Importing gear

I'm gear shopping at the moment and must say it is not giving the joy it is supposed to. Our local suppliers (CUM,Due south,Trappers) have all got a very limited choice base for most products and we most probably end up buying what we can find rather than what we want. I have browsed many oversees outdoor suppliers web pages and are astonished at the range they keep. It then becomes a difficult task choosing between the numerous products and your options is almost endless.Sure there are "pro's" and "cons" to importing but I leaning toward doing all my shopping online.

At www.campmor.com I can get the The North Face Blu Kazoo bag for $180 and will be able to land it for around R 1500 - R 1600 wheras Due South sells it for R 2500 :angry:

I was wondering if other members have imported before, and what safe and reputable web stores you've used.

Not sure what area you from but Drifters in Sandton is by far one of the best stores in Jhb, good prices and advise as well. There's also ventures for africa in Cresta

I have imported gear from the UK and i land it here at about half the price that one can buy it for here.I use a store called likeys and they have always been very good.

@ UnKnowN
I south of JHB, will be sure to check out the stores you recommended,thx.

@ Anthony
Thx I'll check them out. Can you advise on how much more an item would cost than listed Pound price taking shipping and import duties into account.

F.Y.I

Just for comparison:

MSR Dragonfly

C.U.M
R 2 499.00
Due South
R 2 299.00
Mountain mail order
R 2 049.00
Mammoth outdoor
R 2 119.00

Campmor.com
$ 129.95 (R 907.00) excl shipping and duties.

Boerkie hard to say but most web sites will give you the shipping price when you pay on line, then you will just be responsible for import duties when you collect the package at the post office, which still works out cheaper than buying it locally in most cases.

In PMB we have 3 places, CUM, Trappers and Bush and Bundu, their prices are not even remotely competing with each other, eg:

Gaiters:
CUM: R300
B&B: R300
Trappers: R80

2l water bottle:
CUM: R80 (but always out of stock)
B&B: R120
Trappers: R60

Backpacks (with a waterproof covering and all the other things you need in a pack):
CUM: R900
B&B: R1500
Trappers: R1800

With importing things from the UK postage is really high thanks to some thefts in postage (basically most UK companies will only ship things on insured postage due to this, and considering this, insured postage may be the only way to go). I haven't imported hiking gear, but I have imported wargames figures (lead miniature figures for a game I play, its very big in the UK). On a 100 pound order they wanted to charge me 80 pounds (bear in mind that 100 pounds of wargames figures is about 3kg). From the US it wasn't so bad, a $350 dollar order (probably about 7-8kg) had postage of just over $50. I imagine that postage for hiking equipment should be similar.

oh, i forgot to mention, you pay import duty at 10% of the value of the import (unless it can't be bought in SA in which case its at 0%), you also always pay VAT at 15.4% on the sum of the value of the product, the shipping costs and the customs duty. You pay this when you collect the order from the post office.

I'm not sure about US imports, but when buying from the UK always remind the supplies that the purchase should be zero rated in the UK as its an export (their VAT Act, just like ours, provides for all exports being zero rated), so when looking at Brittish prices, alway divide them by 1.2 first. (their vat is at 20% at the moment).

Hey guys thanx for the help.

I'll explore all options and loopholes to pay the minimum to SARS they get more than enough as it is.

I know you can receive 2 gifts free of import duty per year which might be the way to go.

When shopping online at Cabelas you can shop in ZAR which makes it very easy.

Cabelas is a great way to go. I have used them may times for fly fishing gear and other goods. Reliable quick and definitely cheaper then local even with the shipping and duty. www.cabelas.com