If you're in UK, best option is to buy it from the local store : gp2x.co.uk ...
If you're in US , there is a store too
I would buy from those HK stores ONLY if I lived in Asia (shipping+tax lower) OR if the stuff can't be found at all in any other closer shop.
You'll save on waiting time, taxes and troubles !
And if anything goes wrong you can at least argue with the guys in English , not in Cantonese or whatever
You'll save on the shipping price as well, as shipping from HK is not very cheap !
When I ordered my GP32 some years ago, bought it from Craig's store despite it was more expensive . Good point was I got the Gp32 delivered in less than 48 hrs after (although i'm not in UK)
Actually i had the GP32 so soon, I didnot manage to get any SMC the first day
Also I dislike Liksang for having crappy customer support . They tell the shipping is ready and you wait 2 bloody weeks BEFORE the stuff got shipped from HK , using the FASTEST and more expensive DHL delivery ...
Plus their site translation in French is very bad and offensive . (use of "Tu" instead of "Vous", which is not a proper customer addressing)
If you still want to go for the "cheapest" really adds in your price :
+ Shipping
+ Tax (you WILL pay them if the packet is expensive (ie more than 20 euros) and from HK company)
(understatement of the value will mean that if your packet is lost, you'll get NOTHING)
+ Money exchange rates + bank "stealing" over the exchange operation
+ Time ....
about the likelihood of the " import tax" it's VERY simple,
if you use fast shipping, like UPS, DHL and so on ... you WILL pay the tax, as they got a contract with the customs stating that the company PAYS the tax bill, and then claim a refund on the customer ( If you refuse to pay the tax, then they keep your packet) this way they can ensure fast delivery as the custom procedure is simplified
if you use slow mail shipping, there's a tiny amount of chances you'll get through ... (very unlikely with a GP2x around 200 euros/dollars (with shipping, as tax INCLUDE the shipping cost usually)
Tax free packets are stuff under 15/20 euros for commercial stuff and 40/50 euros for "presents" from people.
And, your packet will be likely to stay stuck in the customs for 3 days to several weeks, for "checking purpose)
the limit varies on the country and the custom's customs ...
When I was ordering DVDs and VCDs from Hk , never paid the tax , as I was around 15/20 euros ...
When I ordered an arcade stick from my DC at liksang, had to pay the tax as the bill was slightly higher due to shipping.
As for knowing the amount of the tax you can expect to pay , check with your country customs ...
In European Union (as the rules the same) the general rule is they apply VAT on the total net price including shipping. (20% here in France :angry: )
air-can posted on May 30 2006 at 07:50 PM said:
I bought from LikSang and got it delivered to the UK and did NOT have any import tax to pay. It's a risk though because if it's buggered...
You were lucky ! :lol: