Shipping gear to the US...

[Noah A]

I may purchase a camera from a forum member in Australia. Neither of us have a lot of experience with international shipping.

Any recommendations for the best carrier to use? Will I have to pay import duty on a used 4x5 field camera?

I'd appreciate any advice or recommendations.

[Dan Fromm]

Noah, its been years and years since I bought anything from Oz but I still buy lenses from foreign sellers. Foreign means outside the US, not outside of Fluffiya.

All have come by mail, foreign post office to USPS. I've also been sent cash by mail to pay for items sold via eBay.

If you're willing to pay the price, most post offices offer an express mail service and it has always worked well for me. I've used slower mail services for heavy items, paid less, waited longer, had no problems.

Used photographic equipment isn't dutiable. USPS doesn't charge customs brokerage fees. Express delivery services -- in the US, FedEx, UPS, ... -- often charge customs brokerage fees, even for items that aren't dutiable.

I've so far had three problems involving packages sent by mail. One lens from the UK simply vanished, but the seller -- Joseph Rock -- is a very dodgy character and it isn't clear he ever sent the lens. One set of lenses from France vanished, eventually turned up on the seller's doorstep. He mailed them again, no problem. Same thing happened last fall with a lens from Germany.

If I were you I'd have it sent by mail. With tracking, for luck.

[Richard Rankin]

Australia Post offers sea mail as well as air mail and express services. However, although the Australian dollar is finally worth something, AusPost has, if anything, raised prices. Last time I checked a few weeks ago, sea mail from Australia cost more than the same package going priority from the US to Australia. Plus, they have added a $9 surcharge onto non-trivial packages to the US for 'security' which they claim also slows down your package.

You can have the package insured, but there again, insurance with Australia Post seems much higher than you'd pay from USPS going the other way. Sending things registered mail can be a pita and can take 2 to 3 times as long as regular packages. I used sea mail a couple of years ago and it took 2.5 months for the package to arrive.

Have the seller weigh the thing then go to Australia Post's website and you can easily figure all your options.

My only experience with non-postal shipping was from the US to Oz, and I'd never do that again if I could avoid it. It was slow, expensive, and then left in someone else's garage...

Another thing - int'l tracking thru the postal services can be pretty hit or miss. Packages rarely seem to actually get scanned at various stages as they should, so don't expect UPS-like tracking info.

All that being said, I mail packages to Oz twice a month and get a few back each year and have never had any problems at all.

Richard

[cdholden]

Richard,
I find this both amusing and aggravating, as I've had similar experience. Going from AU to US, a few packages have been lost or damaged. Going from the US to AU (using USPS every time) my packages seem to have a very good track record of transport and delivery (no losses, no damage). Once it's outside the US and gets to AU, it's still the same company carrying the mail. It makes me wonder if they turn reckless and careless based on the orginating sticker on the outside of the box.

Chris

[JamesFromSydney]

I recommend Australia Post "Express Courier International", which provides online tracking, signature delivery, and optional insurance.

[Noah A]

Thanks for the advice everyone, very helpful. I'll probably avoid fedex/ups and go for the express courier international with insurance.

James--do you know how long that generally takes from Sydney to the east coast of the US?

[Richard Rankin]

Noah - in case you don't get an answer quickly enough, there is a tool on AusPost to estimate the delivery day using that service.
Richard

[JamesFromSydney]

Noah: within a week, in my experience.

[Noah A]

Thanks again for the info!