smidey Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 who out there is buying stuff from other parts of the world and having it shipped in for a lot less than buying local? I was forced to investigate other avenues of supply for the food i feed my fish due to large increases in price which were around 25% over the space of two or three months i think. After finding a source i started buying it in and saved a good amount on each purchase so who else has been doing the same? I wasn't keen on the idea before this but it's my first option now. There have been a lot of items i have purchased lately, mainly parts for my V8 engine and have paid up to 60% less for the exact same parts but from the US and australia and that is with the freight charge which is often half the total cost. I am currently waiting for my new high volume oil pump, cost to buy $85AUD plus $86AUD for delivery making a total of $171 so was around $220 NZD. The best price i could find in NZ was $350 incl freight and some were as much as $490 :sml2: there are plenty of fish related products, anyone can order a FX5 and pay $415 NZD delivered and $140 of that is postage. they are over $600 in NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 At some stage customs will determine that you have become an importer. And then the fun begins. I once imported a few custom computer cases and computers many years ago. Then years later a US company sent me a $10K ECG machine for me to write some software for. Customs insisted I was an importer and I had to either fill in their complicated import form, or pay a customs agent some large sum to do this for me. Very very annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 my point is more that we are getting ripped off, paying retail else where, doubling that value with freight and still being up to 50% less than supporting our local. I assume it's the importers that are doing the best and i totally understand a store has to make money but the saving of $200 on the purchase of a FX5 is a "no brainer" i think. Shops are paying too much if they are marking the goods up by 100% as anyone can pay retail elsewhere and do that to match their prices. maybe it's just because our population isn't big enough to drive decent quantities of items to keep the price down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 :thup: Nothing like a V8 :thup: What sort of V8 do you have smidey?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 dirty old holden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 i import all the time at least once a week normally and never had anything from customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Nice, well as nice as a motor can be, what you putting it into?? My hubby has just put a brand new crate motor in his 68 Mustang, we have yet to hear it fire up, waiting waiting :facepalm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 nice. in that case it's a dirty new holden, 91 SS but will be around 400hp so will have enough poke for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Woohoo :thup: I've got an 2008 XR8, got my eye on trading upto a brand new FPV GT !drool: Love the look of the Holdens, can't bring myself to buy one, hate the window controls in the center column. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 However customs will be keeping a record of all your imports. Unlike my knowledge of the IRD, I do not know what customs regulations are regarding importing and the regularity of it or anything else. The IRD states that if you purchase, even without the intent of reselling, but do sell then you are liable to pay tax on any money made. I would suspect customs has similar. Single purchases would not be an issue but regular ones may turn out to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Woohoo :thup: I've got an 2008 XR8, got my eye on trading upto a brand new FPV GT !drool: Love the look of the Holdens, can't bring myself to buy one, hate the window controls in the center column. so everything is perfect in the falcon then huh?? haha holdens drive alot nicer than the fords and you get used to the window controls, been there since the early commodores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I would not be so worried about customs and importing. I would be when the IRD finds out that someone is reselling (this is a generalisation, please note I am not saying that anyone is). The IRD states that if you purchase, even without the intent of reselling, but do sell then you are liable to pay tax on any money made. However customs will be keeping a record of all your imports. Unlike my knowledge of the IRD, I do not know what customs regulations are regarding importing and the regularity of it or anything else. i'm simply referring to us in a situation of need to buy a pricey piece of gear and have the option of saving a significant amount by using the interweb. I on sell a little of the food but my fish consume more than i sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I've imported a lot of fish tank equipment, especially the LED's I'm using to light some of my tanks. I'm also using LED lighting in the house, so much cheaper to run and pretty cheap to buy out of China. It's worth shopping around, but make sure you're only doing it on a casual basis to avoid being classified as an importer as others have said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I thought you had to be importing so many thousands of $$$ worth before Customs start questioning you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 i'm simply referring to us in a situation of need to buy a pricey piece of gear and have the option of saving a significant amount by using the interweb. I on sell a little of the food but my fish consume more than i sell. Darn - I was editing that post but you must have picked it up immediately. I can fully understand it, I imported heat packs from America once because I could not afford to purchase single ones here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 personally i would prefer that i bought things locally, have done so up until recently but the price differences simply aren't giving me any choice and that combined with great websites these days it is so easy. A mate who has an altered dragster buys most of his stuff from summit racing as do all the other rev heads i have met recently. $5k for parts through a website or $12k from your local, not a hard choice for the exact same products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 $18 NZ for a magazine vs $120nz locally...I just need to get around to buying a stack of them and get them sent to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Woohoo :thup: I've got an 2008 XR8, got my eye on trading upto a brand new FPV GT !drool: Love the look of the Holdens, can't bring myself to buy one, hate the window controls in the center column. My ex-boss has a HSV walkinshaw, I could get used to the window controls if I had one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 My ex-boss has a HSV walkinshaw, I could get used to the window controls if I had one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 i have been importing for a good few years, so i would say it would only be on large shipments, it would take way too long to take down details of every package Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy-fish Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 there are plenty of fish related products, anyone can order a FX5 and pay $415 NZD delivered and $140 of that is postage. they are over $600 in NZ. website? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 who out there is buying stuff from other parts of the world and having it shipped in for a lot less than buying local? KiwiRail has been, thats why we're making staff at the workshops redundant because its cheaper to buy from overseas than make it hear ourselves... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I buy majority of my supplements from http://www.bodybuilding.com Protein powders are a little cheaper but the lighter more expensive stuff is ridiculously cheap compared to here. First stuff I bought in NZ I spent $130ish for 6 weeks. And it was a very basic stack. Now I spend more like $40 a month and get WAY more out of it. Also looked at getting pleco food online. $100 for 1kg of hikari algae wafers... Hmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 some of the deals i like best are salifert test kits not even half the price of ones over here, refractometers haven't seen brand new ones cheaper, deltec skimmers around $500 cheaper than here, p04x4 500ml cheaper than 250 ml here.led lights the list goes on if you look hard enough you would find that you can get 99% of your items cheaper if buying them from overseas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 I do not buy fish stuff overseas as I rarely buy any at all but I now buy all my books from the UK as they are half the price and free shipping. My husband is always importing electronic, computer and radio gear as it is a fraction of the cost of buying here. I know we should buy NZ made but they are making it more and more expensive :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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