[Tablet] Importing to Australia: Lessons Learned

[jaredmorgs]

For those in the US, getting your hands on one of these devices appears to be relatively straightforward (providing you can get stock).

For those of us anywhere outside the land of the free, it is rather onerous. I have one winging it's way down to me in Brisbane, Australia.

Following it sometime in September (so Amazon suggests) will be the wireless controller and case. I hope it's sooner. I don't know if a solution for superuser exists for the Shield at this time. I need to do some more reading here and see if I can get SixAxis working to tide me over in the short-term. Otherwise I'll have to go back to my Moga Pocket until the controller ships to me.

For those who covet the tablet in Australia, I wrote a blog post with my experiences with Freight Forwarders over at http://jaredleonmorgan.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/from-usa-to-colony-shipito-vs-hop-shop.html

The usual local importers such as MobiCity haven't committed to importing the device yet, so take your chances.

I'm really, really hopeful that I get a device without the random issues some folks have reported. It will be a costly exercise to get it back to the US for warranty if I am unlucky.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Got mine via Shipito, used them for years now. Very fast and reliable service.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Got mine via Shipito, used them for years now. Very fast and reliable service.

Yeah, definitely. There is no disputing their reliability. Very good customer service as well, which is important when entrusting a company to ship your valuable electronic items to you.

I just found the account verification process a bit onerous (I do understand why it's so important though). And the Website is showing it's age from a usability perspective.

The Hop Shop Go option will be interesting to experience when the Controller and Case ship later in September. I just like the convenience of it all plugging into PayPal, and the Business Process Management approach to how they structure the customer workflow. They are little things, but they make a big difference to how the customer interacts with the service.

It's worth noting that Hop Shop Go is purely for parcels. If you need to forward letters from the US onto other countries, then Shipito is set up really well for that particular service.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Yeah, definitely. There is no disputing their reliability. Very good customer service as well, which is important when entrusting a company to ship your valuable electronic items to you.

I just found the account verification process a bit onerous (I do understand why it's so important though). And the Website is showing it's age from a usability perspective.

The Hop Shop Go option will be interesting to experience when the Controller and Case ship later in September. I just like the convenience of it all plugging into PayPal, and the Business Process Management approach to how they structure the customer workflow. They are little things, but they make a big difference to how the customer interacts with the service.

It's worth noting that Hop Shop Go is purely for parcels. If you need to forward letters from the US onto other countries, then Shipito is set up really well for that particular service.

NZ Post has a freight forwarding service called YouShop now, which is an interesting sign of the times as a response to dropping postal revenues around the world. Used them and they were fine, but no expedited shipping options like Fedex Priority via Shipito. Another good thing about Shipito is being able to do your own customs declarations.

 

[jaredmorgs]

NZ Post has a freight forwarding service called YouShop now, which is an interesting sign of the times as a response to dropping postal revenues around the world. Used them and they were fine, but no expedited shipping options like Fedex Priority via Shipito. Another good thing about Shipito is being able to do your own customs declarations.

I have to say NZ is generally ahead of Australia in offering services and trying new things (PINs on Credit Cards being something my wife continues to cite when the subject comes up).

I had a good poke around Hop Shop Go and they use either DHL or FedEx as their carriers. What I liked is that the shipping is a fixed price based on KG weight (unless the item is really bulky).

I got a bit frustrated with Shipito and how what I thought was the full amount for the transaction turned out to not be after I paid the balance. I ended up having to do two transactions which costs me more in fees.

It was also my fault, but I didn't realise that I couldn't store more than one parcel at a time with the Free Service, and the Oregon address was extra as well. Contrast that with Hop Shop Go which offer consolidation and Oregon tax free status by default. I could have saved about $45 in tax and shipping.

Putting a positive spin on it though, Shipito did force my hand in getting the Shield Tablet shipped much earlier than I probably would have been inclined to with Hop Shop Go, purely because I had to clear my mailbox before the other order arrived (or pay $10).