importing parts vs paying the inflated fees at shops

[jordan7831]

Originally Posted by phloudernow

Buying overseas is more worth it the more stuff you buy, tbh i haven't been charged by CBSA at all from just buying mags and parts from Ehobby.

Slides are hard to obtain in country most people just import them from over seas since they are legal to import anyway

And if they are in country, there is usually a high mark up because shoppers may associate a slide as a restricted part and "play it safe" and pay the marked up price.

This is where it really pays to know your import laws. Or should I say SAVES.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by disasterarea

Yeah, that would tend to be my opinion too. Canadian retailers really, really need to adjust the hell out of their prices to stay competitive with the new import regs. One Canadian site has an A&K Mk. 43 up for $580, another for $435. Same exact gun is listed on EhobbyAsia for $289US plus shipping and fees. How in god's name do the local companies think they can still get away with charging what they do?

After shipping it's $390, and that's before any possible tax or duty (if it's applied). The $435 price is more than reasonable. The $580 maybe not as much, but neither are too far off.

[XZIVR]

^$100 just for shipping? Oh my.

[Caelum]

Yes, its the exact slide. If I buy from ehobby I would probably just buy all the parts and mags I need at once. So I would probably be spending about 300$ plus shipping/ bounty

I just bought the TM G17 from the same retailer for 310+ tax, instead of buying used because I wanted to support the local shop/arena. I was in there again today with some questions, and they discovered a few metal slides left over in the back. The owner told me the slide was for sale at 120$. Unless they give me some sort of discount for giving them so much money in such a short time, I don't think I could be persuaded at that price. I also bought the display model at full price.. Something about slim profit margins prohibited them from giving a discount...

Honestly I think I would rather buy over seas at this point. I'm in no rush to upgrade my stock gun, and I have plenty of duster, so getting a metal slide STAT isn't a big deal. Also, I was planning on ordering a new recoil rod, hop up rubber, mag catch, etc.. and a few mags from ehobby anyways, so I might as well save on shipping and bundle it all together.

Am I more likely to pay bounty/ tax on a 200-300$ order? Or would you suggest i split up the orders so they remain under 100$, and just pay a little extra for shipping.

[Rickshaw]

If you don't ship it using UPS you're usually fine.

[Juic3]

Originally Posted by XZIVR

^$100 just for shipping? Oh my.

Ive sent a l86a2 ( wich is around the same weight ) to Ontario ( closer then HK ) and it cost me 50$. So yeah 100 for crossing whole canada+Pacific seems to be legit.

For Op , buy local when its reasonable, otherwise chinese are your friends!

[XZIVR]

Originally Posted by freakonleash

Ive sent a l86a2 ( wich is around the same weight ) to Ontario ( closer then HK ) and it cost me 50$. So yeah 100 for crossing whole canada+Pacific seems to be legit.

For Op , buy local when its reasonable, otherwise chinese are your friends!

Most I've ever paid was $70 for EMS express out of Hong Kong..

[Juic3]

Was it a small item or a 23 pound gun in a fairly big box ?

[XZIVR]

Full metal WE HK416?