Buying from Ukranian or Russian Web Store from the US?
February 26, 2020 8:40 AM Subscribe
I'm looking to buy an inexpensive specialty item that seems to only be available from online sellers located in Russia or the Ukraine. I'm in the US, and I don't speak/read Ukranian or Russian. Is this do-able?
Total value is <$20 USD before shipping. I've found the item on prom.ua (seems to be the Ukranian version of Aliexpress, in that it's a platform to aggregate lots of sellers) and eandc.ru (looks like a more traditional electronics component vendor).
I can't read or speak Ukranian or Russian, and the item does not appear to be available in an English-language web store. It's a unique toggle switch that seems to only have been used on a few Russian airplanes and helicopters -- I'm a flight sim/aviation nerd who builds simulator instrument panels.
Google Translate isn't very good with login-required pages, so I'm likely going to have to muddle through by copy-pasting phrases into a translator and relying on web design conventions to figure out what I need to click, which is fine.
Big questions seem to be: Payment -- my instinct says "be suspicious of small web stores," but I'm not sure how much of that is realistic and how much is, well, not. In the past I've used paypal but it doesn't seem to be broadly supported.
Shipping -- How do I get it once I pay for it? Again, this is a small item, but it looks likely that this isn't a "free shipping from China" situation. I'm fine with paying reasonable shipping rates but I don't want to get hit with something ridiculous like $200 to ship a $20 part.
This is a low-impact thing for a hobby project so if the answer is "it's not really feasible for reasonable time/money for a low-dollar part," that's good to know too, I can just DIY an equivalent.
Total value is <$20 USD before shipping. I've found the item on prom.ua (seems to be the Ukranian version of Aliexpress, in that it's a platform to aggregate lots of sellers) and eandc.ru (looks like a more traditional electronics component vendor).
I can't read or speak Ukranian or Russian, and the item does not appear to be available in an English-language web store. It's a unique toggle switch that seems to only have been used on a few Russian airplanes and helicopters -- I'm a flight sim/aviation nerd who builds simulator instrument panels.
Google Translate isn't very good with login-required pages, so I'm likely going to have to muddle through by copy-pasting phrases into a translator and relying on web design conventions to figure out what I need to click, which is fine.
Big questions seem to be: Payment -- my instinct says "be suspicious of small web stores," but I'm not sure how much of that is realistic and how much is, well, not. In the past I've used paypal but it doesn't seem to be broadly supported.
Shipping -- How do I get it once I pay for it? Again, this is a small item, but it looks likely that this isn't a "free shipping from China" situation. I'm fine with paying reasonable shipping rates but I don't want to get hit with something ridiculous like $200 to ship a $20 part.
This is a low-impact thing for a hobby project so if the answer is "it's not really feasible for reasonable time/money for a low-dollar part," that's good to know too, I can just DIY an equivalent.
What seanmpuckett said - I do this frequently with vintage electronics & components from individuals & companies across Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet states. Success rate is ~90%, with responses ranging from exact answers in good English to barely-comprehensible replies that take a bit of back-and-forth to sort out.
WebMoney & Yandex.Money are the big PayPal equivalents (PayPal's been there for a few years but is widely distrusted). Transferwise is pretty widely accepted too, and AliPay seems to be quickly becoming popular.
A tip: don't trust the standard parcel post from either Russia or Ukraine - pay the bit extra for EMS or Air Parcel. Normal post to Aus at least is definitely slow-boat (6 weeks+ isn't unusual), while EMS & Air are usually 10-21 days or less.
posted by Pinback at 7:24 PM on February 26, 2020
WebMoney & Yandex.Money are the big PayPal equivalents (PayPal's been there for a few years but is widely distrusted). Transferwise is pretty widely accepted too, and AliPay seems to be quickly becoming popular.
A tip: don't trust the standard parcel post from either Russia or Ukraine - pay the bit extra for EMS or Air Parcel. Normal post to Aus at least is definitely slow-boat (6 weeks+ isn't unusual), while EMS & Air are usually 10-21 days or less.
posted by Pinback at 7:24 PM on February 26, 2020
I am in Ukraine and if I can find it for you I will eventually return to the US and mail it to you if you wish.
posted by tarvuz at 11:24 AM on February 28, 2020
posted by tarvuz at 11:24 AM on February 28, 2020
Also it is not "the" Ukraine anymore. Just Ukraine.
posted by tarvuz at 11:25 AM on February 28, 2020
posted by tarvuz at 11:25 AM on February 28, 2020
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It's no big deal, really.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:12 AM on February 26, 2020 [4 favorites]