that I'm sure this is not a situation exclusive to EZ Flow products. It is also something that our UK distributors feel strongly about. There are also the legalities and safety issues. But if people are not told about it how on earth are they suppose to know? And why is it the messenger gets shot.
 

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