Buying from Yank Land

[bobnrob]

I've never bought anything from overseas, & I'm looking at buying an eReader from the states.

What's the go when something is purchased from overseas, & it comes through Customs - if it does?
Are the extra fees, are these type of electronics things allowed to be imported (as 1 off's), anything else I need to be aware of?

[Bird]

I've never bought anything from overseas, & I'm looking at buying an eReader from the states.

What's the go when something is purchased from overseas, & it comes through Customs - if it does?
Are the extra fees, are these type of electronics things allowed to be imported (as 1 off's), anything else I need to be aware of?

spend less than a grand and your right.

Warranty maynot be worth spitting on. if it turns up DOA you pay freight to return

careful with power supplies and shiz

search on the forum and google is your friend... 99% of AU are now using the interwebs to buy from USA

[Manjimike]

Do you mean like a 'Kindle'?
I have bought quite a few things from the US of A and have had no problem.
I believe the goods have to be over a cerain value before Customs get involved

Cheers

Mike

[Duchess]

I regularly purchase from the US.

I am currently waiting for a book and a pair of shoes.

Have never had any trouble with Customs except when an American friend sent me a "care package" and they opened it up because they weren't sure what was in it. The customs people very kindly left me a couple of pamphlets about what was ok to have sent to me!

I have always kept my purchases under 200 dollars and haven't spent anything over this so havent ever got charged any duties.

The only thing I'd be wary of with importing is warranty and the costs involved with having to send things back. If you're prepared to wear those costs then I guess you should be ok!

I have never had any reason to send anything back so, I would consider myself lucky or at least have shopped well!!

We also used to purchase and ship aircraft parts between here and the US and never had any trouble other than the ridiculous costs involved, which included insurance. We had a deal with FedEx but if you have to deal with them, beware as they are Not cheap!!

[SteveandViv]

Yea, we also get stuff from the US a lot. Recent was a Kindle. On line and here the same week all good.

[Swogjb]

I've got a mate who has just purchased a 2nd hand  2010 Harley Davidson with 800 miles on it for $15,000 out of the US. It is gunna cost him $1200 to get it to Australia, and when he picks it up he has to pay GST on the purchase price.
He has to put braided brake lines on for ADR compliance and he is away,
Bloody cheap bike compared to Ozzy prices.

[Manjimike]

If you are after a Kindle, check out Dick Smith $159 delivered

Amazon $139 + freight

Cheers Mike

[rescue1]

Regularly bring stuff in from the US only problem I've ever had was FedEx lying about when they made the pickup to avoid the guaranteed delivery time penalty then lying about the contents of the shipment in the customs declaration.

[Heiny]

I have several items come in from OS, no probs

[Followme1]

I get a lot of stuff for my F250 from USA with out any problems, even got my wheels from there as I couldn't find the wheels I wanted over here.
Freight is reasonably fast and cheap.

George

[Pipeliner]

Jeep owners regularly purchase parts from the States to avoid paying the criminal prices Chrysler charge over here.  As previously stated Customs only get involved if the value exceeds $1000 (including the freight costs).

[UIZ733]

I've got a mate who has just purchased a 2nd hand  2010 Harley Davidson with 800 miles on it for $15,000 out of the US. It is gunna cost him $1200 to get it to Australia, and when he picks it up he has to pay GST on the purchase price.
He has to put braided brake lines on for ADR compliance and he is away,
Bloody cheap bike compared to Ozzy prices.

Could work out quite expensive after he has converted it to Right Hand Drive though.
(Sorry somebody had to do it!)

[D4D]

Yup under $1000 you'll be ok, and if you're after a Kindle check out Dick Smith or BigW.

From my trip to the US the other week, I did notice that many shops who didn't ship internationally are now because nobody is buying stuff in the US except for the tourists.

[blackstump]

I get a bit of stuff for the '64' from the States now and again.. Moon Eye Tacho, Bonnet hinges, Tail light lenses, sender units, that sort of thing and never had a drama. ..Always from reputable places.

 

[apsilon]

I've been shopping online since the mid 90s. I buy pretty much everything but food from OS, mostly the US. Generally have at least 5 packages in transit at any given time. Sooo much cheaper. Once you start you'll realise the benefit. Yes warranty can be a concern but when you're buying at half the local price, you can buy a second one and be no worse off.

[jaycamrie]

I've been shopping online since the mid 90s. I buy pretty much everything but food from OS, mostly the US. Generally have at least 5 packages in transit at any given time. Sooo much cheaper. Once you start you'll realise the benefit. Yes warranty can be a concern but when you're buying at half the local price, you can buy a second one and be no worse off.

So your the reason harvey is complaining

[apsilon]

Yep 

I even looked at South Africa and the US for camper trailers but decided I liked the features and design of the TVan more (though not the price). I would've considered buying my car OS but there's too many restrictions on new cars. If there weren't so many customs/AQIS concerns I'd buy some of my food OS as well.

We generally pay massively inflated prices lcoally for no real reason and I won't be part of it if I can avoid it. Hell, I've even bought one item from the US and imported it that was made here and still got it cheaper than I could find it locally 

[ldsparrow]

We just purchased the Asus Eee Pad Transformer from Amazon in the US. Was much cheaper than buying it from Aus, not sure about the warranty though, but I have a US address through comGateway so would return it via them if I had an issue.

[gibbo301]

Don,t be scared of buying things from the usa if its cheaper the only issue i have had is the time you wait for it to arrive from some places 

[Finners]

If your online shopping site of choice (in U.S.) prohibits shipping of a branded item to Oz (due to dealership/distributor agreements in Oz), then simply ship it to a re-shipper (freight forwarder) in U.S. to get around that. I've used www.shipito.com (California depot) with great reliability and competitive freight costs. Have had auto parts and ski gear come in this way over the years - with no problems (as said before - so long as they are under AUD$1K to avoid GST).

- Finners

[Bird]

I've got a mate who has just purchased a 2nd hand  2010 Harley Davidson with 800 miles on it for $15,000 out of the US. It is gunna cost him $1200 to get it to Australia, and when he picks it up he has to pay GST on the purchase price.
He has to put braided brake lines on for ADR compliance and he is away,

I think he will find theres more to it than that.. having been thru that for several years in the bike shop I worked at..  unless the laws have changed recently.

[bobnrob]

Thanks for all the info folks 

I was actually looking at the Kobo eReader @ $129US.
The Kindle I'd seen is $219AU. Didn't realise their was a cheaper version - thanks Manjimike

Guess I'll go the Kindle, purchased here in Aus.
Don't need all the extra it comes with - only want to read with it    - but I'll have less hassle if it has to be returned under warrenty.

[Manjimike]

Thanks for all the info folks 

I was actually looking at the Kobo eReader @ $129US.
The Kindle I'd seen is $219AU. Didn't realise their was a cheaper version - thanks Manjimike

Guess I'll go the Kindle, purchased here in Aus.
Don't need all the extra it comes with - only want to read with it    - but I'll have less hassle if it has to be returned under warrenty.

I ordered two from TrickyDicky last night - some of the Xmas shopping done.
I was going to get myself one, but I take the 13" Toshiba laptop everywhere I go so will just use that as an eReader as it came with "Kindle for PC" installed.

Cheers Mike

[Jon]

Had a retailer talking about how the net was ruining the retail experience.

I said "Actually no. Your greed for profits during a high AU$ period is ruining retail. Drop your prices and shoppers will come back"

[WogsRus]

The cheapest set of Bilsteans for the paj were $880 plus delivery, I got a full set, same parts, ex US, $478 delivered. The funny thing is that they are on back order so they first have to ship it from Germany to the US then to OZ.