Now that it's a dollar for a dollar, is anybody taking advantage over this opportunity?
I got my auntie over in the US to buy me an iPad for me as she about to come and visit me. At this rate I can get the 32GB 3G Wifi for just $730ish compared to $928 price on the Apple website. A decent saving.. I still haven't decide whether to keep it or re-sell it for a small fortune :P
Would like to know what everybody else is doing?
I’d buy a Mp3 player / Android tablet if it weren’t for the heavy shipping costs / costs of a parcel forwarding service. The extra costs would easily eat up the savings of buying overseas.
Quoted for truth +rep
I've been keeping an eye out for tablets and NAS devices, however USPS shipping is incredibly expensive, and savings are just eaten up.
Other than that, i've been buying junk off ebay, plus importing alot of equipment from the UK. my memory/wiggle etc
Use the address of a US mail forwarder that has a warehouse in Oregon (tax free state) like shipito. They then ship to you at a highly discounted FedEx rate.
Depending on the value, say a tablet worth around $900 would have shipping cost no more than $100 (including insurance), possibly even a lot less depending on the value.
USPS can cost a lot more than FedEx if you have access to FedEx discount rates. Don't think USPS have discount rates.
Do people think that the retailers' association lobbying of the government to lower the tax-free limit of $1000 on imported goods will go anywhere? How long do these things usually take? e.g. I found the NSW government's reduction of the rebate scheme from 60c to 20c pretty sudden.
They're doing WHAT!!!!
apart from stopping some people from buying say a DSLR from overseas lowering the limit will do jack all because most items below say $750 don't have much of a savings when buying overseas.
Well, I was thinking clothes, shoes, headphones, mp3 players etc. There are savings to be had, even if shipping is included in the equation.
lol whoops completely forgot about clothes, yeah I see how this could work but pointless IMO, it's only going to stop a small number of people.
.
Edit: I was referring to the solar panel payment scheme
People are importing solar panels? Sounds good! Where can I buy them?
I hope that doesnt go ahead. Importing things keeps the prices low in Australia, particularly with electronics
I think it was for buyers purchasing from overseas retailers. As opposed to a tax on retailers who import, so prices here would be the same as they now. Unless there's something I'm missing concerning the whole importing process.
if buyers can choose to buy from overseas (tax free) then local sellers are competing against that for some of their customers.
i thought about a ipad when my parents went to hong kong, but there is no international warranty so there's already a discount on ur purchase if u wanna resell.
Friend bought 15 ipod nano's for US$129 so roughly $129 AUS too! Hes planning to resell since RRP in Aus is something like $189 or $199?
I found it weird how he was able to avoid tax on 15 of these if the customs went through his bag? What do you think is a limit - before they ask you why you bought so many and if it was to avoid tax?
uh…. he's already over the AU$900 tax limit….
he got lucky
Oh so there IS a limit imposed. lucky~~
It's $1000, but that's for a parcel coming into Australia through the mail
EDIT: It's $900 when you carry it into Australia.
For those interested: http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4352.asp
it's also $900 for an adult if you bring it in through your lugage.
Does that mean its per person? So a two people coming in would be allowed $1800?
Yes if two people come in from the same family but I think couples and friends travelling together are allowed too, they are allowed to pool their allowance. Don't forget children get $450 but no tobacco or alcohol.
Who's going to buy them when they discover they are imported and no warranty? Not worth it for the end-user to save just $20-$30 only to lose the warranty.
i guess u can get away with it if u dont tell, or if asked tell a porky…
as far as im concerned, if im buying off a non-registered dealer, like off ebay etc if i dont get the receipt as well i may as well treat the item as 2ndhand no matter what teh description says.
Not many. But you're making the assumption that they make that discovery =)
People don't read, and end up with items that aren't what they expected, but fit the description of the listing. Remember that iphone 4 box that sold for a few hundred dollars?
Well, the question is whether they checked his bag. Customs can be pretty lax depending on which countries the inbound flights are coming from. The ipods weren't separated from their packaging were they?
I remember this episode of Border Security where this guy had a large bag of shoes, and they made him put a hole in the sole of left shoe of every pair before they would let him in lol
HAHAHA…love that show~
Hm…well i think he just showed a recept he bought them from a apple shop and that they were opened. As for him going over the limit - he said he told customs they were gifts for relatives and friends…
I just cancelled buying the iPad from US. After considering that the next generation may come out anytime soon, I thought the saving isnt probably worth it. Hmmmm… what should I buy then :\
Wouldn't the next generation of ipads be due sometime in the middle of the next year?
Yes, rumor has it between March-June 2011. I'll just have to wait :\
I was looking at some sunglasses but figured the 40% off at Sunglass Hut would probably make it about square. Plus that way I can try them on.
I have found that the strength of the aussie has meant BIG savings on Body Building supplements. Buying from US site www.bodybuilding.com can save you 40-50% compared to Australian retailers, but the catch is you probably need to spend over $150 for it to be worth it.
I think that you can't get these shipped in though, due to quarantine/customs restrictions? Not certain, and haven't googled, but seem to remember something about it.
As pointed out to me the other day, the $AU reaching parity is nothing to really get all that excited about… It's been close to parity (90c+) for most of 2010. The recent rises are really just like a 5-10% discount over something you might have bought 3 months ago!
It's really just an excuse to buy…an excuse I haven't given myself yet! =D
anyone have a comprehensive list of men clothing website?
www.macys.com is good but unfortunately they do not ship to Australia
I just bought a bunch of stuff for me and the kids from Macys. One of my favorite shops along with Ralph Lauren. When they have their seasonal sale I get polos cheaper than at Target. It's fantastic.
Even with shipping costs with a parcel forwarding company (www.orderfromtheusa.com) is who I use. They're base in Qld and fantastic service. Anyway even withshippimg and all it's still soooo much cheaper than DJ or Myers.
I even bought toys for Xmas from Walmart!!! I'm hooked :)
Quote from their website:
When these stores have seasonal stocktake sales (think northern hemisphere-their end of summer sale is when ours just beginning), we are talking 70-80% off the prices (making them cheaper than Target).
You said:
When they have their seasonal sale I get polos cheaper than at Target.
Funny, you said the same thing. You don't happen to work for them do you? A bit sus.
They are more like an assisted purchasing service than a US mail forwarder—service fee is 5% of order price. My bet is they use an already established US mail forwarder to handle the parcels.
Especially this "Member for
2 hours 17 min"
Resurrecting this old thread, as AUD has now dropped below USD again.
http://www.google.com/finance?q=audusd
Last time AUD was below parity was March 2011, and I guess most of us here at OzBargain had a great year buying cheap stuff from US and UK. Hopefully weakened AUD is only going to be temporary, although I think we should not be that optimistic this time.
What would you miss the most if AUD moves closer towards $0.70/$0.80 USD?
What would you miss the most if AUD moves closer towards $0.70/$0.80 USD
Probably the cheap SSD's from Amazon, and in general lots of other things from Amazon.
Not sure about missing it but I got a really good deal on my camera :) I got an Australian model and it was just $20 or so more than getting a grey import :)
(Canon Powershot SX260 HS from Cambuy.com.au)
The deal on the Lacrosse Battery Charger was really good, too (from Amazon).
I'd buy a Mp3 player / Android tablet if it weren't for the heavy shipping costs / costs of a parcel forwarding service. The extra costs would easily eat up the savings of buying overseas.
You'd have to buy a lot, or at least buy an item worth over a few hundred dollars to make it worthwhile.
Right now the only shop I've looked at is Deal Extreme (because of free shipping), but there's nothing much there that really tickles my fancy.
There is also an existing thread that I made solely for the discussion of importing goods from USA:
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/31925
Read the Whirlpool threads within if you want an idea of where to buy from, where to get the best deals etc.