Another method for Importaing from US - Maybe!

netwolf · #1 30-07-2009, 12:18 AM

Hi All,

I came accross this company on the whirlpool forums. priceusa.com its run out of Australia and is Austrlian owned. I know others have mentioned box voyage in the past and other forwarding services. But priceusa offer one nice little feature the offer returns shipping insurance to cover warranty returns. I have not tried to work out what i might cost to import a telescope via this method. But considering the recent response from Celestron i got about EDGE HD pricing, i think this may actually still work out cheaper.

Local retailers are still best for most imports, however some imports are over priced due to high margins added by distributors. Celestron have cleary indicated that they will not excercise any restraint over local distributor. So i feel its fair go to find alternatives.

Note I have no affiliation with PriceUSA or Box Voyage or any other Astronomy vendor.

Regards
Fahim

renormalised (Carl) · #2 30-07-2009, 12:30 AM

What size of EDGE HD scope are you looking at Fahim??. Over at Bintel, they've got OTA's of the EDGE HD for sale....the 14" is $18995, or thereabouts. The 8" is $3995, I believe and the 9.25 around $5799. I think the 11" is $8995. Don't know if that helps at all, but importing them directly from the US is going to cost a bit!!!. Plus what about the warranty concerns??.

netwolf · #3 30-07-2009, 12:42 AM

Carl, not sure if you have seen this thread
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=47352
But it covers a lot of ground on the high pricing of these scopes compared to US.

Ok i did some calculations quickly. Using this calculator on PRiceusa website
http://www.priceusa.com.au/order/?mod=order

The 8" in USD is 1299 at optcorp.
putting in a weight of 24-27lbs via USPS ( i have had a 8" come via USPS) anything biggher might be a challenge via USPS.
Adding return insurance.

We get a AUD price of 1983. Add 10% gst on PRice+Shipping > 1000$ should be about a 100$ at most.
No duty on Telescope equipment.

There are some otherr hidden factors that willl reduce this like the valuation PriceUSA legaly make for the item. Which i think if i read correctly is 80% of its actual price.

From 2100AUD with insurance to ship it back for warranty repair. Thats a 2000$ saving.

Regards
Fahim

renormalised (Carl) · #4 30-07-2009, 12:58 AM

Yeah...it's probably due to "Extravision" monopolising the import of the scopes into Oz that's made them so pricey.

netwolf · #5 30-07-2009, 01:05 AM

Carl yes and the response me and Kal got from Celestron was absurd. Promoting global delivery over profeterring at the same time placing no controls over there distributors. Its like closing your mouth and trying to talk to people to convince them to buy your product. Sorry Celestron but i cant hear you, what did you say... Oh ok i will import it myself.

renormalised (Carl) · #6 30-07-2009, 01:16 AM

Yes, I read that response. It seems that Celestron wants to shoot itself in the foot. It would be nice to own a 14" model, but since you can get far better optics for less, why buy one when a CDK is in the offing!!!. I have a Meade 8" ACF, as you'd probably know, and I'm extremely happy with it, but I'd like to have a play around with the Hyperstar lens setup to see if it's as good as they say it is. Unfortunately they don't have one to go with the ACF optics.

I might try for a 2nd hand Celestron or compatible Meade...it'll probably be cheaper anyway!!.

Well...time to go catch some Zzzz's...see you later on

Kal (Andrew) · #7 30-07-2009, 08:50 AM

Service looks good.

Note the following which would be applicable for larger items like telescopes:

For oversized items (ie items to large to ship via USPS) my agent ships using UPS at a reasonable rate (50% off the standard UPS rate).

gb_astro · #8 30-07-2009, 06:23 PM

Just a note that "Extravision" does not distribute Celestron any more.

gb.

Carolina · #9 30-07-2009, 11:07 PM

Hi All

I have actually been a member of iceinspace for quite some time, although i don't get much of a chance to read anything here. I have actually had quite a lot of astronomy gear ordered through my service (priceusa) over the last couple of years without any problems. If any one has any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

Carolina · #10 30-07-2009, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kal

Service looks good.

Note the following which would be applicable for larger items like telescopes:

For oversized items (ie items to large to ship via USPS) my agent ships using UPS at a reasonable rate (50% off the standard UPS rate).

Actually my agent ships large items with FedEx these days (I need to update the FAQ) because they gave him a better discount. This works out at the moment to be around 60% off the standard rate and is similar to shipping via USPS (sometime it is a little more, sometimes a little less). It is is very popular for shipping snowboards at the moment

DavidU (Dave) · #11 30-07-2009, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carolina

Actually my agent ships large items with FedEx these days (I need to update the FAQ) because they gave him a better discount. This works out at the moment to be around 60% off the standard rate and is similar to shipping via USPS (sometime it is a little more, sometimes a little less). It is is very popular for shipping snowboards at the moment

What about export to the US?
I actually get orders from the US for Au made gear,can you export,just reverse the process?

Carolina · #12 30-07-2009, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidU

What about export to the US?
I actually get orders from the US for Au made gear,can you export,just reverse the process?

In theory yes, but as you know shipping overseas is not straightforward. This is probably something that you should contact me about directly.

netwolf · #13 30-07-2009, 11:36 PM

Carolina, a long overdue welcome and thank you for your valuable input to this thread. While at present personally i am on a baby focused budget i no doubt someday soon will want to make use of your great service.

netwolf · #14 30-07-2009, 11:56 PM

Now compare these

Edge HD 8" about 2100aud based on 1299USD price from OPT.
GSO 8" RC about 2210aud based on 1395usd price from Astronomics.

Local best price for GSO 8" RC 2225AUD from ATS based on a recent thread.
Local best price for EDGE HD 8" ~4000AUD.

GB has the new distributor had any impact on the price? Fas as i can see it has not changed. And the new distributor is mentioned on Celestron's website and has been there for a little while now.
http://www.sheldonandhammond.com.au/
Homewares, Sportings and Giftware. I think we fit into Sportsware based on the binoculars image. Lets hope they can correct past oversights.

GrampianStars (Rob) · #15 31-07-2009, 01:25 AM

Gday Fahim
best bang for gear is from USA
the current Au $ 1.00 exchange rate to the Us $ 0.82
pretty good in this climate

amoeba · #16 31-07-2009, 12:08 PM

I have used these guys http://www.shipito.com to order items from the states which would normally be unavaialble due to distribution policy.

Their website looks a little unprofessional, so I tested them with a small parcel first which came through without any problems. The heaviest I have had shipped was only 10 pounds though, but they will provide quotes from multiple shipping options and you can suggest alternatives too.

Might be of help

renormalised (Carl) · #17 31-07-2009, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrampianStars

Gday Fahim
best bang for gear is from USA
the current Au $ 1.00 exchange rate to the Us $ 0.82
pretty good in this climate

Let's hope it stays that way!!!!.

Carolina · #18 31-07-2009, 02:59 PM

Hi ameoba

Shipto is a mail forwarding service, what I offer is a purchasing service where my agent purchase the goods and ships them to you. There are heaps of mail forwarding services out there, there are two major problem with them:

1. They pop up and go out of business all the time. I have watched quite a few and they follow a very typical life-cycle. The start out small with low fees, build up by word of mouth, grow too big for the person how is running it (these are nearly all hobby businesses), and finally collapse in huge mess. From an outside perspective it is quite interesting to watch, but if you happen to have your goods in transit when things start to go wrong then you are in for a heap of problems.

2. All the services are OS. This means that if anything goes wrong there is very little you can do. I am based in Australia and I guarantee your items will be delivered.

Having said this these service can be OK, just a little more risky

netwolf · #19 03-08-2009, 11:37 PM

Another option that i have been advised of is being offered by Southern Galactic Telescope Services. They bring in this kind of gear a for there hosted clients and so they can offer the same service to other amature Astronomers in Australia. You can send your enquires to Bert at admin@southerngalactic.com

Guys if you have used any of these services it would be great to hear some feedback on how it all went for you.

Sor far I have only had some small items come direct to me from previous owners via USPS. The only scope was a C8 and it came through ok. But i think the C8 is perhaps the largest you could do via USPS. One thing to note is that the previous owner marked on the box this way up, such that the mirror was facing downwards. This way the Secondary does not fall on the mirror if it comes loose.

Regards
Fahim

wavelandscott (Scott) · #20 07-10-2009, 06:20 AM

What services have people successfully used to accomplish this?