Helmut pointed out that some purchases in other countries make sense even though there may be conveyance fees attached. "350 USD are still a high price, compared to the 230 USD you have to pay in Germany for same items. Add shipping and handling, you're still below." I recently sent a professional microphone to someone in Germany, and the parcel weighed 4 pounds. I found a price on the United States Mail service rate page: Http://postcalc.usps.gov/itds/owa/calculator.home showing this to be possible for $9.95 in the US. The local Post Office kept telling me it was going to cost a lot more, but I insisted that I had found it on their I-net rate page. After several minutes, one of them found some numbers to punch into their computer and suddenly their machine spit out a quote of $9.95, so I sent it. I just got confirmation today that it arrived. It must be 6 to 8 weeks ago that I sent it. But it arrived safely and cheaply. I don't know what import duty charge he had to pay. If the sender declares a higher price, the duty will be higher. I agree that for some parts, and perhaps even for a motor or transmission, ordering from abroad and shopping for the lowest cost transport can save a lot of cents, or is that make a lot of sense? John |
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