I'm going to be in Italy this summer and it just dawned on me that one of the places we'll be is near La Pavoni headquarters. Which made me wonder..would there be a cost advantage to purchasing a machine while I'm there?

At this point I'm not even sure if they sell direct from the location listed on their website, and even if they do I don't know they'd have any 110v units for use in the US. But I figured I'd at least look into it. It'd certainly make for a memorable souvenir.

The best thing would be to email them directly.

Have you considered getting a vintage La Pavoni from Francesco Ceccarelli? He's able to supply units as 110V on demand and could likely ship it to your address in Italy.

Yep, I emailed LP this afternoon so I'm curious to hear what they have to say.

As far as vintage, I really hadn't considered it but looks like he has some very impressive restorations. Unfortunately we won't be at the same location for more than a few days, so it'd be tough to nail down a shipping address while we're over there.

You could also look at their service centers and various flea markets and used items stores (il mercatino being a chain where people bring their stuff to sell) hard to find a 120V though, if you plan to get used you should try to find parts needed while you are in Italy, costs way less...
Not sure if there might a way for you to buy online and pick stuff up either at La Pavoni or at one of their centers.
Or you could look into "Fermoposta" which basically is shipping to a post office of your choice, I believe they hold your things for 30 days but you need to verify if theres a limit for packages...

Great info, thank you! I will definitely check out some flea markets and used stores while we're there. Never know what you might find.

I also see that Elektra headquarters is right outside our first stop in Venice, so I've emailed them as well. I'm not sure the savings of buying direct will be worth the hassle and expense of shipping it back myself, but it's worth a bit of digging to find out.

Hi Doug,

depending on your language skills you can look on subito.it for used La Pavoni machines and other coffee equipment. It is basically Italy's craigslist so there will be the normal buyer beware risks. To mitigate this you should look at the machine in person and NEVER WIRE money to them. With my experience most used espresso equipment happens to be in the northern part of Italy where you will be staying, so if you have a rental car you can easily drive to potential sellers to pick up a used machine. I personally paid €300 for my Pavoni (but have subsequently invested ~$250 in parts and extras since then) from 1991, and at that time I did not know as much Italian. If you at least a little the person will usually work with you if they are legitamate sellers and can speak a little english, especially in the north. My machine is 220V, so you can either replace the element with a 110V version or just buy a 2kW step up/down transformer as I have multiple espresso articles that run on 220V instead of 110V.

For shipping back to the US it depends on how much you are willing to spend for shipping. I did not used Italian postal services as I had access to the military USPS locations since I am a dependent, so it was as if I was mailing within the US in the eyes of the USPS.

tv79 wrote:Great info, thank you! I will definitely check out some flea markets and used stores while we're there. Never know what you might find.

I also see that Elektra headquarters is right outside our first stop in Venice, so I've emailed them as well. I'm not sure the savings of buying direct will be worth the hassle and expense of shipping it back myself, but it's worth a bit of digging to find out.

You could find a lot of old espresso machines, not only the most known ones, if you look at websites like the one of Francesco Ceccarelli you get an idea. Keep always in mind the need for parts and be very careful at the scams, buy with the item in hand (in open flea markets haggle a bit, you can get a better price).

Whatever you buy I wouldnt ship back, would just carry with me...

IamOiman wrote:depending on your language skills you can look on subito.it for used La Pavoni machines and other coffee equipment.

Thanks, Ryan. I have to admit my Italian is limited to a few basic words at this point, so I'm probably not quite up to the level of haggling just yet.

Honestly, I'm a bit hesitant to pick up a used machine given my lack of familiarity with repairs and potentially not being able to easily find replacement parts here in the states. The vast majority of my coffee brewing is using non-espresso methods, but I do use my Flair 2-3x a week. So whatever I get, if anything, wouldn't see heavy use. But if I do upgrade from the Flair, I'd like to purchase a lever that's built to last.

Also, I did receive an email back from La Pavoni this morning and unfortunately they don't stock 120V machines. Haven't yet heard back from Elektra, but I suspect they'd be similar.

C-Antonio wrote:Whatever you buy I wouldnt ship back, would just carry with me...

Yep, that's what I was thinking too. I wouldn't think the additional baggage fees would be too much.