importing via amazon

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AjAx30

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I know there was a discussion on this a while back but couldnt find it..

I am looking at getting some pc components from amazon, and i presume i will have to pay import duties on it.. anyone know how to work out what that will be more or less? doesnt help saving $$ buy getting the stuff there, only to end up paying more after the duties...
 
As far as I know the US amazon does not ship to SA
 
thats what i also thought...

but if you look at shipping information on their website, it shows shipping time and costs to most countries in africa.. It just does not allow some products to be sent out here as far as i can see
 
I might not be completely informed on this, but if I remember correctly amazon do not ship anything but DVD's and Books to SA. I know Wantitall lists Amazon's products if you really need to buy from them.

I've imported a few things from eBay and sometimes they get through customs without you being charged duties. That's if they send it using regular post. If they use a courier you always get charged.

If I remember correctly duties on electronic components are 10% of 110% of the total price (item value + shipping cost) + 14% VAT. I might be wrong...can someone verify?
 
i just saw on my shopping list in amazon, that they dont send 3 of the 4 things to my SA address... so it looks like they still dont send everything out here.. that sux..
 
A while back they tried shipping to SA but stopped after AGAIN having big issues with SAPO "losing" packages. Sad really. Your only option for purchasing stuff on Amazon is going through Wantitall.
 
Most EBay items will get through customs with a customs duty charge (R12) and VAT on the stated value on the package. E.g. I just bought a cell phone from Hong Kong off EBay (brave, I know!) and I was only charged R36 because the seller stated the value as $10...

Customs don't have time to open and check every package, so I reckon they do spot checks. If your parcel is unlucky enough to get spot checked, then you might end up paying more.
 
Yip, you are lucky to have a seller do that. Marking the package low is the way to go. Unfortunately, most companies in the USA now need to declare outgoing parcel value.

And things from Hong Kong or China seem to be stopped as there's no such thing as a "gift from China". :) Some companies out that way just won't mark the price low.
 
myus.com used to let you declare items at 60% less than you paid and call it "wholesale". unfortunately sars came down heavily on them, and said unless they stopped that practice they would refuse all shipments from them. sars has also started requesting bank statements as proof of the value you paid!

i unfortunately just got spot checked on a R200 item from china. they wanted invoices, receipts, and bank statements! after 3 weeks of messing around I ended up paying nothing. thank goodness it was a low value item lol
 
They do that all the time, nothing new. Thing is, you can always "fix" the bank print out if you feel like it. :D
 
Havetohave also imports from amazon, i requested a motherboard from Amazon which wasn't locally released yet, they came back with a price the next day R400 cheaper than Wantitall.
 
Veyron786 said:
Havetohave also imports from amazon, i requested a motherboard from Amazon which wasn't locally released yet, they came back with a price the next day R400 cheaper than Wantitall.
Click to expand...

I used Have2Have before too and all went smoothly. Cheaper than anywhere else online or in "real" life.
 
might just get it shipped to my bro in the uk, and he can then send it on to me..

checked the uk site for the stuff i want, and its cheaper to buy it from the states and ship it
 
I saw someone receiving a parcel from amazon.com back in pretoria in 2007 (Sunnyside post office) so I think they really do deliver. The guy just signed a paper and left, didn't have to pay any fees.

My friend works for an importing company and he tells me that there is no fees on imported computer products ;)
 
It also can't hurt much to make a few friends inside your local post office
 
so basically wat many of you are saying is that you can order from amazon if you go through a middleman? e.g wantitall? i plan on importing the 5870 ati coz apparently they add too much of markup wen the suppliers here buy them
 
I paid R297.40 in customs charges for my dvd box set imported from amazon.co.uk which cost was 199 pounds sterling. Importing was done via UPS.

I'm still feeling the pain...
 
ironman, how much is the 5870 including shipping, etc? How much is this apparent markup the distributors are adding here?
 
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