gnoop Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 Relative Newbie Here. I am considering a complete set of Focal JM Lab 700 Series speakers. The RRP for these speakers in Aus amounts to $5400AUD. A Canadian site I found has the same set advertised for around $4000 Canadian, which I think came to around $4400AUD. Can't find a US site with prices. I understand I should be able to negotiate some discount on both, but would it be worthwhile importing these? Would the Duties/freight etc make it uneconomical? I don't think the importers/distributors in Aus are passing on the benefits from the high Australian dollar. Is importing viable?
Trofius Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 it cost me $230 to get a 13kg amp sent form the US to here,( airmail) Nearly 100 kg of speakers will be a huge price, unless you want to wait the few month sea freight takes, might prove pointless. plus anything over a certain amount will attract a few taxes i think.
Jliang70 Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 Relative Newbie Here. I am considering a complete set of Focal JM Lab 700 Series speakers. The RRP for these speakers in Aus amounts to $5400AUD. A Canadian site I found has the same set advertised for around $4000 Canadian, which I think came to around $4400AUD. Can't find a US site with prices. I understand I should be able to negotiate some discount on both, but would it be worthwhile importing these? Would the Duties/freight etc make it uneconomical? I don't think the importers/distributors in Aus are passing on the benefits from the high Australian dollar. Is importing viable? You might like to rethink about importing a set of speakers. Just to give you an indication the shipping cost for my new Verastarr amplifier from US to Australia is USD250 for 1 item weighing 86LB, but the cost of shipping also depend on the size of your goods and with 5 items you are likely to find there are not much savings to have after shipping and GST and import duty. In fact I think you could end up paying more by importing.
sfdoddsy Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 I've shipped speakers from the US before and it can be economically feasible. I used a freight company (www.baxworld.com) rather than the PO or a courier company. However, the price difference between your Canadian price and here isn't anywhere near enough. The only speakers worth the cost and hassle of importing (IMHO) are real high end ones that you can get used in the US. In my case I imported Wilson Watts which I could get in the US for over $10,000 less than here, so the cost of shipping was easily worthwhile. I doubt on the Focals you'll save anything. GST will be 10%, and shipping will be quite a few hundred.
Mr_Gimlet Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 I doubt on the Focals you'll save anything. GST will be 10%, and shipping will be quite a few hundred. And the GST is also ont he shipping. And there is 5% duty as well as the GST. At that price differential, it isn't going to be worth it.
brodricj Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 Looking at your numbers, it's not worth it. Go for the local buy. Actually I'm surprised that the price difference isn't all that much, usually prices here are up to double of what you might pay in the US.
betty boop Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 youd probably want to look at also getting some sort of insurance. items do sometimes get damaged in shipping. additionally I'd suggest to check out situation re local service / support and warranty on imports.
SDL Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 Duties on speakers of certain types and sizes are free, get some customs advice if you know someone. I used to have a customs advisor who worked for me, he helped out another colleague of mine get some subs into the country duty free.
Jliang70 Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 Duties on speakers of certain types and sizes are free, get some customs advice if you know someone. I used to have a customs advisor who worked for me, he helped out another colleague of mine get some subs into the country duty free. To save $1000 is not worth the effort. Much of this saving will be reduced by shipping cost and even if he can get duty free for these speakers he will probably end up with similar price to what he can get from a local dealer.
bensl Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 digging up an old thread here but i am curious as to whether importing speakes has become any more viable. i was lazily browsing the net last night dreaming of what could be (read: drooling at speakers ) when i came across a hih store in europe with pretty great speaker prices. what caught my eye was their focal range (simply because i own a pair). they had quite a range but what i really noticed was the price of the higher end stuff. they list the focal 1028BE at 2400 euro with a note saying contact for special offer. a quick conversion puts that comfortably under $3500 for a speaker that when i searched local stores puts the retail at $12000!! i know street price would be a lot less than this but surely they could be landed here for thousands under local price. is their a european 'price usa' type service offered? im not really in the market for new speakers but seeing o/s prices got me thinking.
bensl Posted May 13, 2010 Posted May 13, 2010 (edited) With the dollar being so strong it's definitely worth considering and as you will no doubt have read the Seaton and JTR threads a few of the guys are already importing, what you need to weigh up in the end is:Reliability of seller Import duty/freight/insurance Returns policy in case of damage and are you able to demo in Oz first because it can be money down the drain if you get them here and don't like em........... yeah i have been reading the seaton thread in particular which made me think importing is perhaps a bit easier nowdays. i am actually not really looking to upgrade atm. i was just shocked in the difference in price between the 2 countries. got me thinking about the possible saving buying o/s. if a speaker that i thought was waaaay out of my league (price wise) is actually quite affordable o/s, it changes the possibilites. cheers Edited May 13, 2010 by bensl
bensl Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 no worries mate, this is the exact reason I imported the Marantz UD9004 from Singapore, Aus rrp 10k, landed from Singapore 3.7k........ yeah we get royally screwed here! did the store send it across or did u arrange shipping yourself? have you heard of any freight forwarding companies that serve the EU (as the US have)?
bensl Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 store sent it mate (KEC) and nfi on Euro freight forwarders........ probably for the best repeats to himself must not buy speakers, must not buy speakers...
Gior Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 probably for the bestrepeats to himself must not buy speakers, must not buy speakers... You know, you can get Aurum Cantus through Cattylink
Guest lakshay Posted May 14, 2010 Posted May 14, 2010 digging up an old thread here but i am curious as to whether importing speakes has become any more viable.i was lazily browsing the net last night dreaming of what could be (read: drooling at speakers ) when i came across a hih store in europe with pretty great speaker prices. what caught my eye was their focal range (simply because i own a pair). they had quite a range but what i really noticed was the price of the higher end stuff. they list the focal 1028BE at 2400 euro with a note saying contact for special offer. a quick conversion puts that comfortably under $3500 for a speaker that when i searched local stores puts the retail at $12000!! i know street price would be a lot less than this but surely they could be landed here for thousands under local price. is their a european 'price usa' type service offered? im not really in the market for new speakers but seeing o/s prices got me thinking. I too came across the store's website and looking at the Focal 800 series. Does they include VAT when shipping to Australia and hope the price is for a pair of speakers ? Have also sent them an email on this and cant expect reply before 18th May as the auto reply says they take 5 days to get back on the queries.
smeggett Posted May 15, 2010 Posted May 15, 2010 (edited) Relative Newbie Here. I am considering a complete set of Focal JM Lab 700 Series speakers. The RRP for these speakers in Aus amounts to $5400AUD. A Canadian site I found has the same set advertised for around $4000 Canadian, which I think came to around $4400AUD. Can't find a US site with prices. I understand I should be able to negotiate some discount on both, but would it be worthwhile importing these? Would the Duties/freight etc make it uneconomical? I don't think the importers/distributors in Aus are passing on the benefits from the high Australian dollar. Is importing viable? Since you're talking RRP for the Aus price, and having recently purchased 5 Focal speakers (pair of Chorus 827s, a CC800V centre and two IC706 rears) you should be able to easily knock close to $1k off the RRP for a package deal, negating the need to import (presuming you're looking at a 700 series setup (fronts, centre and rears). And that way you can take them straight home from the shop and hook them up without having to wait smeggett Edit: just read my signature and realised which ICs I had!!! Edited May 15, 2010 by smeggett
Guest lakshay Posted May 16, 2010 Posted May 16, 2010 I too came across the store's website and looking at the Focal 800 series. Does they include VAT when shipping to Australia and hope the price is for a pair of speakers ? Have also sent them an email on this and cant expect reply before 18th May as the auto reply says they take 5 days to get back on the queries. received reply from the Hi Fi store. The price is for one speaker and not for a pair and includes VAT which defeats the purpose of importing
Jliang70 Posted May 16, 2010 Posted May 16, 2010 received reply from the Hi Fi store. The price is for one speaker and not for a pair and includes VAT which defeats the purpose of importing If the price is for a single speaker includes VAT then it is not a bad deal at all. Most European countries have about 15-20% VAT my guess is if you are importing then VAT may not be added that would mean the speaker is between 2000-2100 EURO (aussie about $2800 -$3000). That is about half the rrp here for a pair. Budget about $700 for shipping and some tax you could well land these speakers below $8k. It may not be the bargain as the one you thought initially but compare to local price it still save your thousands.
bensl Posted May 16, 2010 Posted May 16, 2010 received reply from the Hi Fi store. The price is for one speaker and not for a pair and includes VAT which defeats the purpose of importing wow, price per speaker definately evens up the playing field a bit! bit strange stores quoting prices per speaker. maybe to attract interest? who would buy only one? anyway, upgrade is now put to bed (whew!)
Jliang70 Posted May 17, 2010 Posted May 17, 2010 wow, price per speaker definately evens up the playing field a bit!bit strange stores quoting prices per speaker. maybe to attract interest? who would buy only one? anyway, upgrade is now put to bed (whew!) A few US websites also quote the price per speaker. Seaton sounds is one of them. I know certain Tannoy reseller in US quote price per speaker on both Prestige and Dimension range of speakers.
jutta Posted May 17, 2010 Posted May 17, 2010 wow, price per speaker definately evens up the playing field a bit!bit strange stores quoting prices per speaker. maybe to attract interest? who would buy only one? anyway, upgrade is now put to bed (whew!) Some buy THREE to use as a sonically and tonally match front sound stage
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