Importing Goods from overseas

sycogrim

sycogrim

MyGaming Comp Authoritah
Hey Guys

I'm sorry to Necro this thread, but I want to know if amazon actually tell you the overall cost of the shipment including the price of the product you order when they send it using eg: DHL??

I'm trying to order Burnout Revenge for X360 and it's the only place left I could find it.

What experiences have you guys have with Intl shipping and what advice can you give to a noob here who's a hermit when it comes to importing :$

Thanks ;)
 
sycogrim said:
Hey Guys

I'm sorry to Necro this thread, but I want to know if amazon actually tell you the overall cost of the shipment including the price of the product you order when they send it using eg: DHL??

I'm trying to order Burnout Revenge for X360 and it's the only place left I could find it.

What experiences have you guys have with Intl shipping and what advice can you give to a noob here who's a hermit when it comes to importing :$

Thanks ;)
Click to expand...

I bought a Kindle from Amazon.com a year or so back, and they did show you the overall cost with shipping and port charges etc near the end of the checkout. And it even arrived within about 3 days. I was very impressed with them
 
matt said:
I bought a Kindle from Amazon.com a year or so back, and they did show you the overall cost with shipping and port charges etc near the end of the checkout. And it even arrived within about 3 days. I was very impressed with them
Click to expand...

So you reckon they're safe to use etc???

Was the import charges excessive or not?

And who delivered it to you or could you choose the courier from Amazon??
 
Ok I just used them to buy dvds over xmas, the price was right and it was here within a week! I had it sent to my post office and I paid about R30 for the customs charge. Which worked out about 10% of the total price (incl postage) of the package.
 
Wyvern said:
Ok I just used them to buy dvds over xmas, the price was right and it was here within a week! I had it sent to my post office and I paid about R30 for the customs charge. Which worked out about 10% of the total price (incl postage) of the package.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I do not trust the post office with my life, those okes steal more shit than anywhere else...
 
I ordered items from Japan in the past and had it sent to my post office. The total cost was included (including shipping) and I had to pay customs for it. I heard that some sellers on eBay send the receipt with a lower total cost than the actual product to reduce import tax.
 
sycogrim said:
So you reckon they're safe to use etc???

Was the import charges excessive or not?

And who delivered it to you or could you choose the courier from Amazon??
Click to expand...

I think Amazon is a pretty safe bet, and shipping the Kindle in from the US is probably still cheaper than buying it locally, although it was the only option at the time. I just had a look at the invoice. It was in mid 2011. Here's the breakdown


[TD="align: right"]Item(s) Subtotal:[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]ZAR 1,224.42[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Shipping & Handling:[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]ZAR 189.79[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Promotion applied:[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]-ZAR 49.25[/TD]

[TD="align: right"][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]-----[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Total before tax:[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]ZAR 1,586.35[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Sales Tax:[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]ZAR 0.00[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]Import Fees Deposit[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]ZAR 221.39[/TD]

[TD="align: right"][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]-----[/TD]

[TD="align: right"] Total for This Shipment: [/TD]
[TD="align: right"] ZAR 1,586.35 [/TD]

[TD="align: right"][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]-----[/TD]

At the time, I recall that you could only use courier for Kindles, and they wouldn't let you do the cheaper option, probably because they don't trust the SAPO. I can't remember what courier they used though.

Here's their international shipping help page for Africa
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_rel_topic?ie=UTF8&nodeId=596186

EDIT: You can use the tables on the page above to work out the shipping rates. My order was for two items, so you have to add the Per shipment price to 2 * per item price, and different types of items have different rates etc.

The easier way is to go through the checkout process and it'll show you what they'll charge before you put in payment details. If it's too much, just don't place the order. Also, there's some stuff they don't export, and it'll pop up a message to let you know when you put in the delivery address.
 
Last edited:
Dude I use the SAPO on a monthly basis these days with my plant cuttings that I send to jhb and so forth. Plus I know my dad has all his big car parts and so forth sent to the PO. In all the years he has also imported RC heli parts not one box was opened or stolen.
 
Wyvern said:
Dude I use the SAPO on a monthly basis these days with my plant cuttings that I send to jhb and so forth. Plus I know my dad has all his big car parts and so forth sent to the PO. In all the years he has also imported RC heli parts not one box was opened or stolen.
Click to expand...

i've lost about +- 8 0r 9 Sapo packages in the 4 years i've been ebaying and total value lost is probably 2 to 3000 rands
 
Dohc-WP said:
i've lost about +- 8 0r 9 Sapo packages in the 4 years i've been ebaying and total value lost is probably 2 to 3000 rands
Click to expand...

I know its weird, we have been very lucky so far. I have even had parcels sent back to me that people never collected.
 
sycogrim said:
You see that's my problem right there, I know that Amazon use proper couriers to do things.
Click to expand...

I seem to remember that at one stage, they stopped shipping to SA altogether because of the post office. I feel much safer with couriers anyway
 
matt said:
I seem to remember that at one stage, they stopped shipping to SA altogether because of the post office. I feel much safer with couriers anyway
Click to expand...

Exactly so do I, in your opinion how has your experience been with shipping here from overseas??
 
sycogrim said:
Exactly so do I, in your opinion how has your experience been with shipping here from overseas??
Click to expand...

Well, that was the only time I ordered anything from Amazon, but it was awesome. Arrived in 2-3 days, hand delivered to my office. They only let you do priority shipping for Kindle products though, so it was the extra good shipping option
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top