New customs limits for OS purchases :)

[Starkler]

I have split a few posts from another thread to create this one.
This is great news for those of who buy gear in from OS.
:party:

Wow thats a brave move to buy 4 at once, given that these are so new.
Did customs have their hand out for a cut?

[janoskiss]

Geoff, I saved a few bucks on postage buying four at once, and I checked about customs and it seems there is new rules as of mid-October: you can import anything up to $AU1000 worth tax free. Check out the Oz customs site: http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=5549

I spent more time nature watching today with my ED80 and my new EPs; and the more I use them the more impressed I am with them. But there's been no break in the clouds, so I'll have to check if they serve their intended purpose another night.

[Striker]

Thanks for the custom update Steve.

Thats good news for everyone....Looks to me is they have changed the law to include Express courier's in the $1000 limit seeing they were only $250 previously.

So when buying from the states you can select UPS as the carrier instead of USPS which is a much quicker and more reliablie service then the goverment run Postal service USPS.

[janoskiss]

Tony, I think the $250 limit used to be anything coming by air, express or not. I got these EPs by USPS Global Priority Mail, which is said to take 4-6 days. They were posted Monday and got here Saturday.

Geoff, since I've learnt about the new limits I have been tossing up whether to post a thread about it. I thought I'd better wait and see what happens with my purchase first. Info on government websites is usually vague, and even if not, it might be incorrect. But, unless there is a bill coming separately :scared:, the EPs were tax free. :) :prey:

[Striker]

Steve the limit was put in place for private courier's.

What they were saying is use goverment run postal service we will give you up to $1000 of goods custom free but over $500 will still attract GST...use a privately run express courier your limit is $250 before the approx $50 custom fee is introduced...tax was still payed on goods valued over $500 same as goverment run postal service.

Now with $1000 custom free and tax free is a big benifit to all of us importing.

Your right the express or not does not come into the equation...it's still being imported into the country.

[Argonavis]

just in time for my annual Xmas Nagler...

[gaa_ian]

Hmmm, Yay, I need a new Palm/Phone, time to go shopping :wink2:
I can see a US priced Palm Trio Phone/Palm Pilot on its way to me real soon :nerd:

[[1ponders]]

How much will that drop the price on my new Losmandy???? :D

[Striker]

Unless you picked up your G11 and at real bargain price of say $700USD...you will save nothing...lol

So nothing lost.

[h0ughy]

lets see 1/3 of a canon 20da this week, the 2nd third next week and the 3rd 3rd the week after. Wonder if they would accept that?

iT is great news, does it also apply for european locations as well?
The imagination, if not the wallet soars with news like this!
31mm nagler second hand for under 600AUS, oh yeah no tax!! thanks Mr customs man!!

[Exfso]

This is going to put some of the local distributors noses out of joint. Good stuff I reckon. The local Meade dealer in Adelaide will have to lift his game. He usually does a flat 2x conversion on the Aussi buck and charges accordingly.
:P

[norm]

This could be of interest:

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/tariff/ht90aw1.pdf
Reference 9005.80.000.

Spoke to someone in Customs and there is no customs tariff for telescopes over $1000. You still need to pay GST. Then there's Customs Broker, insurance.....

Outside of losing potential warranty, I'm wondering how much you would really save when buying a scope overseas ??? Has anyone tried or done it before ?

[Striker]

It depends on what scope your buying.....usualy the freight cost and the loss of warranty is enough to warrant you purchasing local.

For example my C11 was cheaper to purchase localy then Overseas....even a little ED 80 is cheaper purchased here then overseas....you would want some serious savings to get any benifit.

[Exfso]

No way I would buy a scope overseas, but as for accessories, no problems, have been doing that for 2 years.

;)

[janoskiss]

As much as I like to support local retailers, anyone who operates like that does not deserve my business. And I know what you're saying is true, because there are Melbourne dealers asking 50+% more for Meade EPs than Bintel does (and I'm sure Bintel do make a healthy profit).

Either they are thinking they are the only game in town so they can charge whatever they want, or they themselves are being ripped off by their supplier. But whether they're profiteering or not doing their homework, it's not good enough.

[janoskiss]

Geoff, thanks again for splitting this topic from the Stratus EP thread which I'm re-reading atm for maybe writing a proper review of the EPs.

[janoskiss]

...except the way the thread title reads you'd think the Aust. government is becoming soft on big corporations like Microsoft and Apple. :P :D :P

[Stu]

Nah, Apple won't go soft.

[rochler]

It's definitely worthwhile importing accessories from US, you can usually save up to 30%. But scopes are another matter. Firstly I haven't found any dealers in US who will ship outside US territories due to their vendor (contractual) arrangements with Meade/Celestron and even if they did, by the time you factor in the very high freight cost, insurance, import duty, GST etc. it's not really worth the few hundred you might save.

You won't have much luck getting anything fixed if you have a problem under warranty unless you're prepared to ship back to the states hehe, and if anything goes wrong in transit you'll soon blow the savings on sorting it out.

But it's also not worthwhile buying from the local Adel. vendor either. I was quoted $3800 for an LX90 which is about $900 above Meade's own MSRP for Oz??? Unless it was just a 'mistake', then that's a huge markup. I'm much better off freighting from Bintel anyday!

[netwolf]

I wonder if importing an EQ6 Orion Atlas would be cheeper...? Does the new limit include cost of shipping or just the cost of the goods.

[Exfso]

It is the total cost of getting the item which includes freight.