European Vibraplane?


I was trying to find an EU analog of the Vibraplane and came across Iso-Plate from Thor Labs:

http://www.thorlabs.de/NewGroupPage9.cfm?ObjectGroup_ID=2612

The specs look a bit worse then Vibraplane 2210 (resonant freq. is said to be at 3.5max vs 2.5Hz). The pricing, esp. without the breadboard is aceptable. I'm wondering if anyone has tried it?

Cheers,
bydlo
bydlo
Steve, I very much appreciate your offer but I turned it down not only because of the still high cost even after your rebate, but, most importantly, because of the EU draconic customs. I take it as a point of honor not to pay any customs, taxes etc I can to the hands of the, so called, "authorities" and cretins alike, but in the case of a direct airport shipping of such a massive piece this would be unavoidable. I'm very much looking into Newport's CM-225 isolators that Peterayer pointed to, in a diy skirt+plate construction.

Cheers,
b
Skos,
I'm talking about the Newport platform. I don't know how much a Vibraplane is since you never answered that question in this thread. From the legal standpoint, I don't see how he would have to pay customs since the purchase would take place within the US. So a much lower price, no sales tax, and no customs. There is the issue of shipping to be sure, but I shipped a big mountain bike to Poland from NYC once and it was not prohibitively expensive. I know people would also ship big TV sets to Poland years ago, which arrived just fine. Obviously he would have to trust the person and the person would have to be willing to go to such great lengths to help him, but it is doable.
Actusreus, Newport platform BT-2024 from the Polish distributor is 2450EU all the taxes and shipping paid.
Expensive...BTW, could you please tell me how much is the BT-2024 on US Newport pages? I can't access them due to my EU IP I guss. In EU it's 1869EU before VAT and shipping. Same with CM-225 4 pcs set. Thanks!

Shipping Vibraplane platform privately is of course doable, I'd a have a freind who would be crazy enough to do it, but
1) if you or people you know shipped mountains to Poland before 2007 there ws still a marine service offered (by USPS and other couriers/forwarders)
2) from my experience, EU custom theives would not clear it, even if you declare the value below 22,50Eu (this is what those thieves let us import duty-free)--the sole weight and the shipping cost will result in customs+VAT. This is how they work. They see 68kg, $$$ shipping cost, they add to that whatever you declare and apply their extortion to the sum.
I've already had this problem importing EMT930 from Chroatia.
Actusreus an active Vibraplane sells for $2500 (not including the compressor) and a passive Vibraplane sells for $2250.
Bydlo (btw, I feel funny writing this word as I grew up in Poland),
The BT-2024 is slightly less than $2000. I admit I don't know much about customs duties in Poland these days as it's been years since I sent anything there. However, I wonder if there is a provision for "gifts" just like there is a tax exemption for gifts in general. Might be worth to look into it. But from what you've described, it's indeed a robbery what they are doing. No wonder these platforms are so much more expensive over there.

Btw, Newport does not list the prices for these platforms on their website. You have to go through a sales rep to get a quote.

Sksos,

Thank you for the price info. I might be on the market for a Vibraplane soon (those damn flimsy apartments in So Cal are driving me nuts!) so it's good to know who to talk to. Just need to convince my better half I absolutely need it...Going to be tough!