I have bought all my tyres from various suppliers on the internet and they are generally sourced from somewhere in Europe. That's the way things are nowadays.
It's like most automotive/motorcycle dealers don't carry stock anymore, but if someone in the UK has the part you need, they will have it there for you the following day. It costs too much to carry stock.
Most motorbike tyres aren't manufactured in the UK*, so having them delivered from mainland Europe is no great surprise.
I agree that the web site is somewhat misleading, Rae, but the 'About' page and Ts&Cs often tell you the truth. The Ts & Cs give more detail:
ISARNEMA GmbH ("we"). We are registered in the Munich Local Court in Germany under company number HRB 229466 and with our registered office at Fürstenrieder Str. 279a, 81377 Munich Germanyand
...payments are handled by the service provider ISARNEM GmbH EOOD, Sveti Kniaz Boris 97, BG-6000 Stara ZagoraThat's the Bulgarian angle - if you choose not to pay by Paypal.
For all that, they're UK VAT registered, German registered, they use Paypal, etc, so it looks legit (which it was, as you found out).
My egg-sucking advice, when buying direct from a new company, is check these things:
- is there a real address & phone number on the Contacts page? If not, avoid them.
- scan the Ts & Cs**. Are they comprehensive, i.e. does the company care enough to protect you & itself? In this case, the Ts & Cs are really clear and well written.
Last bit:
- if we Brexit*** badly you'll not be covered by UK consumer law when buying from Europe. Can't wait for that bigly pleasure - so so excited:
https://www.gov.uk/buying-europe-brexit*All except for Avon
**Reading in full is sometimes too painful, I know. I once had to read 54 pages of Microsoft Terms on a mobile phone before accepting them, and I did read everything - on a mobile screen just like a customer was supposed to do. Luckily I was paid to do it. I gave Microsoft formal feedback on what an idiot idea it was - they stuck with it of course.
***I verbed it! Woo hoo.