Importing computing equipment from the US: Will you save money?

Jola said:
Yes, the US tax is incorrect, you don't pay that for exports.

The SA taxes also look too high, you only pay VAT on computers.

And I agree that the courier fees are way too high.

I have recently imported a notebook, and a netbook, the costs were way lower than indicated in these examples.
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I think the example used made use of one of those US remailing services because many retailers in the US wont ship directly to SA. That would account for the "US Courier- Free (promotion)" as well as the US sales tax which would in that case apply.
 
bwana said:
I think the example used made use of one of those US remailing services because many retailers in the US wont ship directly to SA. That would account for the "US Courier- Free (promotion)" as well as the US sales tax which would in that case apply.
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That I agree with, but you can generally find something from a state that ships to the remailler (in another state) with no interstate tax.... my 2c

D
 
za1 said:
The article is actually spot on!

YES indeed all dem peeps that are now jumping up and down, you can import cheaper and I have on many occasions BUT to everyone quoting using USPS EMS shipping on a laptop - that is just crazy, their service is rubbish - took them 4 weeks recently to send something to me and no tracking available - the stress was unbearable - oh and I do have a spare Canon 7D if anyone wants...

Back to the article - many of the places you buy direct, such as Toshibausa.com or Sonyusa.com will charge state tax - SO YES you can buy these elswhere, but if you want to build your own configuration then you can't,so you will pay state tax

And then to Ship an 18lbs decent laptop with courier from the USA is around $240

So yeh, there are ways to get items in cheaper, BUT NOT ALWAYS
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The quote for UPS shipping is USD160.95 for the Sony notebook, not a lot more than EMS. I just try to save every little bit, although I agree that EMS service is poor (not in the USA, but locally).

I wouldn't buy from a store that charges USA taxes for exports, it is just wrong.
 
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It is a conspiracy I tell you, to get us to pay more for products that are sold locally so that the company importing the goods may keep their elaborate profit margin structure!
 
damian24 said:
That I agree with, but you can generally find something from a state that ships to the remailler (in another state) with no interstate tax.... my 2c

D
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Generally but not always. I've been nailed a few times and I have family all over the states that act as my remailers. :)

Let's also not forget that marking something as a gift, as mentioned by many, doesnt necessarily mean you're going to skirt customs. It is very much a hit and miss affair.
 
Plaasjapie said:
Oops, it seems RPM have to again wipe the egg yolk off his face. That comes from writing articles with input from your advertisers to please and support them, when your true customers are actually MyBB members.

This is exactly why I love this forum. Here the truth comes out and expose those market participants that wants to rip their customers off.
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Exactly!

South Africans are in general far too complacent and many just have too much money to waste!
You WILL most of the time SAVE on imported goods!
n.b. Computer parts are duty free!

Now, if you know someone overseas, and are buying something large, have them send it for you as a gift and Pay them with PayPal! You may be even lucky enough not to pay VAT when it arrives!!
Nokia N97 - With all courier costs, taxes, duties etc paid for it cost me R3500 to import (new) and the price here is R5500 !!!
iPhone - With your R5000+ pay-in and a Vodacom contract you are looking at R25000+ in total. Import it for R1700 and find clever guy to unlock it!
When I emailed Vodacom about the HUGE difference in price, they blamed ICASA saying that this price was approved for South Africans!!! PEOPLE WHO EARN 90% LESS THAN ABROAD HAVE TO PAY 1000%+ MORE !!

The problem is that we have not yet learnt about the POWER of the Consumer in this country and that is why we get ripped off continuously!
 
Well, if you order directly from overseas, at least a "middleman" in South Africa wont get any richer.

And the whole country is full of them. And the reason why I cant buy directly from www.dell.co.za anymore. They got themselves a....*drum roll*....yup, you guessed it....MIDDLE MAN!
 
I think the main point the article was trying to make is that it's not *always* cheaper to purchase something overseas. Think I've been lucky with the things I've had shipped here.

Port replicator for my laptop - R411 shipping included (granted it was on auction :)), didn't have to pay any tax. (UK)
4x Sanyo Eneloop batteries - R93 shipping included vs. R200-odd at Audio Vision. (USA)
Sandisk Sansa Clip+ 8GB - R650 shipping included. Didn't pay VAT. The 8GB Clip retails for R1000 in the retail stores I've been to. (USA)

I have seen items that seem cheap, but would end up costing more than the South African retail price. Moral of the story is to shop around and know about all the hidden costs first.
 
ALIMAYET said:
Has anybody tried importing Software - MS OFFICE , VISTA.......WINDOWS7?
It also seem well below our price. TRY www.ioffer.com?
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Don't know if importing Microsoft software works in general.

I ordered a three user Windows 7 Home premium Upgrade Family pack for USD149, which was a bargain, but you don't get that any more.

It was always worth buying Adobe software from the USA, but now that you can buy downloads it is better to do that.

In general, it is not worth ordering cheap items because the economics are often destroyed by the shipping charges.

And if you have it sent by Airmail then IT WILL BE STOLEN BY THE SA POST OFFICE.

80% of my Airmail parcels from overseas are stolen. Registered mail works better !
 
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Plaasjapie said:
Oops, it seems RPM have to again wipe the egg yolk off his face. That comes from writing articles with input from your advertisers to please and support them, when your true customers are actually MyBB members.

This is exactly why I love this forum. Here the truth comes out and expose those market participants that wants to rip their customers off.
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So you pay for your MyBB membership?
 
stupid article was probably paid for by local distributors
 
I also tend to agree that numbers seem a bit blurry.

This Laptop sells today at Amazon for 615 USD (About 4830 ZAR).

One must see when the figures were recorded, the exact configuration of the laptop and the type of shipping selected.

You will never pay so much shipping (Fedex at least).

EG: a parcel weighing 5 kg pays about 120 USD (About 940 ZAR), and a 10 kg parcel, 200 USD (About 1560 ZAR).

Also, if you really want to see a difference, pick a US product (Apple, HP, ....).

You cannot import something from the US, and get it more expensive With reasonable transport obviously).

As for the warranty, I think the quality of electronic goods nowadays is so good, the risk is minimal;

By the way, how good are the local "agents" i.r.o. Warranty (Very popular word these days)?

I have been taking a chance for a while, and I will keep on.

Just take time to compare our prices with Amazon (US).

Poor us...
 
Well with no SA prica comparisons how are we supposed to "compare" the prices with those of local and international (US etc..) ?

A friend of mine bought a 64 gig Ipad from the states through some guy on ebay during the volcano iceland thing so there were heavy delays but in total with shipping from FedEx,insurance customs duties + the minimal fee the ebay seller charged he paid R8611.
If you just browse to igear.co.za that's roughly the same price of a 32 gig. WTF??

How could you even say or make the accusation that imported goods are worse than local in any way. Its obviously cheaper, and apple backs international warranty so whats not to like about this.

Stop supporting the local apple stores that rip you off and go get your stuff overseas, you will save money pain and simple.
Im in the process of purchasing a macbook pro 15 inch i5 from the states as i have family there they gonna buy it for me and send it as a gift = no tax as they're not allowed to charge on gifts :)
 
Why do so many MyBB members insist on a conspiracy behind everything? Some of you will argue tooth and nail for rationality in the Philosophical debates sub-forum but jump to crazy conclusions the second you disagree with something in other forums.

Yes, the article was subjective, no doubt about that but it doesn't mean there's some grand moneymaking scheme behind it. The simplest solution is after all usually the correct one. In this case the simplest solution is that the 'staff writer' wrote an article based entirely on his own experience instead of consulting the community. Anyone who imports on a fairly regular basis have burnt their fingers at some point and the experience leaves one with a pretty bitter aftertaste. This article smells of of burnt fingers.

There is a silver lining to this article however - actually there are a few:
1. MyBB forum discussions are indexed much higher on Google than MyBB articles. Usually first page. This means that whoever googles 'imports' and related terms will more than likely find the forum discussion - not the article.
2. More people will import based on this thread because it's clear that a lot of things can be had for cheaper if you know how. So, let's for arguments sake say that RPM was payed off to publish this - the discussion following the argument and the countless examples have already achieved the opposite.
3. I've asked about import information on these forums quite a few times in the past and it always garnered very few responses. I had to learn the hard way. Finally, a lot of people have put their knowledge, tips and tricks about importing into one thread and this is indirectly thanks to the article. No we can point any one asking questions to this thread.

You have restored balance to the force without even realising it - stop speculating - you're wasting bits.
 
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vatteva said:
Im in the process of purchasing a macbook pro 15 inch i5 from the states as i have family there they gonna buy it for me and send it as a gift = no tax as they're not allowed to charge on gifts :)
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Sure they can.
 
martin said:
Why do so many MyBB members insist on a conspiracy behind everything? Some of you will argue tooth and nail for rationality in the Philosophical debates sub-forum but jump to crazy conclusions the second you disagree with something in other forums.

Yes, the article was subjective, no doubt about that but it doesn't mean there's some grand moneymaking scheme behind it. The simplest solution is after all usually the correct one. In this case the simplest solution is that the 'staff writer' wrote an article based entirely on his own experience instead of consulting the community. Anyone who imports on a fairly regular basis have burnt their fingers at some point and the experience leaves one with a pretty bitter aftertaste. This article smells of of burnt fingers.

There is a silver lining to this article however - actually there are a few:
1. MyBB forum discussions are indexed much higher on Google than MyBB articles. Usually first page. This means that whoever googles 'imports' and related terms will more than likely find the forum discussion - not the article.
2. More people will import based on this thread because it's clear that a lot of things can be had for cheaper if you know how. So, let's for arguments sake say that RPM was payed off to publish this - the discussion following the argument and the countless examples have already achieved the opposite.
3. I've asked about import information on these forums quite a few times in the past and it always garnered very few responses. I had to learn the hard way. Finally, a lot of people have put their knowledge, tips and tricks about importing into one thread and this is indirectly thanks to the article. No we can point any one asking questions to this thread.

You have restored balance to the force without even realising it - stop speculating - you're wasting bits.
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smart a$$...:D
 
You know I've been a MyADSL subscriber from the get go, and this article just smacks of corporate BS. Who put you guys up to this ? I have never in all my years buying online goods been subject any of this "RED TAPE" you guys come up with. Sure VAT and duties are a given but the article makes online shopping overseas sound like you have to sell a Kidney, utter rubbish ! - zOOOOm back to earth. Distributors think people care much about a piece of paper that gives you a 1 year warranty, fact is people couldn't give two craps about warranties when they stand to save thousands in most case when it comes to high end electronics.

Don't know how many times this has been discussed but the sooner distributors wake up and smell the coffee and realize that most people buying these products have wizened up to the fact that we get shafted in this Country, and are willing to take their hard earned cash over the pond. In most cases the retail business model in this Country bases it self on greed and praying on the nativity of people. A prime example would be the World Cup and how Hotel chains and Airlines thought they would over inflate prices and cash in, just look what happened.

To all the distributors WAKE UP. A large majority of people buying these types of product are not as stupid as you think they are. If your business model does not allow you to drop the prices then add value to your products make it more attractive for us to buy the product locally, maybe you'll end up attracting more business and not resorting to scare tactics. Another prime example would be our beloved Core group (Apple) who love to sound off now and then how they are the official Apple distributor and how dare we buy grey products. Meanwhile back at the fancy store with kids running around with jeans on the knees and the holier than tho attitude. You can't even buy Apple care plans that extend the warranties of the product we purchase from Core group at inflated prices. We don't even have iTunes in this Country FFS !
 
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