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Ask Slashdot: Package Redirection Service For Shipping to Australia?
An anonymous reader writes "I've recently moved continents, and one of the things I've noticed is the lack of the latest technology, as well as high prices for books and other goods here in Australia. I'm looking at package redirection services from the US, and there's a bewildering array of offerings, at a wide range of prices. What should I look out for? I'm hoping to reduce overall shipping costs to, but obviously worried about costs to deliver mostly empty boxes (yes, I'm talking about you, Amazon), damage to electrical goods from rough handling, packages going missing (does everything have to be registered post or tracked?), import duties (I'm not buying anything that should attract import duty, but still...) and overall costs (I'm not going to be buying frequently, just occasionally). What have other slashdot readers used, and what would they recommend?"
I use shipito personally. Back when I used to live in Australia, and now that i'm in New Zealand. Great service.
I picked shipito after doing my research online, you probably should do some research and read up on some reviews and make an informed decision yourself.
You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
As long as you keep the total value of what you are importing under $1000, you don't get hit with GST. If you were to, say, buy a PC overseas that costs over $1000, prepare to get slugged when it comes in through the post. If you have someone send something over, make sure that they price it as $999 on the customs form. I sent myself a computer from overseas and in my honesty/stupidity, priced it over the magic $1000 value and ended up paying about $200 in duties. Actually while you are in Australia, prepare to get slugged everywhere for tech. A high Australian dollar, and the fact that we don't locally produce any tech (we just dig rocks out of the ground and sell them), means that overseas tech companies here charge whatever the small Australian market will bear, and usually they typically price it on the side of unreasonable. Do I really need to talk about how terrible the internet speeds are here? No need to mention that in some places, the best you can get is 2Mbps ADSL? No? OK.
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
Seems awfully silly making something in China, shipping it to the US, and then shipping it back to Australia.
Sent from my PDP-11
If you haven't seen it already, may I introduce you to Whirlpool Forums? It's an excellent resource and I'm sure they'll have some good info on this topic.
The average income in Australia is more than double in the US thats why prices are higher.
No, I'm afraid it isn't. Median Household income in the US is about 50k USD. That's across the whole US, podunk cow towns to NYC. The Australian "capital territories" are averaging 60k USD per household. Across all of Australia it's 43k USD.
Not even at parity, much less "more than double." I can't imagine how you became so misguided; carefully reconsider from where it is you've chosen to get your information.
The GP was correct; the cost of the Australian welfare state is built into the cost of consumer goods, among other things.
You voted for it. Pay it. People trying to squirm out from under the weight of the statist utopias they've built should provide guidance to others.
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
Why didn't you call an ambulance and go to ER just like you did in the US? That's weird. Your post suggests that Australia doesn't have hospital, ambulances and ER and that complete and utter rubbish.
Actually, the typical American does NOT know what "socialism" is -- only that it something bad, to be feared
From your tone, it sounds as if you have some sort of problem with the idea of higher taxes being used to pay for services such as healthcare etc. Your poetic allusion to weighty statist utopias is lovely writing, but noticeably lacking any real criticism.
I live in Australia - the atmosphere here is not particularly oppressive, nor are the taxes too onerous to poorer people like me as the tax free threshold is $18,200. As a sufferer from a usually mild but ongoing medical condition, the free, world class, healthcare I receive eases any angsty feelings of constriction that might otherwise bother me.
Have you read the works of Gramsci? I'm not saying he's right, but I really think North Americans would benefit from a deeper understanding of the concept of Cultural Hegemony. It is one possible explanation as to why so many of you spend so much time and money transferring wealth from the poorest majority to a few wealthy people.
With a higher median household income than many other countries, I'd imagine that, apart from the murders, the US would be an amazing place to live. [Provided you were white, male, rich and healthy]
Our government has nothing at all to do with it apart from taking 10%. We didn't vote for price gouging, it's just because there are a small number of distributors so frequently there is a monopoly a product type. As an example, I'm wearing a pair of hiking boots that are made in Italy, cost $125US in Italy and the USA and they were advertised "on special" in Australia for $450 (at close to parity to the $450US then). I was prepared to wait a couple of weeks to save close to $300 once postage was included.
Another example is Apple, where not many years ago even a trip to Hawaii and back plus paying full customs duty was a cheaper way to get a powerbook than buying it in Australia.
The blame lies squarely with the distribution chain and the government has nothing to do with it apart from asking for their 10% for the final sale. What is it you you "guvvamint dis" guvvamint dat" "damn commie weasels" people? You've got a full sized brain - try using it.
FWIW I can confirm, having experienced hospitalization in the U.S. - with top-tier Blue Cross coverage - and later in Australia as well - the ordinary everyday Medicare system - there is no real difference in the quality of care.
The equipment, the people, and the access are all very good in both countries - assuming you have insurance in the U.S., and I'm comparing major cities to major cities here of course.
What's dramatically different is the cost, and the level of paperwork. In America we were snowed under for years with insurance company statements and bills from a dozen providers - we ended up just sorting them by color and then weighing them... and we had to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket after Blue Cross was finished.
In Australia, you pay maybe $80 for a doctor visit, and get some of it back from the government Prescriptions average $10-$20. If you go to the ER and get admitted to a room, you have to pay $6 a day if you want the TV to work. And I think you sign like one form on your way out. You never hear from them again.
Perfectly Normal Industries
I've used a Shipito consolidation account for 5 months to send stuff to Brisbane. This is what I learned:
0. I pay $50/year for an account, which gives me an address in California (Suite 123456, 123 Something St., Sometown CA, 90250). When a package arrives for me, they list it on my web based UI with a photo of the package and shipping label.
1. The cheapest freight out to Australia available through Shipito is TNT, but the cost varies from $15/lb for 8lbs, down to $4/lb for 30 lbs.
2. The optimal weight package to consolidate and send off to Australia is 29.5 lbs. Shipito adds a $10 surcharge for heaviness if the package exceeds 30 lbs.
3. It is cheapest to minimise the number of small packages you send in to your Shipito account because they charge $4.50 per piece to consolidate each incoming package into the big box that they send to Australia. Their literature makes it seem like only $2.50, but really it is $4.50 because there is a handling fee and a consolidation fee for each item. So, if you want to order 10 books from Amazon, get them sent to your Shipito box in Caliornia as on shipment of 10 books and you will only have to pay $4.50 handling and consolidation fees. If, however, you let Amazon send you 10 individual packages of 1 book each, Shipito will charge you a total of $45.00 handling and consolidation to put the same 10 books in your big box that goes to Australia.
4. Watch your Shipito account like a hawk. If a package goes missing and you don't tell them within 10 days, too bad. You have no recourse.
5. A package can be delivered to Shipito by Amazon's courier, but Shipito might not ever credit it to your account, in which case you better read #4 again. Until the package is assigned to your account, it hasn't arrived.
6. Their customer service is not aleays good. However, once you have received a reply from a service agent, if you continue to send further enquiries directly to that agent's email address you may get better customer service than if you just use the forum or the general address.
7. Fill out the online customs declerations each time a package arrives. It makes it easier for you to calculate when to close off a consolidation because you can see when the value of all packages is getting close to $1000 or the weight close to 29.5 lbs. You need to send the consolidation before it is worth over $1000 to avoid being charged GST in Australia.
8. They do some annoying things like if you let the package overstay the maximum of 90 days in storage, they just remove it from your a/c without warning and say too bad. So be vigilant about their rules, and don't expect them to be as understanding as some other more mature businesses.
9. If you follow all the above guidelines, Shipito is a good service that will save you considerable amounts on freight, and enable you to buy stuff from US vendors who will only ship to a US address.
She's also suggesting that the presence of a public free medical system somehow magically precludes the existence of a private one. Assuming that what she said was true and she wouldn't be accepted instantly in ER (she would), and assuming she somehow was prevented from getting private medical insurance which is also subsidised through the tax return system (she wasn't), she could still have just driven right up to any private hospital of which there are far more than public hospitals in any major city and paid to be seen instantly.
I'm facing a similar scenario right now. I have a hernia. I'm scheduled to have it fixed in 3 months. My private medical insurance didn't cover it because I'm to cheap to pay for the top cover, and I could check myself into the Prince Charles Hospital and have it fixed next week if I wanted to, but I'd be parting with $2500-$3000 which isn't worth it to me.
The other scenario is that in my soccer game tonight the hernia strangulates and then the public system will see me instantly including a comfortable ride in minivan loaded with great drugs.
The AC didn't call an ambulance because she is either lying or an incredible idiot where we can be grateful that she allegedly didn't breed.