Anyone slugged duty on "in Oz" eBay items?

[Miaplacidus]

Hi,

I'm looking at buying a camera lens off eBay. There are a few retail sites on eBay that say they are based in Australia, but they clearly have links overseas.

I hear that items are often sent to a customer directly from Hong Kong, despite the eBay ad describing the item as being located here in Australia. Since the lens I'm looking at is >$1000, I was wondering if I'll have to pay import duty if it comes from some warehouse overseas.

I'm looking for advice or reassurance from any experienced eBay shoppers out there...

Regards,

Brian.

[dannat]

Make sure you ask them if it will go thru custos & duty is payable, I asked some & answers vary. Digital Rev somehow imports via Australia & you don't get slugged. Many asian selects are happy o quote price own by a couple of hundred, I looked t one or 1139, they will quote 939 on pk for me, risky if it gets heckled though

[Waxing_Gibbous]

You should not have to pay duty if the item is less than 1K and comes from o'seas.
Most e-bay stores state that "you" are responsible for any duty or taxes (telescopes, cameras, lenses etc are 'duty-free' i.e you only pay tax) and if your supplier is happy to declare a less-than 1K total - what do you know?

I've never dealt with an e-store for cameras or lenses (I like a local warranty), but there seem to be a few who have been around a while with pretty good reputations.
Digital Rev is, I believe one of them.

I would suspect that "based in Australia" means they have a small office or some-such as there's no getting around paying GST if the item is supplied in Australia (unless you have your own business that could justify the purchase).

[Regulus]

Yes a lot of the Based in Oz 'stores' have ended with an item shipped from Singapore/Malasia/China.
As already mentioned $1000 is the limit after which u pay duty. However a message to the company can usually resolve the issue because they will sell it a few dollars cheaper or offer to write it down in the import declaration.
When you make the purchase there is a field for sending a message to the seller at which point you can remind them of the deal.
Trevor

Based in Aust prob means they have a relative living here that they once visited :-)

[Terry B]

For items above $1000 there may be no duty but if customs decide you need to pay GST then that isn't all you pay. If it has come via Aust Post and customs hold it up they send you a letter with a number on it for the item. You then have to fill in a declaration form- one of these
http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/B374-Importdeclaration-goodN10-July10FinalTypeableversion.pdf

You then have to find the correct code for your item from this list
http://www.customs.gov.au/tariff/tariff.asp#tariff677

They then charge you a fee for the processing as per this document.

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/notices/ACN0621.pdf
I forget what I paid last time but it was about $40 on top of the GST. When this is all paid they release your item.
Cheers :D

[BlackWidow]

I may be wrong but I am sure when I spoke to customs the $1000 limit applied to the USA. He claimed we had an agreement with the USA. You would be well advised to give customs a call to be sure.


Mardy

[Kunama]

Remember the freight/postage cost !!!

Last time I imported anything the limit was $1000, so if the item and the freight cost add up to over $1000 you will have to pay 15% to get your item out of Customs. (10% GST, 5% Duty)

[Terry B]

Whether there is duty to pay on top of the GST depends on the item. Telescopes are duty exempt. The link in my other post tell you the duty payable.