PC Obtaining A Raildriver In The Eu

Hi!

I have been contemplating to purchase a RailDriver. As far as I know, RailDrivers are made by PI Engineering in the US. I am in the EU, so ideally I would rather buy it from the EU to avoid having to pay import duties but the problem is that I can't seem to find a source that sells them. The only one I found is in the UK (X-keys). I have 2 problems with this.

1. I have never heard about these people, so I don't know how reputable they are.
2. I'm not sure if and how much import duties I'd have to pay if I was to order from them, since the UK left the EU

I took a look at German Amazon, but no dice.

So, my question is, dear TSW players from the EU, where did you order your RailDrivers from? Do you know of any good and reputable EU sources? HUN/AT/DE would be best, but all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

 

I'll try that. Thanks Matt!

 

Although I don’t own a RailDriver, I think I can help a bit regarding the import of stuff from the UK to the EU. I recently ordered a huge - and expensive - TrainTrackr board (it’s amazing, will probably make a post in the Off-Topic section at some point). I had to pay an import tax of 19%, which seems to be standard in Germany for the wide majority of products. Took a while (1.5 weeks) to get through customs since they’ve apparently been completely overwhelmed since Brexit.

 

been thinking about that too... how much is one going for atm?

 

I got mine from Amazon and they refuneded me the import money.

Col.

 

To follow up on this, I have heeded Matt's advice and contacted PI Engineering / X-Keys US directly. Their sales rep got back to me fairly quickly and pointed me to their list of resellers here. I have checked all of them in the EU, and as far as I see only the dutch one has it in stock. They do ship it to my location, the price feels extortionate though, € 465,46 including VAT and shipping.

 

That is extortionate and much as I like my Raildriver, it’s not worth that in my opinion.

Admittedly a few years ago, but mine cost half that in Switzerland. Unfortunately I checked and the company I bought it from no longer stocks it.

 

Funny I tend to use the keyboard more than the RD, also the blue keys on the bottom don't do what the cardboard cutout says they do, at least on mine they don't.

 

Yeeeah. I understand train simulation is a bit of a niche but the price is still insane. Like a steering wheel with force feedback and the lot will set you back the half of that. From a reputable brand too. I'm not even sure if they have competition at all, let alone one that's supported by TSW. Funny you mention Switzerland, I believe we don't have to pay import tariffs from there either, but I'd have to look into it.

I've heard they're a bit fidgety too. Like how it's all too easy to put your train into emergency braking instead of max brake. I wish I could try one to see for myself, but I don't know anyone who has one personally.

 

I've heard people say that the RD is flimsy, jittery, twitchy etc. Well, I've had mine for I don't know how many years and it's never given me a moment's trouble. It's a solid unit and I couldn't play TSC or TSW without it.

 

For comparison, I just recently got a new one here in the US. Shipped and received it in about 3 days. I ordered it through Amazon but the seller was PI Engineering directly. (I have an Amazon Prime credit card and wanted to get the points.) My total after tax (free shipping for Prime members) was $267.37. The Dutch dealer you mentioned is selling one for the $584.58 USD after the conversion. Over $300 above retail. So you made the right call not purchasing that one. That’s just an insane asking price. I hope you’re able to find one though. I’ve used mine for I don’t know how long now on MSTS, TSC, and now TSW and I echo Crosstie above. I couldn’t play without it now. If you find one for a decent price, it’s well worth the investment.

 

I have checked on Amazon US, and I believe I have found the same listing as you. This is the most promising so far. They handle customs on their end and take an import fee deposit during checkout. I'm not sure if that includes VAT too, because when you import something from outside the EU you have to pay both import tariffs and VAT. Anyway, with this option it comes out to $326, which is much better than the price from the Netherlands, even if I had to pay VAT on top of that.

Thanks for the input, this seems to be the option to go with.

 

I paid for my RD in 3 installments from Amazon.

 

Raildriver was great for US routes, but frankly I found it irritating for European ones.
Stuck with it for six months before returning to using the keyboard.
It just felt more fluid. YMMV.

Sold mine easily as they are hard to find.

 

I've said in a this somewhere can't beleive another company hasn't made something similar. I mean if it worked they could sell for a bit less and loads would buy rather than pay the high proce of RD.

 

esp now Arduina boards are available and 3D printing has become affordable, a talented and enterprising individual could start a kitchen table business

 

wow, thats a lot of kidneys to harvest