[ootput]

(other meta-keywords: Houston + move + Sydney + omeegosh)

I made the move from Houston (which is, incidentally, the subject of another head-fi forum thread,) to Sydney, Australia last March.

Besides from the number of mosquitos bites that I've suffered throughout this month of February, and the obscenely warm Christmas, I've nothing but good things to say about Sydney.

From what I've seen so far, the Houston to Sydney transition has included, first and foremost, a welcome change in scenery: better looking women (my pad overlooks the tanned-shores of Bondi,

) less concrete, healthier foods, pedestrians..

But of course, the move also has it's drawbacks.

Internet shopping was one of my favorite past-times while I was still a bachelor in H-town. I'd save up a bit of money, do a quick pricewatch query, and have a brand spankin' new <item> at my doorstep within a few business days.

Now that I'm living with my fiance in Sydney, I've less to spend, and even less time to go spending it. But that doesn't mean I'm any less of a techno-weenie; I still possess the cravings. I'm still a Man goshdarnit!

And so here I am - stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have yet to find a store that carries a decent selection of phones and amps. Most of the stores I've been to offer grotesquely-priced Senns, and not much else. Online, besides headphones.com.au (which doesn't carry what I'm after,) there aren't too many quality sites either. If I'm mistaken, please (!!) correct me.

So my question to you, dear mates, is how on earth is it that you buy what you buy? I've seen a few of you with some very impressive gear, but I can't even begin to fathom how you acquired it. Did you end up paying through your nose for your item + import duties and tax? Did you get somebody to smuggle those items in for you? Did you have to sell a kidney?

I've emailed sites like Headroom & Lavry for details on some of their products, and because I will be the importer of the good, any additional fees that I'll might to pay to get them through Australian customs. None of the sites gave me a straight answer, which was the reaction I expected since they were probably better equipped to deal with those locally than to deal with those abroad.

I don't know what else to do

-- ootput

 

[Enverxis]

There is only one place in Australia that sells Headphone Amps, as far as I know, and thats Headphonic with a very limited selection.

As far as headphones goes, alot of speaker places carry Sennheiser Headphones (and most sell for a stupidly high price) as that is pretty much the most well-known Headphone brand down here. AKG headphones are also sold, but usually only the lower models. The other brands well, good luck finding them ...

I assume pretty much all of us order from overseas, yes we suffer from currency changes, shipping cost and sometimes import duties.

I like to buy my stuff second-hand from the Head-Fi forums if possible, usually arrangements can be made to value the item at a low price to avoid customs charges/taxes etc.

One of the annoying things of living down here is that if your after something fairly non-mainstream, its hard to get and usually you'll have to get it from overseas.

Welcome to Australia, a land of large personal space, and of keeping the Status Quo

 

[ootput]

Yeah, I've given up hope trying to find a local distributor for Headroom items.

Do you have any idea as to how much (in duties and such) I'd need to pay for the following from headroom?

HeadRoom Micro Amp - $299.00
HeadRoom Micro DAC - $299.00
Grado Headphone Extension Cable (15ft) - $39.95
Grado quarter to eighth inch plug Adaptor - $14.95
Cardas 6 inch Mini to Mini cable - $14.00

Totaling $666.90

I was considering getting the DT880's with Cardas cable upgrade from headroom as well, but I was afraid that it's price tag (at $449.00,) would raise the import levy substantially.

Also, if I did decide to import from the U.S. to Australia, would I have to do all of the paperwork regarding import license prior to making the purchase? Or would this be something I'd do after the item is held at customs?

Having never imported anything in the past, I'm pretty scared as to what the Australian Government has in store for me.

 

[Zorander]

I never buy from any australian shops. Usually I scour the sale forums here and also get friends/relatives to buy me stuff from home (I'm asian-born). Most audio gears here are ridiculously expensive, not to mention the limited selections.

Edit: Oh, I did buy the M-Audio SuperDAC here for more than AU$400, I think. It irked me to no end when I found out its used selling price is only US$150. Lesson learned... use the For Sale forum wisely and any other cheaper resources.

 

[ootput]

Oh, that reminds me, how expensive can getting somebody to send something over get? If you negotiated a deal with somebody else on this forum who lived on a different continent than yourself, and if they sent it over through regular International Mail, how much do you expect to spend to pay for the shipping?

Will Customs intercept the package at all?

I remember overhearing a conversation b/w the Brown employee and a customer where the customer had to specifically state the dollar amount of the contents of the package, and the content-types, and whether or not it was a gift. Should I be concerned about this considering how much I'm going to spend on the items?

 

[Zorander]

It usually costs an extra $5-10 for shipping, more if the whole package is substantial. Some of the head-fiers I've bought from had been very nice not to charge any extra. As far as my experience goes, custom has never intercepted the package for custom charges. I guess the individual items were not expensive enough to be of concern and the 'gift' description probably helps too.

 

[Enverxis]

Ive never had any of my items be held by customs either, not even the Eastsound

 

[Lavalamp]

Australia recently entered into a free trade agreement with the States.

This should mean that you won't pay duty on anything you ship in from the States.

I buy second hand (both local and from overseas) and DIY alot.

 

[ootput]

Oh, really?

Is there a way for me to research this further? I hope that it's unconditional.

 

[$qwuzzy]

another useful website is www.shopthestates.com

customs charges can be interesting - i've found it depends on who you ship with. usps doesn't seem to get customs charges attached, nor does ups. but fedex has (my experience only. mainly with camera stuff though)

headphonic, although pretty limited in slection, regularly does specials for OCAU members, so it can be worthwhile joining up to see the specials. (although there hasn't been one since last november....)

 

[Enverxis]

I remember seeing the MS-1s for $80 for a while, christmas special perhaps

 

[ootput]

Fantastic! SSS looks mighty interesting.

Thanks.

 

[bluebeard]

Sorry about the bump,fellow Sydneysider here.

Only come across this thread today.

Some of our colleagues are slightly misleading on this subject. Recent changes to customs rules have elevated the customs-exempt value of products to AUD1000. This is not as a result of the FTA with the states. This custom exempt figure is inclusive of postage. So for your Headroom package of $660.00 include postage of $40 them divide the cost by 0.73 to give you the AUD value ie $958.00 just squeezing under that $1000 limit. If the AUD drops under USD0.72 between ordering and dispatch you will be hit with customs and gst.

If you are going to order the phones, order them separately, or better yet get your partner to order on your behalf. You will need to ensure a gap of a couple of weeks between shipping to avoid customs.

For more info try http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4376

Just be careful, I had an unfortunate case where an erroneous air waybill indicated the cost of the goods was USD890 rather than 600. I got whacked with customs and gst of AUD237 and am now trying to get the correct invoice sent so I can get my money back off Fedex. Split shipping orders can be a pain!

Regards,

Giles

 

[dj_mocok]

What headphones (or other equipments) you are thinking to get by the way?
My stax passed custom duty, but that's because it's listed for 200 AUD.
But it's a bit risky, since that's also the insurance value, so had something happened to it, I would only be able to receive the stated amount. Plus stax is ugly, so uninformed customs will believe the stated amount.

It's too risky for something flashy looking though. Other idea maybe to have it as a "returned serviced item" although I haven't personally tried it.