Issues shipping to Australia?

[Kirk Gittings]

I've got a potential buyer for my lens in Australia. Any recent experience shipping to Australia?

[photobymike]

They have FEDEX and UPS ... I just received a package from Brisbane using Australia Post, took about a week and half..... sending USPS priority International is a good way thats not as expensive as FEDEX. If you use Paypal they help fill out the papers for international mail...really easy anyway......over the years i have sent maybe 10 packages to our friends down under with no problems....

[Kirk Gittings]

If you use Paypal they help fill out the papers for international mail...really easy anyway...

Wasn't aware of this,. How does that work?

[Ari]

USPS should work fine; I send via Canada Post, with tracking if budget allows.
Without tracking, via Air Mail, it usually takes same amount of time as with tracking, about 10-14 days, and I've never had a problem.
When possible, I try to fudge the declared value, so they pay a little less in VAT or Customs, but don't tell anyone :)

[Marc B.]

I've received two lenses from OZ in the past year. No problems...about 10 days total transit time with Aussie Post.
As suggested, probably better to use USPS with tracking.

[Jon Shiu]

Go with USPS Express Mail with insurance, includes tracking. If you click on print shipping label in paypal, it will have you fill out all the info and pay for the label. You do need a clear adhesive label holder to affix the 3 copies.

Jon

[Richard Rankin]

I've been sending priority int'l packages to Australia every other week for many years now. Delivery TO Australia has slowed considerably in the last year, but everything has always gotten there, just not as quickly as it used to. Priority forms are pretty easy to fill out, regardless of whether you use a flat-rate box or not. I use Endicia, but I believe even USPS.com will print out the forms for int'l priority, just not first class parcel.

Richard

[Richard Rankin]

PS - if the lens you are shipping is an expensive one, I agree with Jon and would use USPS Global Express with tracking and insurance, not int'l priority.

[photobymike]

i use paypal for shipping when someone buys something from me.... go to the shipping tap and fill in the blanks....if international .... it prints the forms and postage on these forms... cut the forms and sign and date... couldn't be easier.... with all the pain in the a#s that paypal can be and the 3 percent they make.... i find that in the long run its worth for what they do.....

as above there are many ways to send.... but our mail system i believe is the best in the world.....

[Capocheny]

Kirk,

There's absolutely no issues in sending gear to Australia. Like Ari, I've also sent items via Canada Post and it's always been quite an efficient process.

[But, declaring a value other than what you received for the item can cause legal issues. There's also insurance valuation to consider as well.]

However, do NOT ship in ANY containers related to fruits (Apple box). They WILL quarantine the container for a period of time. This actually happened!

Cheers

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks all.

[mdm]

Declare the correct value and not a cent more, I recently got some bits to make a box camera, the seller declared the value on the customs form USD 100 more than I paid, which pushed me over the allowable threshold for duty free imports, I had to pay NZD 114 extra to get it out of customs, which has made it a very expensive box camera.

[Lachlan 717]

Kirk,


However, do NOT ship in ANY containers related to fruits (Apple box). They WILL quarantine the container for a period of time. This actually happened!


Why is this so hard for you to believe?

[Paul Ewins]

For your buyer's sake USPS is almost certainly more convenient than Fedex or UPS. USPS gets delivered by Australia post and if there is nobody there to sign for it they will leave it at the local post office which will usually be 5 minutes drive away. If UPS or Fedex can't deliver then it goes back to their depot which can be a lot further away since neither company is anywhere near as big here as they are in the US. As noted above, just write the actual value and "Used Photographic Goods" on the customs form and it should be fine. Anything valued under $1000 goes through without duty. Generally delivery time is a couple of weeks although I just had one that took six weeks to get here - no idea why.

[cosmicexplosion]

i have had heaps of lens's from the us of a and no problems, exept customs charges,

best put value under 1000 if you like them

[welly]

I've bought a number of items from here (and Ebay) that have been sourced in the US and shipped over here to Oz. Never had a problem - delivery has always been very prompt and in many cases quicker than local delivery. I'm awaiting delivery of a Mamiya camera system I purchased from this very forum which is being delivered by USPS. FedEx quoted over $300 for delivery, USPS quoted $96 and would deliver in 3 - 5 days. FedEx must have been smoking something when they came up with that quote.

[Capocheny]

Hi Lachlan,

Don't recall saying that it was hard for me to believe... it was mentioned for the mere fact that, often times, one (as I did) would look for a sturdy box to send equipment
in and not think twice about grabbing such a sturdy "fruit box" container. They're fairly common at grocery stores.

So, if you're picking up your inference from the exclamation mark in my last statement (in the earlier post)... let me stand corrected and re-state as follows:

"This actually happened."

Hope that answers your question without need for further comment. :)

That is all!

Cheers

[polyglot]

If the lens value plus shipping cost is over $1000, the recipient will need to pay 10% GST on it, which will be annoying. Please do not send it via UPS or FedEx (especially) if you can avoid it because they will often charge the recipient a $75 "customs clearance fee" that is completely unnecessary.

Use one of the USPS services, they are insurable, trackable and don't cause grief for the recipient unlike the courier companies do.

[Barry Kirsten]

I agree with others' comments above. I've bought lots of stuff from the US and have found USPS reliable, although often later than the 6-10 working days they quote, possible due in part to slowness on the part of Australia Post. 10-15 working days is a more reasonable espectation.

Stuff-ups do happen: I've heard of items delayed because they went to Austria, rather than Australia; and in one case I had some memory for my Mac computer come from the US via Malmo in Sweden!:confused: (work that out!)

On the whole I'm happy to buy from the US, no problems.

[Ari]

FedEx quoted over $300 for delivery, USPS quoted $96 and would deliver in 3 - 5 days. FedEx must have been smoking something when they came up with that quote.

FedEx, UPS, they are always smoking something.

[cdholden]

FedEx quoted over $300 for delivery, USPS quoted $96 and would deliver in 3 - 5 days. FedEx must have been smoking something when they came up with that quote.

And here's the best part... if USPS ships via air (Priority Mail, etc), it flies on a Fed Ex plane!
USPS doesn't have a fleet of planes, so they subcontract FedEx to handle their air shipping.

[cdholden]

In spite of high rates and long transit times to .au, I've had pretty good luck over the years.
I recently sold a pair of lenses to someone in New South Wales, and some Climax film sleeves to a forum member in Victoria. The lenses arrived a couple weeks ago, but as of a couple days ago the sleeves had still not arrived. I'm going to inquire about an insurance claim for the buyer when I go to the PO later today.
In my opinion, customs paperwork is just an extra nuisance so I prefer domestic sales. Knowing that the buyer is a contributor to the forum helps me get around this mental block.