Ordering off B&H and any other International site

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Hey all.

I am about to order some telescope stuff from a US based website.

A little notification tick box came up saying something about how they are not responsible for extra charges upon delivery of the goods.

Has anyone ordered anything from B&H.com opticplanet.com or any other telescope accessory inter nation website?

Are there additional fees?

Thanks

[Octane (Humayun)]

You may get slugged GST and customs duties, depending on the declared value, and, as a result, don't really save any money.

Unless you're buying lenses and small items, it pays to buy locally.

B&H are excellent; I buy all my printing supplies through them.

H

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Originally Posted by Octane

You may get slugged GST and customs duties, depending on the declared value, and, as a result, don't really save any money.

Unless you're buying lenses and small items, it pays to buy locally.

B&H are excellent; I buy all my printing supplies through them.

H

Is there any way of finding out the possible additional charges that can be implemented upon delivery?

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Originally Posted by 04Stefan07

Is there any way of finding out the possible additional charges that can be implemented upon delivery?

Stefan, I will stand corrected but the any GST or Customs charges will only apply to any value you are importing over $1000.

See here: http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5549.asp#Calculating

(Don't let Gerry Harvey find out, 'cause he'll blame you for the slump in retail spending, the state of the economy, global warming, why the water in his toilet goes counter-clockwise.....)

[TinyBlueDot (John)]

Hi Stefan
I've used B&H a few times for photographic items. They are good to deal with, and everything was packed well and sent promptly.
As for added GST etc. I've had a tripod go through at $900 USD incl postage, and no customs duties or GST was levied on that, whilst a lens at $4213 incl post was dutied via UPS at $497.60. It's over 10%, but I've lost the paperwork as to how they figured out the amount. I know the 10% is on all costs for an o/seas purchase, post included, probably UPS had a nibble too......
I got a call from UPS in Sydney when the lens arrived in Oz, and I paid up, and it arrived in Melbourne the next day.
Cheers
John

[Jules76 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by TinyBlueDot

As for added GST etc. I've had a tripod go through at $900 USD incl postage, and no customs duties or GST was levied on that, whilst a lens at $4213 incl post was dutied via UPS at $497.60. It's over 10%, but I've lost the paperwork as to how they figured out the amount. I know the 10% is on all costs for an o/seas purchase, post included, probably UPS had a nibble too......

The extra you get charged is Customs Duty which is 5% of the declared value (aka customs value) of the item. So it's the government taking an extra nibble.

Should also point out that the $1000 limit is the value of the item and doesn't include freight. I got a great deal on a Celestron 8SE through Amazon.com, $950 US for the telescope plus it was about $250 for the shipping through UPS, so $1200 all up. Because tax isn't levied on the shipping, the $950 (thanks to the great exchange rate) fell under the $1000 limit so it went through without a hitch.

Also, if you do happen to go over the limit, who contacts you to pay up depends on how it arrived here. Anything through the postal system, it's customs who will contact you most likely by letter. If you have tracking and you see it's held up you can move things along faster by ringing them up. UPS/Fedex and other courier companies as far as I know, actually pay the import duty on your behalf so to speed things up. They then contact you to pay so they can release it for delivery.

[Atlantis69 (Simon)]

I've bought tonnes of stuff from B&H over the years. Keep purchases under AUD$1000 (inc. delivery) and you'll be clear of any additional charges.

[casstony]

If the item cost is under AU$1000 excluding shipping there's no gst.

If the item cost is over AU$1000 the shipping/insurance cost is added to the item cost before gst is calculated. (ie. you pay gst on the shipping as well)

[Peter.M]

Telescopes and their mounts are exempt from import duty regardless of the cost of the gear. The tarrif number that covers them is 9005.90.00 in the customs tarrif act 1995 which is redily available online. Because we do not manufacture them here there is no import duty. GST you have to pay if its over a grand, no way around it.

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Thanks everyone

[erick (Eric)]

If you order close to $1,000, expect your order to be held up for a while. I believe that they wait and see if any further orders arrive for you from the same supplier and should be considered as one order over $1,000.

[blink138 (Pat)]

B&H where fantastic, with the prices to match i bought a pentax xw 7mm for i think $270 where it was over $700 here
came in under a week too
pat

[Jezkerwin (Jeremy)]

B&H is very good, I've used them multiple times and they are always very professional and the speed at which they ship is quite surprising.

I've been fortunate to actually visit B&H when I was New York a few years ago. If anyone has the chance to go and visit I highly recommend it, it's such an experience.

You can take a virtual tour courtesy of Google Street View.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?q=...05466460274716

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

It doesn't look like you can use PayPal on B&H

[dannat (Daniel)]

just use a CC, they are very good , there prices & freight charges are the most competitive