Suggestions for what to buy

SittingDuck
Posts: 93
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:29 pm
Location: Norway

Suggestions for what to buy

Post by SittingDuck »

I am currently in the process of creating a sort of purchase list with puzzles I would like to buy in the near future. As I am not that experienced, I would also like some input. Basically, I have som revos and a couple of hanayamas, but I would like to expand.

What I like:
I love the Revomazes. They are in many ways a perfekt puzzle in my view. I like that they are heavy, pretty, metal, and they can really make you think. Using 30 hours to solve one is a real joy (yes bronze, I am looking at you) . I love how inventive the design can be on the mazes, and I also enjoy resolving to some degree.

I seem to be especially attracted to metal puzzles, and to the discovery aspect. I would ideally also like to have puzzles that are fun to solve even when you know how they work, of that makes sense.

What I like less:
I have some hanayamas that I don't find that interesting. These are entanglement puzzles like Vortex and Trinity. It is a little hard to explain why, but to me they just seem like almost identical pieces that you must orient in a very specific way, and that's it. Granted, as I have not solved these yet (I still use some time on them with regular intervall, as I intend to solve them eventually) , my dislike for them may not be fair. I do also have one I like, which is Duet. Maybe because there is more to work with?

I also suspect that bur-puzzles is not for me, at least they haven't really catched my interest so far (but I have yet to try one).


So far, I have a list of puzzles I am considering, but I would like to know if there are some others I should put on there, or if there are any I should consider skipping.

My list at the moment:
Wil strijbos, as he seems to be in high regards:
Lotus puzzle
The First box
Revenge lock
The aluminium cross
4 jigzaw

Locks (for some reason I have always like regular padlocks) :
DanLock
B-lock 1 and 2
Titan's treasure lock

Others:
Hip flask

It may seem that I have a requirement for puzzles to be somewhat costly, and only metal, but that is probably more just the result of the fact that these are the ones that have immediately caught my interest. So please don't shy away from recommending a cheap wooden puzzle if applicable.

Any input would be appreciated.
Open: Aqua * Titanium * Blue * Green * Bronze
Closed:Gunmetal * Copper * Indigo * Gold
Want to buy: *Orange * Silver * Red * Lime * Black * Purple * Handmade * Voyager
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doc81
Posts: 318
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2018 10:18 pm
Location: Nebraska, US

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by doc81 »

You have a good list there. Those are all pretty safe bets. Everyone has different tastes and you won't know yours until you try. Packing puzzles are a good intro into wood. I think Rombol still carries Casino. Pelikan is supposed to have update any day with a couple new Lattusek designs. Have fun!
SET SERIAL #7021
OPENED: AQUA - BLUE - GREEN - MINT - TITANIUM - BRONZE - MINI
CLOSED: COPPER - GUNMETAL - ORANGE - INDIGO - SILVER - HANDMADE
SittingDuck
Posts: 93
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:29 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by SittingDuck »

Thank you, I quickly looked at Casino earlier, but for some reason didn't look up any reviews. I have now put in on my list as many seem to like it. It seems interesting, and I also suspect that this is the kind of puzzle you could put on the coffee table to intrigue people who are not normally into puzzles.

Oh, and I also added HoKey CoKey to the list. Seems I will have enough for next years budget as well!

Does anybody know if some of the larger puzzle-sites offer discount for larger orders, or if any of them sometimes have especially good sales? My (mental) budget that is set aside for puzzles is around 1000$/€ (hence the somewhat expensive shopping list), but right now it seems like the real puzzle is figuring out how to break down the shopping to be most cost-efficient.

I live in Norway, but it still seems like shipping is more expensive within Europe, than from all the way across the world like canada (puzzlemasters) or australia (mrpuzzle). It also seems that shipping will be far lower/quicker if I divide the items into several orders, in stead of a single larger one. Which is just as well, given that most shops only seem to have some of the items I want in stock at a given time. That might be just as well though, since it would probably be better for my own part to spread the buying over time in stead of ordering everything at once!

I would also assume that buying directly from Wil Strijbos would be cheaper than from other shops, but as I understand it his stock is most of the time just as limited as the shops. So I might just end up buying them where they are available (I have emailed him, but like many others I have yet to get a reply).
Open: Aqua * Titanium * Blue * Green * Bronze
Closed:Gunmetal * Copper * Indigo * Gold
Want to buy: *Orange * Silver * Red * Lime * Black * Purple * Handmade * Voyager
pewetools
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:17 pm

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by pewetools »

Hi SittingDuck

"So I might just end up buying them where they are available (I have emailed him, but like many others I have yet to get a reply)." well, I can agree to 100% and I can say, that I made this experience with all puzzle makers (Revo, Pyro, NG, ISIS, Strijbos, Popp etc.). It looks like that a bad organization of the office is a crucial requirement to become a puzzle maker.

One special point made me very mad with Wil Strijbos. I want to order around 20 puzzles and I want that he ship to USA. Because this is an export out of EU, his prices should be without 19% sales tax but he dont want to take this out and thios gave me the feeling that he want to take advantage on me and so I canceled.

Peter
SittingDuck
Posts: 93
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:29 pm
Location: Norway

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by SittingDuck »

This is going of topic, but just in case my sentence was misunderstood I will make a comment about it.

I was in no way trying to indicate that I was annoyed by a lack of reply from Wil. It was more a statement to show that I have emailed him to ask about his stock, but that I am also aware that it may be easier to get some of his puzzles from retail shops as he are often sold out of many items.

In my view, it is important to be aware of the fact that many of these puzzles are hand made and work intensive for the creators. I am also not sure how many of the creators that are actually making their living soley on creating/selling puzzles.

In Wil's case, I understand from what others have written that he is often doing a lot of travelling, and I would also guess that he receives a good deal of mails. In addtion, he (hopefully) designs new puzzles, and makes more of his existing ones. So unless he has hired someone to answer his mail, he will have limited time available for this.

I would also not be surprised if some of the mail is somewhat tedious to read and reply to. If you have an empty stock for a puzzle, you may not be motivated to answer x-number of emails asking you for the stock of it. I would also guess that his main channel for selling his work is to sell to shops, which then sells them to customers (I could be wrong here of course, but it makes sense as he doesn't have a web shop of his own).

So in my view, it seems natural to have different expectations when going directly to an individual, than you should have when going to a professional retailer who is running a shop as a major buisiness. This could also explain about the tax. Keep in mind that even many online retailers who are large and professional does not always remove tax from orders that are going internationally. It would make no sense for Wil to use the tax to "take advantage". Even his unlimited puzzles are sought after, and so he could easily just raise the prizes by say 20-80% and probably still sell out every puzzle. Remeber, his stock keeps emptying, so it's not like he is trying to get the highest prize he can.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on the subject.
Open: Aqua * Titanium * Blue * Green * Bronze
Closed:Gunmetal * Copper * Indigo * Gold
Want to buy: *Orange * Silver * Red * Lime * Black * Purple * Handmade * Voyager
Kirk2000
Posts: 301
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:11 pm
Location: NY

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by Kirk2000 »

pewetools wrote: Sun Apr 26, 2020 1:15 pm One special point made me very mad with Wil Strijbos. I want to order around 20 puzzles and I want that he ship to USA. Because this is an export out of EU, his prices should be without 19% sales tax but he dont want to take this out and thios gave me the feeling that he want to take advantage on me and so I canceled.
I have never been charged VAT, living and shipping to the U.S. Exported puzzles are exempt, Wil even puts a note about this on the package. If you live in the E.U. you will be charged VAT no matter where you ship the puzzles. You are taxed VAT based on the country you live in.
KIRK
Voyager #26
Looking for a BLACK Revo. PM me if you want to sell yours.
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Brian706
Posts: 265
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:59 pm
Location: Washington, USA

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by Brian706 »

Same, I have never been charged the vat tax on anything purchased by wil, and even his newsletters explain that there is no vat if ordering from the US. Wil has always been very fair in my dealings with him. I would guess there was just a misunderstanding.
OPENED: AQ BU GR
CLOSED: BR CU IN GM R MT SA TI AU AG
pewetools
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:17 pm

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by pewetools »

Hi guys,

just "to clean up" this off-topic: I will look for the old mail and when I find it and I made a mistake, I have no problem to apologize but I am pretty sure that he wrote very clear in his mail that he will NOT take out the VAT. Maybe it was before you bought? And he changed after he lost me as a customer?
BTW: I export in my business a lot of goods around the world and so let me tell you, VAT is not depend of your first home address, it is only important to where you ship. I stay every year around 4 month in Las Vegas and so I get all my stuff which I need there and which are coming from Europe of course without VAT.

Peter
pewetools
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:17 pm

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by pewetools »

Hi again,

I found the old mails. At first the plan was to buy just and only 1 puzzle and I wrote him with my German address and he offered me included the shipping to Germany.

Then I decided to buy around 20pcs. (evey type of puzzle which he offered in his newsletter) and I ask him to ship to my address in USA and he made an offer with the same price like the prices when he send to Germany. I told him that it is an export out of the EU and that he dont have to charge VAT but he refused. Here is his answer:

Von: W.G.H. Strijbos
Gesendet: Dienstag, 12. Dezember 2017 09:58
An: pewetools
Betreff: RE: X-mas Time..............

Hell(o) Peter,

All over the world it is the same price.


The rest of the mail is not important for this issue (he tried to explain that he has to pay a lot of tax etc.).

Best regards
Peter
Spanishlovemachine
Posts: 84
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:26 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Suggestions for what to buy

Post by Spanishlovemachine »

hm
Last edited by Spanishlovemachine on Tue Apr 28, 2020 6:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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