Buying Blu-rays from Australia and importing to Canada

[Rui]

Has anyone bought from Austrailia before? Does Canada Customs usually hit packages with taxes & handling?

Looking to order from JB Hi-Fi. Order total with shipping would be $56 CDN.

Or i could order from the US for more. Is it more likely I'd get hit with taxes from the US?

[aaron158]

I've ordered from jb hi fi. never been charged import fees but that's all random depending on if customs feels like charging or not.

one thing to note about jb hi fi. they charge aussy tax even though they shouldn't. u have to message them and have them escalate to a manger to get a refund. they told me they were going to fix it so it wouldnt charge tax to none aussy customers but so far don't look like they have.

I also believe jb don't combind shipments anymore they charge for each item so if ur ordering more then 1 thing u could split each one into its own order so the vaule of each shipment is lower making it less chance that customs will tax u.

[Rhylliam]

I ordered Night of the Living Dead Limited Edition from them the other day. 1st time ordering from Australia in 9-10 years. Hoping no import fees.. Their shipping was high enough already at 8.49 an item.

[aaron158]

Originally Posted by Rhylliam

I ordered Night of the Living Dead Limited Edition from them the other day. 1st time ordering from Australia in 9-10 years. Hoping no import fees.. Their shipping was high enough already at 8.49 an item.

make sure u email them to get ur refund on the tax they charged.

[Rui]

do you remember what service delivered your JB Hi-Fi order? Canada post?

[GreatGreg]

I've ordered from JB Hi-Fi too, but that was a long time ago. Did not get charged tax.

[aaron158]

Originally Posted by Rui

do you remember what service delivered your JB Hi-Fi order? Canada post?

post office does it.

[aaron158]

Originally Posted by GreatGreg

I've ordered from JB Hi-Fi too, but that was a long time ago. Did not get charged tax.

they do sense they changed to there new site. when ur checking out or if u check ur order after placing it will say something like this

Includes $2.59 GST & $8.49 delivery

the gst shouldn't be charged to people who don't live in aussy but they charge it anyway.

[Steel Panther]

Originally Posted by aaron158

they do sense they changed to there new site. when ur checking out or if u check ur order after placing it will say something like this

Includes $2.59 GST & $8.49 delivery

the gst shouldn't be charged to people who don't live in aussy but they charge it anyway.

Shipped
$24.98
+ $8.49 Delivery

That's all my order says.. no Tax.

[aaron158]

Originally Posted by Steel Panther

Shipped
$24.98
+ $8.49 Delivery

That's all my order says.. no Tax.

http://imgur.com/ZBUfBEZ

heres a screenshot of an order and were it shows the tax. similar to how amazon.co.uk puts the tax into the price of the item jbhifi is doing this to but unlike amazon they aren't removing the tax even though they should. they don't show the price of the item without tax then how much tax is like a store here or in the us would they are just showing u what the price of the item is with tax.

[Rui]

in case anyone was thinking about ordering an Australian blu-ray today may be as good a time as any. JB Hi-Fi is having a 1 day sale. I think it's 20% off most blu-rays. they also sent me a 5% off coupon, but it's a unique code and probably only sent out to people on their mailing list. (i used the code so can't share it)

[Steel Panther]

Originally Posted by aaron158

http://imgur.com/ZBUfBEZ

heres a screenshot of an order and were it shows the tax. similar to how amazon.co.uk puts the tax into the price of the item jbhifi is doing this to but unlike amazon they aren't removing the tax even though they should. they don't show the price of the item without tax then how much tax is like a store here or in the us would they are just showing u what the price of the item is with tax.

lol.. 2 months later I finally read this post.. so I asked em about it and they said they'd refund the GST... only when I checked, they refunded the $8.49 charge. =P

[aaron158]

Originally Posted by Steel Panther

lol.. 2 months later I finally read this post.. so I asked em about it and they said they'd refund the GST... only when I checked, they refunded the $8.49 charge. =P

ya its lame there charging it and when I first contacted them about it they said they had to charge it. they only refund it after I called them out and show them a page from there gov website saying they shouldn't be charge it. they told me back in dec they would fix it so it wasn't charged to none aussy customers but so far seems like they haven't bothered to fix it.

ontop of that when they updated there site like 1 or 2 years ago they stopped combinding shipping. use to be if u ordered more then 1 item it would go based on the weight of the package. now there just charging 8.50 for every single item.

I wonder why amazon hasn't opened up in aus and killed the market for places like jb. its carzy how over priced stuff is there. new release games for 90-100 blurays for 30-40. I use to think we got ripped off for stuff till I saw what they pay.

[Steel Panther]

Originally Posted by aaron158

ya its lame there charging it and when I first contacted them about it they said they had to charge it. they only refund it after I called them out and show them a page from there gov website saying they shouldn't be charge it. they told me back in dec they would fix it so it wasn't charged to none aussy customers but so far seems like they haven't bothered to fix it.

ontop of that when they updated there site like 1 or 2 years ago they stopped combinding shipping. use to be if u ordered more then 1 item it would go based on the weight of the package. now there just charging 8.50 for every single item.

I wonder why amazon hasn't opened up in aus and killed the market for places like jb. its carzy how over priced stuff is there. new release games for 90-100 blurays for 30-40. I use to think we got ripped off for stuff till I saw what they pay.

Night of the Living Dead LTD Edition is the only thing I have and probably will order from there.. now that I got that refund, I think it dropped my cost o like 27 CDN or something for 2 movies, which I'm okay with... but I remember looking at other things and wondering how the hell they can warrant charging like $50 for a pixar movie..

[aaron158]

ya I have very few aussy releases. mostly just stuff that was out there but not here. the only plus to buying from there is unlike buying from the us our dollar is pretty much on par or worth a little more there. but with the high pirces it kind a blows any chance of wanting to buy stuff.

[murphywmm]

I have purchased from both JB HiFi and Umbrella Entertainment. Both were very good - very quick shipping. It's especially worth subscribing to Umbrella's e-mail list as they frequently have some great sales. I've gotten discs on there for between $5-8 AUD each.

[Rui]

how long does JB Hifi take to ship an order? do they send email updates on shipment status? how long until it arrives in canada?

i placed my order just over a week ago and i still haven't received an email updating any shipment. if i look it up online my order still says "in progress". the blu-ray i ordered was in stock and says it should ship in 5 days.

i'm wondering if i should contact them to clarify when it will ship. I guess i have to email them about getting the tax refund anyways....

[Steel Panther]

Originally Posted by Rui

how long does JB Hifi take to ship an order? do they send email updates on shipment status? how long until it arrives in canada?

i placed my order just over a week ago and i still haven't received an email updating any shipment. if i look it up online my order still says "in progress". the blu-ray i ordered was in stock and says it should ship in 5 days.

i'm wondering if i should contact them to clarify when it will ship. I guess i have to email them about getting the tax refund anyways....

they send emails when things ship out, and my one (and only so far) order just over 8 weeks to get here.. Advance warning though -- if and when Canada Post goes on strike, that could be even longer....

[Rui]

8 weeks? yikes!

[Steel Panther]

Originally Posted by Rui

8 weeks? yikes!

its generally "supposed" to be 4-6.... if that makes you feel better.