Information for EU and international customers
Dear customers from the EU and around the world.
Here at Audio Essence, we not only offer the best products for personal audio, but we also ship them worldwide.
Since we often receive questions about shipping, taxes, warranty, and service, we would like to explain everything to you in detail below. We also have some money-saving tips for you.
Shipping
We ship internationally, worldwide, and offer 2 shipping options.
1) Standard Shipping with Swiss Post
Shipping with Swiss Post is generally very reliable and usually takes 3-7 days depending on the destination. Since Swiss Post only transports the package up to the respective border, the shipping time and reliability also depend on your local postal service (e.g., Deutsche Post in Germany, Poste Italiane in Italy, etc.).
Standard shipping fees are based on the purchase price:
- 0 to 499 CHF total order value: 30 CHF
- From 500 CHF total order value: free
2) DHL Express Shipping
DHL Express shipping is faster (usually 1-3 days depending on the destination) and very secure and reliable. DHL is not dependent on other service providers. However, DHL Express shipping is significantly more expensive than Swiss Post.
For example, a package to Germany with Swiss Post costs about 30 EUR. With DHL Express, it is at least 70 EUR, and for distant destinations over 100 EUR. We do not charge our customers the full price but only an additional fee.
If customers have a purchase price over 500 Swiss francs, the surcharge for DHL Express is about 30 EUR.
Value Added Tax & Customs Fees
Since different countries have different VAT and customs fees, we unfortunately cannot include these directly in the purchase price for customers outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The prices shown for international and EU customers therefore do not include taxes, so when importing into countries outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein, local VAT and possibly customs fees will be added.
How to Save
1) Since we have no control over the automatic currency conversion in the shop, it is always worth asking us what price we can offer for a product. We calculate the price for you based on current daily exchange rates. This often means you pay less than the price shown in the shop.
2) PayPal and credit card payments incur high fees for us. On the one hand, PayPal and banks charge a payment fee of 2-3% of the purchase price. On the other hand, banks and PayPal use very unfavorable internal exchange rates, which also causes currency losses.
We prefer to pass these savings on to our customers in the form of discounts!
If you pay by bank transfer instead of PayPal or credit card, we grant you an additional discount of at least 3-5% on the purchase price.
This means that even if you, for example, shop from Germany and have to pay 19% VAT on an imported product, it is still worth buying the product from us because with the tips above you have already recovered at least half of the taxes.
An Example Calculation
A customer from Germany wants to buy Noble Audio Fokus Prestige.
Product: Noble Audio Fokus Prestige wireless IEMs.
Price in the online shop: 604.95 EUR (excluding taxes)
The customer contacts Audio Essence via email (info@audioessence.ch) or phone (+41 77 403 35 26) and requests a personal offer. They pay by bank transfer.
1) Current rate: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR - Price: 532.09 EUR
2) Bank transfer: 3% discount on 532.09 EUR = 516.123 EUR
The customer has already saved 88.82 EUR on the purchase price. That’s 14.7%!
Price with VAT and customs fees:
Without discount: 604.95 EUR + 19% VAT + approx. 20 EUR customs fees = 739.89 EUR
With discounts: 532.09 + 19% VAT + approx. 20 EUR customs fees = 653.18 EUR
You see, it’s worth it. But that’s not all!
Warranty & Service
At Audio Essence, you receive a full 2-year warranty on your product. If you buy in the USA or China (or Asia), local dealers are not obliged to provide a 2-year warranty. The local warranty in the USA is 1 year, and in China, dealers are not required to offer a warranty as it is not legally mandated.
If a defect does occur, we take care of everything so you can get your product back as quickly as possible without any additional costs.
If you buy in America or Asia, you have to handle everything yourself and bear the return shipping costs. In the worst case, you may even have to pay for the repair yourself.
We Take Time to Advise You
We know most of our products very well because we test them ourselves. That’s why it’s always worth scheduling a consultation with us. Whether via chat, email, or phone – we take the time to find the right product for you.
Email info@audioessence.ch
Phone +41 77 403 35 26
Let us make you a personalized offer. You save money and benefit from our experience and service!
We Ship (Almost) All Products Worldwide
Cayin and Denafrips products can only be sold by us within Switzerland and Liechtenstein and are excluded from international shipping. All other products we ship worldwide!