Looking at buying a CPAP Resmed S10 autoset from USA worth around A$1350 including freight. Can anyone recommend any reputable overseas sellers? (1800cpap.com seems to offer very good price)I understand that CPAP machine is GST exempt medical equipment for tax purposes, Will it be treated differently if it is imported from overseas? How much will be the import duty and custom charges? Thanks for any help.
Buying CPAP Machine from USA
byo on 16/06/2017 - 13:31
Comments
I would buy a second hand one if I were you.
Most people don't use their CPAP machines for very long.
Well that's a cause for optimism
Could cut both ways, either they stop because they croak, or get healthier. ;)
OP, make sure it runs on 230V. The ones I've seen use a universal power pack so should be ok, just need a plug adaptor.
3rd option: they stop because they don't like using them.
Not true - 5 years for me
Assume it is better deal than buying here. Must be be wierd pricing as Resmed is Australian company that invented the modern CPAP.
Also, most private health insurers provide a rebate based on doctor's certificate.Actually I was very surprised to find out that Resmed factory is located in Sydney. The cheapest price I find in Australia for the CPAP I want is around A$1800. That's including the famous EOFY discounts! I do not have health insurance, so every dollars will be paid out from my own pocket.
Assuming you're not elderly, you might get years out of one. I've had my S9 for 3 years, I'm just shy of 50, and in grand health except for the apnoea.
The biggest problem with importing from the U.S. is the power supply - if you get one from there, it might just be set up for 110v.
I buy stuff from 1800Cpap all the time - replacement elastics and spare nose pieces. I can recommend them as the cheapest I could find, rapid delivery, and straight-forward transaction.
However, I chickened out when I bought the actual machine - paid a stupid amount from a local dealer - I think it was in the realm of $2500 from memory.It still makes me cranky when I see the price differences between the U.S. and here.
In the end, you will love the S10 machine and wonder how you ever lived without it. I bring mine on holidays - even on a recent cruise.
Best of luck!I think the Resmed s10 uses the universal power pack and will switch between 110/220v automatically.
Thats correct, technical specifications on page 15 of manual available here.
AC input range: 100–240V, 50–60Hz 1.0–1.5A, Class II
115V, 400Hz 1.5A, Class II (nominal for aircraft use)
DC output: 24V 3.75A
Typical power consumption: 53W (57VA)
Peak power consumption: 104W (108VA)
I purchased the earlier version of this one and would recommend it over and over http://www.1800cpap.com/dreamstation-auto-cpap-machine-by-ph…
It adjusts the pressure throughout the night and keeps a record of your numbers. Mine did not look like that one but it is the same only older. I tried setting it to a set number instead of auto (you can do this with this machine) and found that it was overkill all night puffing air at me waking me worse then the apnea did. So I set it to auto with a min number to start with and it slowly ramps up to the adjusted number.I used 1800 cpap and got an adapter for the power and did not have any issues with the post or importing tax… think it just came through. And they are much less expensive then anywhere in OZ!
I find another USA supplier "CPAP.com" , has anyone use it before? Its price is very good too.
I have used cpap.com for the last 7 years to purchase auto-set machines and replacement equipment. I found they have great prices compared to local suppliers. The only issue is that they have an agreement with RESMED not to ship to Australia, very annoying! given CPAP was invented at Uni of Syd and all their products are made in Sydney. My most recent purchase was a Philips System One REMStar 60 Series Auto with Bluetooth, it was around $500 and am very happy with it, particularly with the app makes it easy to interpret the data and adjust and monitor your sleep. In regards to why prices in Australia are so high I wish ACCC would investigate. Better still a senate inquiry's, like the one held into why Australia pays so much for PC games and electronic items. I wrote an email to RESMED to ask why the price is nearly double in Australia and they responded with an email which looked like a team of league eagles had drafted. Might be time to start a petition against what is essentially a kind of market collusion in Australia.
I bought my autopap from https://www.cpap.com https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed-airsense-10-autoset-…
Had to pay duty but still way cheaper than oz, even without being able to claim through health fund.Been on cpap for 16+ years….. Best machine that I have had.
As long as you are not a mouth breather…. I strongly advise using the resmed active mask.
Does import duty payable on the full purchase price + freight? On a $1300 machine, how much is the duty?
My machine did not have any duty charge when it shipped.
I did research and for CPAP machines shipped from the US made in the US there is no duty charged at all.
Why did you have to pay duty ? because is was made in Australia? That could be the only reason. Or you shipped it to a different country then OZ?
Question for those importing - what if it needs servicing or warranty repairs? Or a pressure change?
I used mine for 3 years with no need for service and gave it away recently still in great condition. As far as pressure change I had a auto system and it had instructions on how to set the pressure if I needed it to be off auto. I think all have instructions to change the pressures with them.
I gave mine away due to changing over to a mouthpiece only for convenience for traveling and easier to move about in bed.
I now use a dental type device made by http://oventus.com.au/home/ It is not as good as a CPAP but for me my biggest issue was snoring keeping my partner awake. I was not so worried about the apnea. This mouth piece is about 92% effective for my level of apnea (severe).
I've been using a CPAP since 2013 when I did a sleep study due to my snoring keeping my partner awake. My apnea was rated severe. I purchased a ResMed S9 AutoSet (the top-of-line unit back then) with humidifier & Wisp nasal mask from http://www.secondwindcpap.com/ and it arrived in Perth approx 1 week later. I didnt pay any import/customs charges.
SecondWind mostly sell 2nd hand devices, but do sell brand new "open box" and "factory sealed" units as well for a few extra bucks. All the CPAP forums I read back in 2013 had very positive feedback about them which was the main selling point for me versus other websites.
Now this is purely your choice, but I would highly recommend looking at a "Gently Used" unit from SecondWind which is how I got my S9 for only US$569 back in 2013. Current price from SecondWind is US$379. I figured that while there is no Australian warranty with it, if everything stopped working then I could simply order another and have it delivered within a week and still have only spent half of buying a new unit from an AU seller.
"Gently used" according to their website is under 500 hrs operating time (assuming 8hrs/night, this means 2 months of nightly use) and a full internal & external clean/sterilization and all brand new tubing.
If you want an S10, SecondWind's website currently has a new open box S10 AutoSet for US$749 or Gently Used for US$599.
I cant comment on the S10 as I dont have one, but the S9 comes with a laptop-style power pack which handles both 110/240v. All I had to do was get a new kettle-style cable with an AU plug from Bunnings for $5.
Any questions, happy to answer here or via PM but I only check OZB a few times a week.
I use a resmed s10 autoset purchased from the states. I would seriously recommend going for a fixed pressure device as they are cheaper and don't have big pressure fluctuations which I found was waking me up. When I first purchased mine it was going to take a week or two to get delivered. In the meantime a local cpap supplier had a month trial for $39 no obligation. I took them up on the offer and trialled their machine. After several free appointments to try different masks and get a baseline for autoset machine pressures, You end up using similar pressure majority of the time. So after my trial I had found out what mask suits me best and what pressures suit me best. I handed the trial machine back and said thanks for the trial but I can afford it. My machine had arrived from the states and I set it to a fixed pressure and I haven't looked back since.
It is better to buy from Australia. Specially If it is manufactured in Australia and adhering Australian Healthcare and Manufactured guidelines. Biomed is a premium manufacturer of cpap masks and production of range of CPAP Supplies including Resmed CPAP Headgear. So at the least if you have any problem you can contact supplier or manufacturer for your problems.
My US made Resmed Airsence 10 autoset works perfectly on Australian electric current with a new electrical cord with an AU plug. An adapter would also work. One minor issue is that the Resmed MyAir app will not monitor your use of the US device as it only works with machines sold in Australia. This was confirmed with Resmed. But as others have noted, it is far cheaper than buying locally. As the devices seem very reliable, and given the price, the lack of warranty coverage locally is of very little concern.
https://www.border.gov.au/Busi/Duty/Indi/Brokers/GST-Exemptions-(non-taxable-importations)
Item B128 - Should be exempt from import tax. It may still get held up though and you may just need to confirm with customs that it is a medical device to get it sent through.