has anyone bought a bike online?

asterope said:

anyone here bought a bike online before? either one that they couldnt
get in aus. or one thats cheaper to buy from OS?
ive got my heart set on a particular little beasty and have found a
good price for it on cambriabike.com, ive bought lots of stuff from
them before (wheels, rings, hydration, shoes...) and have only had to
pay customs on the hydration packs.

my question is, importing a whole bike from OS is probably going to
cost me some $$ in customs, im just wondering how much.
the same bike bought here at my local LBS is going to set me back $6K,
bought overseas is going to set me back $3.5K (including shipping and
insurance)
if customs is going to set me back over $500, then im going to have to
consider looking at some other bike.
i know i wont get the after-sales service and such if i dont buy from
the LBS, but ive got an old friend thats been thrashing and fixing mtbs
for years and im sure he wont be averse to performing any repairs or
maintainence as long as he gets to have a go and a bottle of red.

so does anyone have any idea on the charge of customs on a bike, or
could lead me to somewhere that i could find the charges on a bike?
i need to factor all these in for my savings plan 😄

Abby knows the dirt on this as an insider. Have a search through the
a.b archives: this was discussed at length several weeks back. In
short, whole bikes have no duty but frames and parts have 5%. For any
parcel under $1000 it is let through. If over $1000, you have to pay
any duty liable, and GST on the item, the duty and the postage.

I've bought a 2nd hand bike and a frame over eBay, both well over
$1000. The bike came through with no dramas, but the frame got nabbed
and I had to pay about $300 in duty and GST, but still made a killing
compared to the local purchase.

Are you looking at that Ellsworth Truth at CB?? If only they had my
size!!

Donga

asterope said:

anyone here bought a bike online before? either one that they couldnt
get in aus. or one thats cheaper to buy from OS?
ive got my heart set on a particular little beasty and have found a
good price for it on cambriabike.com, ive bought lots of stuff from
them before (wheels, rings, hydration, shoes...) and have only had to
pay customs on the hydration packs.

my question is, importing a whole bike from OS is probably going to
cost me some $$ in customs, im just wondering how much.
the same bike bought here at my local LBS is going to set me back $6K,
bought overseas is going to set me back $3.5K (including shipping and
insurance)
if customs is going to set me back over $500, then im going to have to
consider looking at some other bike.
i know i wont get the after-sales service and such if i dont buy from
the LBS, but ive got an old friend thats been thrashing and fixing mtbs
for years and im sure he wont be averse to performing any repairs or
maintainence as long as he gets to have a go and a bottle of red.

so does anyone have any idea on the charge of customs on a bike, or
could lead me to somewhere that i could find the charges on a bike?
i need to factor all these in for my savings plan 😄

Cheers!

Abby will give you the low down on Customs stuff. I'd say go for it as
long as you know the size of everything you're getting, compared to the
size of everythign you need.

Karen

--
Karen

If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible
warning.' Catherine Aird

asterope wrote:

<snippety-snip>

Quoted message said:

but ive got an old friend thats been thrashing and fixing mtbs
for years and im sure he wont be averse to performing any repairs or
maintainence as long as he gets to have a go and a bottle of red.
--
asterope

Far out, that's pretty generous of you...!!

Oh, you mean on the bike?!?! Sorry - mind in the gutter today...
*grins*

Cheers,
Abby

Absent Husband said:

asterope wrote:

<snippety-snip>

Quoted message said:

but ive got an old friend thats been thrashing and fixing mtbs
for years and im sure he wont be averse to performing any repairs or
maintainence as long as he gets to have a go and a bottle of red.
--
asterope

Far out, that's pretty generous of you...!!

Oh, you mean on the bike?!?! Sorry - mind in the gutter today...
*grins*

Cheers,
Abby

A-style Abby.

T 😉

Donga said:

Abby knows the dirt on this as an insider. Have a search through the
a.b archives: this was discussed at length several weeks back. In
short, whole bikes have no duty but frames and parts have 5%. For any
parcel under $1000 it is let through. If over $1000, you have to pay
any duty liable, and GST on the item, the duty and the postage.

I've bought a 2nd hand bike and a frame over eBay, both well over
$1000. The bike came through with no dramas, but the frame got nabbed
and I had to pay about $300 in duty and GST, but still made a killing
compared to the local purchase.

Are you looking at that Ellsworth Truth at CB?? If only they had my
size!!

Donga

cool! a person knowledged in the arts of the import resides on this forum... i'll wait for abby's wise input, or i'll just email him tommorow 😄

nope, not the ellsworth; ive got my sights set on the yeti 575.
i see a guy driving around ashgrove with an ellsworth truth on the roof-racks of his bmw x5, both in the outbound and inbound directions, and i have never seen a speck of dirt on the thing... (the bike or the car)

quote='Tamyka Bell'Absent Husband said:

asterope wrote:

<snippety-snip>

Quoted message said:

but ive got an old friend thats been thrashing and fixing mtbs
for years and im sure he wont be averse to performing any repairs or
maintainence as long as he gets to have a go and a bottle of red.
--
asterope

Far out, that's pretty generous of you...!!

Oh, you mean on the bike?!?! Sorry - mind in the gutter today...
*grins*

Cheers,
Abby

A-style Abby.

T 😉[/QUOTE]
i dont think his mother would approve of A-styling either myself or the bike...
maybe i'll get him two bottles of red, dont want him getting the wrong idea :P

Absent Husband said:

asterope wrote:

<snippety-snip>

Quoted message said:

but ive got an old friend thats been thrashing and fixing mtbs
for years and im sure he wont be averse to performing any repairs or
maintainence as long as he gets to have a go and a bottle of red.
--
asterope

Far out, that's pretty generous of you...!!

Oh, you mean on the bike?!?! Sorry - mind in the gutter today...
*grins*

Cheers,
Abby

so much for the wise words :p

asterope said:

anyone here bought a bike online before? either one that they couldnt
get in aus. or one thats cheaper to buy from OS?
ive got my heart set on a particular little beasty and have found a
good price for it on cambriabike.com, ive bought lots of stuff from
them before (wheels, rings, hydration, shoes...) and have only had to
pay customs on the hydration packs.

my question is, importing a whole bike from OS is probably going to
cost me some $$ in customs, im just wondering how much.
the same bike bought here at my local LBS is going to set me back $6K,
bought overseas is going to set me back $3.5K (including shipping and
insurance)
if customs is going to set me back over $500, then im going to have to
consider looking at some other bike.
i know i wont get the after-sales service and such if i dont buy from
the LBS, but ive got an old friend thats been thrashing and fixing mtbs
for years and im sure he wont be averse to performing any repairs or
maintainence as long as he gets to have a go and a bottle of red.

so does anyone have any idea on the charge of customs on a bike, or
could lead me to somewhere that i could find the charges on a bike?
i need to factor all these in for my savings plan 😄

Cheers!

I've bought several titanium bike frames in from china and never had to
pay anything on any of them. Not sure how you go with a complete bike
though.

Friday

asterope said:

so does anyone have any idea on the charge of customs on a bike, or
could lead me to somewhere that i could find the charges on a bike?
i need to factor all these in for my savings plan 😄

No idea, but from all accounts shipping a frame/bike from the US is
stupidly expensive compared with the UK.

Parbs

Parbs said:

asterope wrote:
No idea, but from all accounts shipping a frame/bike from the US is
stupidly expensive compared with the UK.
Parbs

I am getting my replacement Guru from Canada and you are not wrong about the stupidly expensive. So much so that I actually decided to delay the purchase for when I am going to be in Boston in November, so I am paying for shipping to a LBS there and then I pick it up the day before I leave back for Australia. It was going to cost something like $1000 to get it shipped via FedEx or UPS, they would not ship any other way. Then there was the possible customs/GST hit as well.

I've done it lots of times. One complete bike and one frame off the SJS
Cycles eBay store, one complete bike and two frames from Rivendell in the
US, and two Litespeed Ti frames, one direct from the factory and the other
from a Canadian web retailer. Haven't been burnt yet.

I've had to pay import duty on most of these when the price is over $1000
(used to be $500), but the free trade deal with the US has been signed since
I last brought a bike in from there, so I don't know what the present
situation is. If you ring Customs they have a help line that I have found
very helpful in the past in determining what duty to expect.

Nick

"asterope" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

anyone here bought a bike online before? either one that they couldnt
get in aus. or one thats cheaper to buy from OS?
ive got my heart set on a particular little beasty and have found a
good price for it on cambriabike.com, ive bought lots of stuff from
them before (wheels, rings, hydration, shoes...) and have only had to
pay customs on the hydration packs.

MikeyOz said:

I am getting my replacement Guru from Canada and you are not wrong
about the stupidly expensive. So much so that I actually decided to
delay the purchase for when I am going to be in Boston in November, so
I am paying for shipping to a LBS there and then I pick it up the day
before I leave back for Australia. It was going to cost something like
$1000 to get it shipped via FedEx or UPS, they would not ship any other
way. Then there was the possible customs/GST hit as well.

--
MikeyOz

The duty/GST hit is the same, irrespective of the method of importation
(ie. cargo, courier, post, passenger baggage).

And the hit isn't 'possible' - its either there or it isn't. If the
value is over $1000, it's there. Under, and it isn't. You will NOT be
charged duty/GST if your private import is under $1000. If you have
been charged in the past below the $1G threshold, it would have been
before the recent change in 'concession limits'.

Abby

Absent Husband said:

The duty/GST hit is the same, irrespective of the method of importation
(ie. cargo, courier, post, passenger baggage).

Except I have been told by others who've travelled OS that if your bike is
brought back into Australia having been ridden to some extent (ie. it's now
a 'used' bike) then you will not be charged duty.

Anyway it's only going to be 10% on the total value incl. freight and duty.
For a complete bike valued at $3500 including freight that's still only.....
how much?? A hell of a lot less than $6K for the same bike bought in
Australia.

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

In article <[email hidden]>,

Peter Signorini said:

Absent Husband said:

The duty/GST hit is the same, irrespective of the method of importation
(ie. cargo, courier, post, passenger baggage).

Except I have been told by others who've travelled OS that if your bike is
brought back into Australia having been ridden to some extent (ie. it's now
a 'used' bike) then you will not be charged duty.

You may still get charged as the only determinant is whether you brought
the bike out and then back in, or whether it's a real import. However,
customs are more lenient if it's a used bike and you looked clearly to
be a cyclist carrying your own equipment. At worst, the duty is based on
the price of a second hand bike.
--

Absent Husband said:

The duty/GST hit is the same, irrespective of the method of importation
(ie. cargo, courier, post, passenger baggage).

I know it is, I said possible because they may or may not charge me... I am bringing back a boxed up bike.... what is to say it is used ? what is to say I didn't bring it out with me.

However, I am fully prepared if they go the full monty on me, I will pay customs/GST on the bike.

May be my lucky day, it may not be.

However, if I had it shipped over, I would just about lay money done I would be done for customs/GST

MikeyOz said:

I am bringing back a boxed up bike.... what is to say it is used ?

The judgement of the Customs officer. They'll look closely at the
condition of the frame, the wheels, and the chain.

Quoted message said:

what is to say I didn't bring it out with me.

We can (& sometimes do) withhold goods at the airport, pending proof of
prior ownership.....

Quoted message said:

However, I am fully prepared if they go the full monty on me, I will
pay customs/GST on the bike.

That's very good of you.... 😉

Quoted message said:

May be my lucky day, it may not be.

However, if I had it shipped over, I would just about lay money done I
would be done for customs/GST

Damn straight!!

Quoted message said:

--
MikeyOz

All that said - Customs is often very, very busy at airports catching
seriously bad dudes. And so they may consider going to extraordinary
lengths to ascertain the used nature, etc, of a bicycle a somewhat poor
use of their time.

So if you are very nice and very honest with the Customs dude, you may
indeed find yourself 'getting lucky'...

Cheers,
Abby

Absent Husband said:

MikeyOz said:

I am bringing back a boxed up bike.... what is to say it is used ?

The judgement of the Customs officer. They'll look closely at the
condition of the frame, the wheels, and the chain.

Quoted message said:

what is to say I didn't bring it out with me.

We can (& sometimes do) withhold goods at the airport, pending proof of
prior ownership.....

Quoted message said:

However, I am fully prepared if they go the full monty on me, I will
pay customs/GST on the bike.

That's very good of you.... 😉

Quoted message said:

May be my lucky day, it may not be.

However, if I had it shipped over, I would just about lay money done I
would be done for customs/GST

Damn straight!!

Quoted message said:

--
MikeyOz

All that said - Customs is often very, very busy at airports catching
seriously bad dudes. And so they may consider going to extraordinary
lengths to ascertain the used nature, etc, of a bicycle a somewhat poor
use of their time.

So if you are very nice and very honest with the Customs dude, you may
indeed find yourself 'getting lucky'...

Cheers,
Abby

Up to a point, Abby - I once brought over some stuff, castings I think it was
for a model kit, and the customs guy was pleading with me to tell him it was
used. Given that it was still sealed in cellophane I didn't feel inclined to
lie. I finished up paying a couple hundred to him, but I felt I'd been honest.
And probably foolish.

Karen

Duracell Bunny said:

Up to a point, Abby - I once brought over some stuff, castings I think it was
for a model kit, and the customs guy was pleading with me to tell him it was
used. Given that it was still sealed in cellophane I didn't feel inclined to
lie. I finished up paying a couple hundred to him, but I felt I'd been honest.
And probably foolish.
Karen

was it a "pleading" as in "Go on I dare you to tell me it is used so I can can your ass for some money" or "Please tell me it is used so I don't have to worry about the extra paper-work" ??

It could have been a Sting operation! 🙂

Absent Husband said:

So if you are very nice and very honest with the Customs dude, you may
indeed find yourself 'getting lucky'...

Thats what I am banking on!! 🙂 I'm hoping there is some guy trying to import some fertilizer or something which they all have to work on