If you choose massdrop, your European orders will drop because of import taxes.
Can be as high as 35%
What do you mean? Wouldn't you have to pay taxes regardless no matter what website you buy it through? I've bought keys on Originative before and have paid import taxes every time, they clearly state so too on their website - "If you place an order from a country outside of the United States, you may be subject to applicable customs, import duties and taxes, which are the sole responsibility of the buyer/receiver." Am I missing something?
Oh and by the way ever since Massdrop started using DHL international as their main (or exclusive, actually) shipping method to European customers things have changed a bit - I've received a decent amount of packages from MD after the switch and the orders make a stop in Germany (Frankfurt) to be redistributed to other countries from there. As a result, they get relabelled and more often than not customs fees and wait time are heavily, if not completely, staggered.
First time I noticed it I thought it was just a fluke because it was a relatively cheap set of keys, like 40€ or something, but in Portugal our VAT limitation is roughly 25€ - needless to say I was intrigued regardless, then after I received a couple more MD orders I noticed that after relabelling in Frankfurt the sender country is registered as Germany and not the US (save one singular occasion out of like 10). I'd imagine if the local post bothers to look up the DHL tracking trail things may be handled differently, plus most my orders didn't exceed 50-60~ dollars but I had my brother order a DarkVoice which is a 9 pound $250 tube amp from recently to test the theory and once it arrived he didn't have to pay a dime either. Same goes for a friend of mine who dodged $200 in customs and handling fees in Iceland after receiving his Fostex TH00X a week ago.
Anyway, I digress, point being if we have to pay import taxes no matter where the GB is held, Massdrop might be our best bet. Food for thought.