According to
http://www.tidewaterice.com/blade%20landing%20page.htmYou can buy Mk/Wilson/HD blades much cheaper in Britain than the U.S. That may partly be lower shipping costs and no tariffs (they are made there), but Tidewater Ice claims that U.S. retailers aren't allowed to advertise their blades at lower than some set price.
They suggest you check out blade prices at these British sites
http://www.iceandrollerskates.com http://demonxtreme.comIncidentally, both also sell boots and some other figure skating equipment, along with hockey and roller stuff.
I wonder how economical it is for U.S. skaters to buy from British sites... If anyone is buying blades now, and is willing to risk mail order, perhaps they could run some numbers, and tell us.
OTOH, if you need to return your blades due to a defect, you would probably have to pay shipping and insurance costs back to Britain - might be a big deal. Because of the many potential problems and the relatively small number of great skate techs in the world, figure skates and blades are one area where discount mail/Internet order is sometimes NOT a great way to go, where it is often better to go to the pro shop with the best skate technician within a day's drive, after making an appointment to see him/her. A bad skate tech can really mess up your boots and blades. So I'm not at all sure buying from Britain by mail is a good idea for U.S. shoppers. (I know of a case where a returned defective blade was re-sold through a mail order firm - to the same person who had returned it.
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