Best place to shop when AUD is 93c USD

scotty on 01/11/2007 - 11:28

Australian Dollar has just hit 93c USD this morning.

That certainly makes almost everything expensive in Australia, especially when you start browsing catalogues and ecommerce sites from overseas. Now my question is — where is the best place to shop when AUD is so high?

One important thing to consider is delivery. It can be quite expensive to take delivery from the States, if the shop offers it at all. Also some stores won't take overseas billing information.

For cheap Chinese made gadget there is always DealExtreme.com. I wonder whether there are others?

Or should I just wait until the parity? :)

General Discussion

Comments

  • yousuf on 01/11/2007 - 11:41

    Thats a good thoght scotty .. plus when you usually try bying in USD u face a conversion fee either on ur Credit card … so anyone has any ideas for low conversion fees credit cards or finanacial institute. cheers

    • _linus on 03/11/2007 - 18:02

      having just come back from overseas i would highly recommend the wizard clear advantage master card (http://www.wizard.com.au/creditcards/task.aspx?id=580)

      it has no currency conversion fee! plus no annual, foreign atm or cash advance fees (although there's no interest free period on cash advances).

      have had mine since february and used it for a 7 month round the world trip — so i'd say i've tested it pretty well — using it on a high rotation of credit and debit i averaged about $3 month in credit fees, that was it!

      places to shop online now — i can also suggest the fun tshirt sites like threadless.com & oddica.com. Bought a threadless thrift-tee special for $10, $3 discount code from retailmenot, plus shipping = just over $17 aus total. Not bad consider the cost of quality tees domestically. Bought 3 tees from oddica (nicer quality shirts) = under $60 aus delivered.

      Also bough new prescription glasses from optical4less.com for $39 aus delivered. Very good option if you have your prescription details and a ruler — very happy with the result!

      hope that's a help to some people out there!

      _linus

      • scotty on 03/11/2007 - 21:36

        Thanks!

        As of Wizard mastercard, I am sure ozpete would agree. I think I need to offload some of my crappy cards first before thinking about getting more CC.

  • MrHyde on 01/11/2007 - 17:09

    I have started looking at eBay US as even with delivery, some things are cheaper buying there now.

    Also, paypal has a 2.5% conversion fee and my CC - citibank has a 3.3% conversion fee. Neither of them are very low. If other know of lower, I'll be interested.

  • kcyw on 01/11/2007 - 17:57

    HSBC usually has very reasonable exchange rate. Generally I think credit card exchange rates are pretty good, that's what we use when we go overseas.

    I concur ebay US is sometimes cheaper even with extra shipping cost. Perhaps partly because of more supply/competition, and lower cost.

  • John on 01/11/2007 - 20:36

    If you ever gonna buy from US then buy the LOT so you don't waste the shipping cost. They usually charge cheaper with combined shipping.

    As with the conversion rate, I was never aware of that since I would spend at most A$300 from US shop and 3% conversion rate is only like $9. Not too dramatic. But do worry about the Duties when buying expensive items. It could cost quite an amount.

    I guess it's time to buy those iPhones from US?

    • scotty on 01/11/2007 - 21:41

      I guess it's time to buy those iPhones from US?

      Never!

      I have been thinking about those iPhone clone though, especially the Desay M888 with 2MP camera, Java and NES emulation. Just need to work out the cheapest place to get one…

      • John on 03/11/2007 - 02:36

        I thought you're still into the oldies mobile phone type Scott? :)

        I'm still not sure how these clones can cross the line without getting sued by Apple for Copyright. I still don't understand the logic.

      • Duke on 03/11/2007 - 23:59

        You could always get a PDA, and flash it with iphone cone software ;)
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9dKvzfaihI

        I've been rambling for a while to my mates how the iPhone is just a really expensive, CRAPPY PDA.
        Why pay $1000 for a PDA that doesn't do much?

  • yousuf on 02/11/2007 - 17:59

    anyone know what is the limit in AUD for overseas purchases before you get the duties slapped on ??

    • cacbm on 02/11/2007 - 18:26

      $900 or $1000 from memory.

    • scotty on 02/11/2007 - 23:10

      Used to be $400, now $1000. From Australian Custom Services:

      Generally, all goods imported into Australia are subject to Customs duty and GST and are assessed for community protection risks. However, all goods (except for tobacco and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if the value of the goods is A$1000 or less.

      • John on 03/11/2007 - 02:29

        Yup. If it's over $1000 it may qualify for duty free if it's marked as a gift but don't count me on this. Even so, not every seller in US wants to do this for you.

    • yousuf on 05/11/2007 - 13:28

      thanks guyz for the info

  • [Deactivated] on 03/11/2007 - 22:46

    Other sites like dealextreme

    https://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/Default.aspx
    www.chinavision.com
    http://www.dhgate.com/

    however only had personal buying experience with dealextreme

  • [Deactivated] on 04/12/2007 - 13:55

    there are another two famous sites for cheap Chinese made gadgets:
    http://www.cellphonefocus.com/ (focus on retail)
    http://www.sourcingmap.com/ (focus on wholesale)

    • scotty on 04/12/2007 - 14:24

      Thanks jennyyu although we all know where you are coming from (after you posted two deals from cellphonefocus :)

      Too bad AUDUSD is now dropped to $0.875 :(

  • windy01 on 04/12/2007 - 17:26

    a good site specializing in cheap fashion watches:
    http://www.watchessuperstore.com/

  • thanos on 06/12/2007 - 00:52

    Hi all,
    New to the website so thought would join this thread. If you are into the Brooks Beast running shoes the following website has them for $95.95US (2008 model not yet released here).
    These retail for over $250AU. We had a few friends interested so we combined shipping and the shoes worked out to less than $140AU. (Rates were better when we bought them).
    These are genuine Brooks shoes. We used paypal to purchase these. They also have more shoes and some are even reduced. Worth the look. They do have an eBay store you may be able to get your size for older styles even cheaper.
    They are currently selling 2006 models at buy it now price $92AU with $30US postage first class.
    http://worldfootbag.com/catalog2/showgroup/clothing

    eBay seller id: footbagworld

  • hallo123 on 08/12/2007 - 23:08

    Don't forget to pay for shareware, contribute to sourceforge.

    Also buy iTunes USA gift cards from https://www.hogeweg80.com/store/clients

    And Applecare and .mac from eBay USA.

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