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Anyone tried buying cheap laptops or even cool stuff from US stores with the assistance of a package/freight forwarding service?

Are there any good websites out there?

I'm not sure about the customs issues or taxes that go with it? I am currently in Australia!

Lucie E
2014-07-29 06:55:43
Ok, thank you so much for your comments, maybe too technical for me. I decided to try their service this time, will let you know after using it, since I checked most reviews and they say their service is affordable! Many thanks for your research on this, though I dont know too much about technical terms you have used.
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Kannon Y
2014-07-29 08:56:17
Lucie, you probably don't want to try that company without contacting Australia's federal trade agency:http://www.austrade.gov.au/They regularly deal with those seeking to import or export and they work with freight forwarders on occasion, so they would know their reputation. Just send them an email or give them a call and ask about their opinion on the site you're interested in. They might even recommend a freight forwarding service.
Kannon Y
2014-07-28 11:36:20
That's an interesting question. My understanding of freight forwarding services is that they provide a number of great services - the most abused is their ability to exploit "free trade zones" or countries that don't levy tariffs on certain goods. You would want to talk to the Australian consulate regarding which freight forwarding services best fit your needs. Anyway, I can provide a brief summary of what I've learned using the US and Guam as an example.Guam enjoys a special trade relationship with the United States. I don't believe they have any taxes on goods imported or exported to the United States. Guam also doesn't charge huge taxes on goods imported into Guam, depending on the goods in question.So many importers use a freight forwarding service to ship to Guam from China and from China to the United States. There's a lot of complexity to shipping goods this way, though, and you would need to check with local authorities as to whether or not it will save you money.The forwarding service tends to differ by region, so you would need to find out whether or not the forwarding service in question uses another country as a tax buffer (or intermediary) between Australia and the US. It's been a while since I was involved in that field, so the legal loopholes may have been closed since then.Here's a Yahoo Answers article published on the subject:https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130114221453AAXyes7
Lucie E
2014-07-29 08:59:21
That is a very good point I have missed, will surely do. Many thanks for your kind remind!