Importing to Oz

[#74430]

Hey guys,

I'm getting a little depressed with how the Aussie dollar is performing. Does anyone have some good tips on how to save money when buying from the states/Vans etc...?

Till date I've been using my credit card, but there must be a way to get a better conversion rate.

Thanks,

Dan

[jakej]

Check your PM

[Hornet2008]

I wouldn't mine some inside info on this, I have used forex in the past.

[Yen]

Forex card works well, but you have to load it when the A$ is high and spend when it is low. Not easy to pick nowadays.

[Alex Edwards]

I used:

http://www.ozforex.com.au

Much better rates than the credit card.

[nzrv8]

Check your PM's!

[rgmwa]

I initially used a credit card, but later found out about Forex and luckily used them for the big purchases. Much better rates than going through the banks. Yen's advice is good, but unfortunately our dollar looks like staying low for quite a while.

[jakej]

Yen

When I use Forex they quote you an exchange rate & when the 'Deal' is done that rate is what you pay regardless of what the dollar does.

No fees I believe for transactions above 5K & $15 below that - much better than banks here.

Jake J

[#74430]

Thanks for the response guys. Forex looks like a go... I may even need to purchase sooner than expected considering the projections indicate that the US dollar is going to continue to get stronger.

[rwtalbot]

Bankwest now has a credit card with no international conversion charges for those times you can't use Ozforex.

Freight is the real killer and you can save a lot in that area. Many US aviation suppliers charge a high price for freight to Australia. As an example; I was recently quoted US$250 to return a four cylinder crankshaft to Australia. My price using DHL was $US175. How is it that such a big company pays so much for freight with the volumes they must do? It is often worth asking for the dimensions and weight of the box to check.

I use couriersandfreight.com.au for most of my freight within Australia and international. They are very cost effective and it is just as easy to book a US pickup. Also, register for accounts with DHL/UPS/FedEx etc as once setup your items should go though customs straight away, making deliveries faster. Economy air is rarely slower but it is cheaper.

Expect the shipping bill on your kit to be larger than quoted. Vans puts all the shipments out to a number of providers to quote. My experience has been that they often underquote to get the work.

Ocean freight is the worst. Things such as over length charges are left off and then added later when you can do nothing about it. They then request the Australian agent to charge extra on their behalf when the items arrive in Australia. These funds are then paid to the US agent to offset the cheap rate they gave you up front. This is a common practice with LCL freight the world over, so it isn't limited to Vans.

The current cost for ocean freight is ~US$450 m3. That includes US forwarder fees, insurance, local fees, customs fees, but no local delivery or GST. It can be better to use air as it is not that much more expensive for the smaller kits.