Why are some products unavailable on Evike Europe ?

You may have noticed that from one airsoft website to another, there is a big difference between the products available for sale; this is especially true when you start exploring Asian websites, which are veritable Ali Baba's caves for airsofters, but it can also be the case from one country to another.

Today we're going to look at some examples of products that can't be found on Evike Europe, and explain the reasons why, so you can better understand how the airsoft world works!

Let's start with one of the biggest frustrations for any airsoft shop.

It is sometimes difficult or simply impossible to order from certain manufacturers, and this is only because the minimum order volume is too high to make it worthwhile for the dealer or the manufacturer.

Imagine a small factory based in an Asian country, producing a few "niche" replicas: MP-18, Gewehr 43, etc. For this manufacturer, it would not be interesting to ship only a small quantity of its products to a shop on the other side of the world; the costs would be too high and the risks of loss too great. This is also true for the ordering shop or website. So often, the minimum order volume unit... is the container.

Except that a container is big, so you have to order a LOT of products to be able to fill it; and the transport and customs costs for such a volume are very high... For an airsoft shop, ordering several dozen or even several hundred replicas that do not interest a large number of customers means risking losing a lot of money.

The solution: go through traders, who are resellers that airsoft websites and shops around the world turn to in order to make up containers that will be filled with lots of different products, of several different brands. Airsoft traders are mostly based in Asia, in cities with large trading ports (such as Hong Kong) and easy access to replica and airsoft product manufacturers.

Thanks to the traders, shops can fill one or more containers with many different items, which individually would not be worth offering in large quantities. The only drawback of this system is that it is sometimes difficult and costly to fill a whole container, and that it is better to wait until you have a long shopping list before ordering from the trader; and even then, that's only if the trader has all the products he is looking for at his disposal, because a trader will only order from small factories when he can fill a whole container with their products...

Have you ever heard of the acronym ITAR?

It's a set of American regulations that stands for International Traffic in Arms Regulations, and whose purpose is to prevent the export of certain products outside the United States of America, because they are deemed too important for the country's national security and foreign policy objectives.

The ITAR standard protects many, many products: electronic chips (critical in the assembly of aircraft or missiles, although they can also be found in other, more accessible products), camouflaged fabrics exclusive to the US armed forces (as is the case with AOR 1 and AOR 2), certain tactical pouches, etc.

This is particularly constraining in the case of Evike Europe, as our big brother Evike is based in the USA and offers certain ITAR products, which are only available to US citizens and cannot leave the country.

Sweat and humidity are, in the opinion of the majority of airsofteurs, the worst enemies of their protective glasses, generating a tenacious fog on their lenses. That's a terrible thing in a game based on good perception of one's environment, especially since during a game, it is forbidden to remove one's eye protection from his/her eyes in order to clean them, an accident (and a punctured eye) being quick to happen!

Consequently, one would be tempted to turn to other, more ventilated and non-fogging protection... such as a meshed mask or a pair of meshed goggles, for example!

The only problem is that European legislation does not consider these devices to be sufficiently protective to be classified as eye protection. In fact, in the European Union, eye protection must meet at least the EN 166 standard to be considered as such; and this standard only takes into account glasses and masks with lenses, as they must protect the wearer's eyes from liquid splashes and fine dust, in order to be used in factories or on building sites, for example.

When airsoft began to attract the interest of European insurance companies, they referred to European regulations when deciding on the terms of their contracts. The EN 166 B standard, corresponding to glasses or masks with lenses capable of withstanding low-energy impacts, was the most logical choice in their eyes. As a result, many federations and associations have aligned themselves with this standard.

It is therefore impossible in the European Union to legally offer masks and goggles as eye protection on an airsoft site. And even if these devices are offered as cosplay accessories, in the eyes of the law this could lead to confusion among customers, who could then sue the website that sold them in case of an accident...

It is therefore understandable that many airsoft shops prefer not to offer them!

If there is one divisive issue in airsoft, it is licensing.

From its beginnings in the 1970s until the 1990s, airsoft was a niche hobby that was not very widespread and relatively discreet, aimed largely at collectors who wanted very faithful replicas of real firearms.

However, from the end of the 1990s onwards, this activity developed widely throughout the world, particularly with the appearance of the first AEGs, which drastically reduced the processes, and therefore the manufacturing costs; the market therefore began to see the appearance of lower quality replicas, with realistic markings that were potentially misleading for the consumer.

Gradually, two actors began to try to regulate this situation:

• Distributors, who negotiate and pay firearms manufacturers a licence to exploit their name and logo, and thus offer "official" replicas; these are then produced by airsoft replica manufacturers to whom the distributors grant the right to use the licences they have acquired, with all production of these licensed replicas going to the distributors and not being able to be resold by the manufacturers to anyone else. Distributors therefore jealously protect their hard-won licences by taking legal action against unscrupulous airsoft manufacturers who use licensed names and logos without permission, which the courts consider to be counterfeit.
• Gun manufacturers, who do not necessarily wish to see their name and logo used without their authorisation, particularly on low-end products, which would have a negative impact on their image. They therefore have an interest in granting their licence to distributors so that they can act as "airsoft policemen" on their behalf, and thus control the market.

Today, airsoft is an extremely popular hobby, and firearms manufacturers have understood the value of licensing certain reputable brands or distributors. In this way, they ensure their reputation even in the airsoft world, and this can even lead to substantial gains through the payment of royalties on the sales of certain models. As a result, the lawyers for these gun manufacturers will now defend their clients' brand image fiercely, sometimes taking legal action as far away as Asia.

It is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to offer in the catalogue of an airsoft website a replica produced by airsoft brand X of a firearm that has already been licensed to a distributor or airsoft brand Y. This is particularly the case with Glock, as replicas produced without authorisation are considered by the Austrian manufacturer to be counterfeit; its licence having been granted to two major distributors (Cybergun in France and Umarex in the rest of the world) who have their replicas produced by a number of major airsoft brands that are reputed and validated by Glock (notably VFC and WE).

That's why on Evike Europe, we only offer official licensed Glock pistols!

If there is one object that has legions of airsofteurs dreaming, it is the night vision goggles; also called NVGs or NODs (Night Observation Devices). Being able to play in the dark and carry out infiltration missions, seeing enemy players without being seen... It would be worthy of your movies or video games' best moments!

Unfortunately, in many countries this will only remain a dream: simply because the legislation put them on the same level as firearms!

In France, for example, it is possible to own a pair of observation binoculars with night vision capability, the law specifying that such a device must not be used with hands free. It is also possible to own a night vision rifle scope, but its use for night hunting is only possible with permission. Military models, although designed to be attached to a helmet or headstrap allowing free use of both hands, are permitted, but must only be used in the hand; and if an individual is stopped by law enforcement with a helmet/rifle/airsoft replica mount, even if the night vision device is not fitted, this is considered a criminal offence and carries heavy penalties.

Other EU countries are more flexible than France, allowing for example the use of any device, as long as it is not of a technology that competes with the equipment used in the national army; while some countries have very strict laws on the subject, banning their use by civilians entirely.

As a result, with each country having very different laws and potentially damaging to their uninformed customers, many sites prefer not to offer NODs/NVGs in their catalogue as a precautionary measure.

Through these few selected examples (among the many we could have talked about), you will have understood that it is very difficult to offer anything and everything on an airsoft site. The laws that regulate us can vary greatly from one country to another, and within the EU, which is seeking to standardise national norms into European norms as much as possible, and thus facilitate trade between Member States, it is becoming increasingly difficult to take liberties; at the risk of being at odds with the law.

Do you have a product available abroad that you would like to know if we can offer? Do not hesitate to send us a message, we will be happy to check if there is a possibility to add this product to our catalog!