John Austin <johnaustin@xxxxxxxxxxxx> moved upon the face of the 'Net and spake
thusly:
> I'm considering purchasing some items from a person living in Australia. He
> advertised them for sale on one of the Australian newsgroups. My question
> is, how much of a problem is it going to be for him to ship to me in
> America. Will I have problems with customs and will the shipping be
> frightfully expensive. I would estimate between three and five pounds.
> Lastly, how would I go about paying him and what is the conversion rate from
> Australian dollars to American dollars. He's not at all knowledgeable about
> this sort of thing. I'm hoping you are. Thanks.
>
Excuse me, may I butt in?
I've sent packages to the USA recently (photo gear I sold through
rec.photo).
There should be no problems with customs provided it is not new
stuff. If it's used there should be no duty.
It cost me five bucks to post a 100g item (lightmeter), so your two kilo
item might be rather expensive (I'd guess around AU$30). (That was
airmail, it took just under a week. Slow-boat would be heaps cheaper).
Do not send a US postal money order to Australia. My bank told me
that they would accept it as a foreign cheque, but then changed their
mind after trying to clear it. I had to send it to a friend in USA to get
it cashed.
It costs US$15 to get an international bank draft which can be
deposited in any bank here. If you send a cheque, it will cost the
recipient $10 to have converted, and take 30 days!
One Pacific Peso is worth about US$0.67 (http://www.oanda.com/cgi-bin/ncc).
Chris.
--
| Christopher J. Biggs -|- R & D Software Engineer, Stallion Technologies |
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