lunarossa has been selling espresso machines for at least 10 years. I never purchased from them but you might find others who have. The shipping price should be negoitiated I guess.

armindillo wrote:That's still a better deal than the 999,999 Euro shipping for the Lusso model from the same seller.
I guess the Lusso weighs more.

Definitely great value in comparison!

How does one deal with the 120v/220v and plug dilemma?

I moverd to Sweden. Then I had to change my 110 to 220. Later on I solved all my problems by boiling the machine dry and letting it get so hot that all the gaskets powerized and the plastic sight glass cover melted. After a complete rebuilt I noticed a small pinhole with the steam valve weld is, so I took it out of the rotation. But I still have the Sama Export and Sama Lusso I got here so I'm very well off.

If you don't want to replace the heating element to 120v and making sure that all the other competent can handle 120v, you can purchase 220/120 converter transformer. You need at least twice the watts from your heating element. For example- I have La Peppina 220v with 700W heating element that I run on 220/120 converter with 2000W and it works perfectly. When I tried to run my 220v 1000W Ater Family on it, it worked for 5min. and then shut down. Then I replace the 220V heating element with 120V one.

peacup - I appreciate the sarcasm and humour. Made my day.

I don't think I'll pursue the European route.

Bump/Update to the thread:

I ended up placing an order on a Red Export directly through Ponte Vecchio's website. I've had several nice e-mail exchanges with Laura from Ponte Vecchio to facilitate the purchase and paper work for customs etc. Their web form does not seem to work, so I had to find their e-mail to get a hold of them. She's been great to work with, so far. Hard to judge without seeing their operation, but my guess is this is a very small operation compared to some of the much more larger and well known manufacturers.

My Export is packed up and enroute to Canada as we speak. Looking forward to delivery this upcoming Wednesday, December 16, assuming it clears customs and doesn't go through a gauntlet of red tape. I'm looking forward to using this over the holiday season.

bcrdukes wrote:Bump/Update to the thread:

I ended up placing an order on a Red Export....

I just ordered a red one as well! Arrives tomorrow...hopefully.

Very cool!

Did you order one through 1st Line, or directly through Ponte Vecchio? Let us know how it goes!

1st Line.
Was supposed to arrive today, so not 100% certain when it will arrive until Fedex drops it off.

Nice! I love seeing more Exports love to see yours in action once it arrives

I'll share a bit on mine. Feel free to ignore Mine has been out of commission for 2+ years and today I finally figured out how to remove the piston! Minor victory! Seems so easy but for me I totally didn't know how to remove the c clips. I even have the PF removal tool but never knew how to remove the c-clips. Any so it went into a box for years while I was busy moving cross country. Turns out once you have the piston engaged and that lever hinge is not under pressure you can use the chopstick trick to push the c clips out. Once I get some new seals i can get it back in business