Any recommended online computer hardware shops who are based in Asia and are willing to ship to Australia?

June 23, 2007 2:59 AM

Hello All! I'm under the impression that computer hardware is quite cheap in Asia compared to here in Australia. My question is: are there any good online retailers, who are based online, based in Asia, willing to ship to Australia and accepts Paypal? Good prices a must! Thanks everyone.
posted by Jimmeh to shopping (6 answers total)

I know its not what your looking for, but StaticIce.com will give you the cheapest Australian retailer for the hardware you search for. I like to support small businesses. *shrug*
posted by Coolcan2 at 4:43 AM on June 23, 2007

Also, don't neglect the import tax/VAT you'd be assessed.
posted by mdonley at 6:54 AM on June 23, 2007

My Melbourne friend has bought camera equipment from Hong Kong via eBay. Import tax wasn't an issue.
posted by divabat at 10:31 AM on June 23, 2007

I buy computer related gadgets through eBay.com.au shops all the time. I find that most of the stuff I buy, although the business has a Sydney address, it comes postmarked from Hong Kong or similar.

If you have a look around, these places generally have "Buy It Now" and eBay shops, as well as external websites sometimes. Look for slightly broken English in the product description. It's a dead giveaway. =P
posted by cholly at 6:23 PM on June 23, 2007

Oh yeah, and they all take PayPal, and I've never been charged weird taxes of anything.
posted by cholly at 6:24 PM on June 23, 2007

Be careful of duty and GST.
If the vendor ships Fedex/UPS etc. they will collect duty on any goods over $250, and they will charge you $25ish for the paperwork.
If the vendor uses airmail then Auspost will usually not collect GST on goods under $500 in value (but this is discretionary, so, for example when they slugged me for a camera I had paid $420 for, and had receipts they would not negotiate).
They will collect duty (on tobacco/alcohol) on any amount.
I agree with the above folk that ebay is a good source of cheap asian hardware.
posted by bystander at 11:13 PM on June 24, 2007