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Help! in finding a pole
Ok, a few things. I am new to pole and am very excited about getting started. I am so glad to have found StudioVeena and the wonderful support from it’s users. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif I will try to make this as short as possible, however, there are a lot of things involved with me getting a pole. Ok, here goes.
1. I am a US military wife stationed overseas in Germany.
2. Most companies (including StudioVeena b/c I emailed to ask)in the States say they can’t ship to APO addresses.
3. I have no idea where to go to find a vendor/studio locally or how I would ask them as I am not fluent in German, yet https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cyclops_ani.gifHere’s my frustration. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rambo.gif I don’t understand why the companies will not ship a ‘removable’ pole to an APO address. We do not have to pay any extra fees/taxes for shipping or importing because it’s still a US address, and a removable pole is small enough to be shipped because it breaks down. (I fully understand that a non-removable pole cannot be shipped because the USPS cannot accommodate an item that large.) FedEx and UPS both can ship to APO addresses. What they do is transfer the package over to USPS once the package gets to New York so that it can be forwarded on to the APO address. And, if a man can order a big set of brand new tires for his jacked up manly truck (which I saw him pick up from the mail room with my own eyes), I should be able to get a pole, damnit. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_queen.gif
I had originally ordered a pole from Platinum Stages because when I called, the woman did some research and found out that they could ship to APOs. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif Sweet, thank heavens. Then two weeks went by and they still hadn’t shipped my order. I wasn’t willing to deal with poor customer service and wait another 4-6 weeks for delivery, so I canceled my order. In this case, I think a begger can be a chooser https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif
After doing much more research, I am wanting to go with the Xpole Xpert instead of something from Platinum Stages. I am feeling like it’s a better product based on many reviews I’ve read. I know they are a UK based company so I want to find out if there are any stores in Western Germany that carry this specific pole. I went to Xpole’s website but they have no listings of where their poles are sold other than the website. I will not order from the UK website because I would have to pay the extra VAT tax and export/customs fees for shipment to Germany. That is way more than I am willing to spend right now, especially with the exchange rate not being good for Dollars to Euro and/or British Pound. However, I would be willing to purchase one from a store in Germany with Euro.
So, if anyone can help me in anyway, I would appreciate it. I am so bummed that I can’t get a pole sooner rather than later, but I am not giving up yet https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cyclops_ani.gif I really want to get started with poling, and I am determined to make it happen. Does anyone live in Germany? Do you know where there are nice studios in West Germany where the personnel are willing to speak English or will help me with my very limited Germany? (I will always try to speak German before I will ask in English. It’s only right as I am in their country) Are there any stores in West Germany that carry Xpole that anyone knows of? etc. Please help me if you can.
P.S. Veena: I don’t know if you have actually looked into shipping to APO’s but if you haven’t, please do some research to see if it is at all possible. I would love to order from you as I think you have an awesome site and I really trust you. You know what you are doing, and I know you would not sell fakes. (Xpole was having problems with fake poles from China being sold with the Xpole logo, ad pics, etc) You are a reputable vendor/studio. If you have looked into APO stuff, please let me know what you found out so that I may get a better understanding of why I am having such a hard time getting a pole from the US. Thank you so very much! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_albino.gif
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7 Replies
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I would even be willing to go as far as Paris or another city in Eastern France if there is an Xpole vendor there https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_razz.gif
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I sadly don’t know of any store that sells X-poles, I went to London myself to try and buy one from a store since shipping it to my country costs almost as much as the pole itself, but no luck… I found I can only buy it online.
But have you thought of looking into mail forwarding services?
I live in a rather remote corner of the world and often have a hard time ordering things from the US directly to me, but since mail forwarding I can order whatever I want! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gifThese are two services I’ve used and both have excellent service:
http://www.bongous.com/
http://www.shopusa.comI’m not sure about APO boxes though but at least it’s something you can look into.
Best of luck!
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We are unable to ship an X-Pole to you due to our contracts with X-Pole. X-Pole UK services Europe including APO addresses there. You should have no problem getting an X-Pole fairly quickly by visiting X-Pole UK at http://www.verticalleisure.com/.
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Hey there!
I live in Germany. I am German but I have been dating an American soldier for almost 6 years now and we are planning on getting married once I finished college here in Germany. My boyfriend was stationed in Italy a while ago and he ordered an X-Pole for me from the X-Pole US website back in July 2009.
When I told my boyfriend I wanted an X-Pole I started looking around for sellers; X-Pole UK told me that they do not ship to APO addresses. However, when I called X-Pole US they said they can ship to APO addresses, so there was no problem at all here. I know that was a while ago, but I don’t know why X-Pole US wouldn’t ship to APO addresses anymore?! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif
As for stores that sell X-Poles in Germany, I don’t think there are any, there aren’t even any German websites that sell X-Poles. There also aren’t too many studios around here, there are a few in major cities like Munich, Hamburg or Berlin I think, but I don’t think any of them are selling X-Poles or any type of poles actually, sorry.
Maybe you could just call X-Pole US and ask them about this, because I know for sure they used to do it, and like I said I don’t see why they wouldn’t do it anymore, also I have just looked up the X-Pole US web site and at check out you can select your shipping destination: USA, USA APO, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Alaska. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_bounce.gif So I am guessing they still ship to APO addresses.
Hope this helps!
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If X-pole won’t ship, maybe you can buy a used one? I bought one from eBay and one from an authorized vendor both new, but they both shipped directly from the X-pole warehouse. But the seller of used one might ship it to an APO address – I would do it.
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Thank you all for your help and advice. Webmaster @ I understand now why you can’t ship to APO’s. Thank you for helping me with that, and I didn’t think of emailing Xpole UK until you mentioned it. I was so turned off by the extra fees and taxes, I freaked. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cyclops_ani.gif I have sent them an email and am waiting for a response. Knutschflek @ Thank you for that suggestion too! I did check on their website as well and it does say US APO https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif but I still want to call them to be sure. I hadn’t checked there before I made this post. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif How long did it take for you to get yours? Do you know if it was shipped from the states or the UK? Not that it really matters except for shipping times.
So I am finding a couple different ways to get this done. Thank you, thank you, thank you https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_sunny.gif
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How long did it take for you to get yours? Do you know if it was shipped from the states or the UK? Not that it really matters except for shipping times.
I think it was shipped from the states and it took about 2-3 weeks, I don’t know exactly anymore, sorry.
I hope it all works out for you and you get your pole soon! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif
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