# How to get Hardware from outside India & Related Doubts



## quad master (Apr 18, 2005)

How to get Hardware from outside India & Related Doubts
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- Which are the Trusted Websites from which we can purchase.

- When we buy products from International Websites is the product 
delivered straight at our doorstep or do we have to collect it from 
somewhere [Customs] (What exactly happens when the product is 
discharged from theie side how does it reach us exactly)

- Do the purchased product have International Guarantee/Warranty

- What if after getting the ordered product finally in your hand,
you feel its damaged or faulty & theydont even have a service center
here then do we need to courier back the faulty product back to them for verification so that we can get a replaced new one.

- How is the customs duty calculated on anything you get or order 
from outside India.

- Suppose your friend gets some hardware for you from any foreign 
country eg. RAM & your friend has those Ram in his luggage , how do the 
customs know that you have this ram in your luggage and you have to pay
the duties for it. same goes for products like Mobo,GPU,CPU etc..

- How many days are spent for the ordered product from a website 
to finally reach your hands.

- Has anyone ordered any product from an International Website , 
If yes can you share your experience with us.

As many gr8 hardware products are there which are not available here 
have to be purchased from these websites. I have never in my life purchased anything from International Websites so am a bit worried and 
wanted to clear these doubts before anything goes wrong.

Wating for response from your side.


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## Nemesis (Apr 18, 2005)

1. www.amazon.com or www.amazon.co.uk is your best bet
2. I think they will deliver it to your home
3. That depends on the product that you bought-it may or may not have International warranty
4. Faulty products need to be sent back for replacement
5. No idea about customs duties
6. You have to declare your goods when you arrive in India. As far as I remember, they don't scan the baggage when you arrive. However, if they want to, they can check your baggage manually and then of they find something that you did not declare, then you are in trouble
7. Varies
8. Nope


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## quad master (Apr 18, 2005)

Thanks a lot Nemesis.

But would also like to know about more International sites which ship
hardware to India and are reliable.


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## icecoolz (Apr 18, 2005)

quad...most dont ship outside their own respective places. And even if they do it usually gets caught up in Customs. I know because my friend had it sent from abroad and it went thru a lot of customs mess to get it. And you dont actually save any money. Sometimes you end up paying more than the counterpart available in India. enoonmai bought something from Amazon with which he gets a philips CD's free which got held up in customs and the the customs guy asked 3000 Rs for it! lol! He sent it back  Your best bet would be to have it bought from someone coming from abroad. Thats how I get my stuff.


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## quad master (Apr 18, 2005)

Thanks icecoolz


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## pradeep_chauhan (Apr 18, 2005)

I too am wondering on this ebay.uk has some realy cool stuff at amazing prices but i too am not sure about the shipping and stuff. I did ordersomething via RS the package was dilivered at my place and i piad in indian rupees you can check out their on line catalog . Only draw back is there prices are a little on the higher side.


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## eminemence (Apr 18, 2005)

I had ordered a second-hand dual processor and mobo with RAM
and some more stuff on ebay.
It took nearly 5 months to come here!!
All the stuff is in good shape,but then I had to wait for nearly 5 months.
Bye.
--eminemence.


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## pradeep_chauhan (Apr 18, 2005)

what a coincidence i too am looking at a dual processor mobo (Dual p3  1.4). How did  the money transation go through? Did you pay by card? Please tell me more.


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## Keith Sebastian (Apr 18, 2005)

> As far as I remember, they don't scan the baggage when you arrive.



Haha, is this a joke. The goddamned scavengers/vultures/theives (Indian customs) are experts at reading body language and then milk you as much as possible. The most corrupt vile persons I've ever come across (all my life) have been in Indian customs, mostly Chatrapaty whatever airport (a very shabby gateway to the worlds largest democracy). Indian Customs officials are a totally different breed of humans(?) in India who exist and thrive on bribes/extortion.

eBay - most eBay sellers (the experienced ones) won't agree to ship to India (and few other nations). Why? Lengthy customs clearances. I've been a very active eBayer overseas and have recieved electronics from Singapore,Malaysia,Hong Kong and Japan into Australia. Most customs declarations where just underquoted. Like a $700 Seiko watch will have description as "Beads, Value = $20" and "Gift" filled in on the customs declaration sticker on the packaging. Try this with Indian customs and see what happens. You'll get a letter from customs (in their own sweet time) to come down and collect a parcel from their holding points. Once you go there you'll go through the normal bribing process us Indians are so accustomed to. End result: total money paid + trouble = not worth the savings.

Nemesis - they do scan baggage. The wise ass at you know where airport identified a Johnny Walker Blue label bottle just from the profile on x-ray. Amazing! 

Keith


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## Nemesis (Apr 18, 2005)

Well, I walked right past them without any issues the last time so I was not sure about it. I do suffer from amnesia at times  Did you have any bad experience with them at any point of time?


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## icecoolz (Apr 19, 2005)

I disagree. Its a sheer matter of luck. Heck when i came back from the UK I packed a mutli-region DVD player, XBOX and hellava lot of CD's/DVD's into my baggage and didnt pay a penny nor was I stopped to do so. It all depends on how you pack things and how confident you are. I also got my geforce 6800 the same way thru a friend. He just walked right thru customs.


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## quad master (Apr 19, 2005)

Well it seems there is a gr8 discussion going here.

Thanks guys you experiences will really help me and others also decide
on importing foreign products.


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## eminemence (Apr 19, 2005)

pradeep_chauhan said:
			
		

> what a coincidence i too am looking at a dual processor mobo (Dual p3  1.4). How did  the money transation go through? Did you pay by card? Please tell me more.


Yup paid by card and transaction was smooth.
I have to still get it working I am bored to assemble the full thing and am 
also short on bucks. .
--eminemence.


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## grinning_devil (Apr 19, 2005)

icecoolz said:
			
		

> It all depends on how you pack things and how confident you are.



  need info on how to pack the stuff .... do lemme know that!!!


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## Keith Sebastian (Apr 19, 2005)

Agree it's about luck, confidence and packing techniques. My post was about the general condition of customs officials. 

And, no, I don't need any advice on packing etc. Why? 'Cause I have a relation at the top of the customs food chain  (Terminal IIC, Mumbai). This has, in the past enabled me to get in 6 times the liquor allowance   

Regarding luck, confidence, packing - 
It depends on the time of the day (how busy, tired these theives are, depends on number of flights) and more importantly where you're flying in from and MOST importantly, how many visa's (and entry/exit seals) are stamped in your passport. Frequent travellers are always suspected of smuggling. Whereas students who come in once a year are let through without problems. Trust me, I know the workings of a customs officers brain inside out.


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## akshayt (Apr 20, 2005)

*hi*

hi 

firstly isn't there no duty on rs25000 per person worth stuff?

secondly don't you call paying no duty when you are supposed to smuggling?


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## BONZI (Apr 22, 2005)

I bought a britannica 2002 cd rom few years ago. I paid about Rs.4000 (including shipping). Payment was the painful task. I dont have a credit card so I had to take a dd in US $ ( A relative in china took it for me) and sent them. I got the product with in 2 months. No problems at all. 

And one more thing they sent me a check of $10 and said it was some reduction. Guess what I still has it 'cause to get that $10 I will have to spend $20.


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## Hulo (Apr 26, 2005)

Keith Sebastian said:
			
		

> eBay - most eBay sellers (the experienced ones) won't agree to ship to India (and few other nations). Why? Lengthy customs clearances. I've been a very active eBayer overseas and have recieved electronics from Singapore,Malaysia,Hong Kong and Japan into Australia. Most customs declarations where just underquoted. Like a $700 Seiko watch will have description as "Beads, Value = $20" and "Gift" filled in on the customs declaration sticker on the packaging. Try this with Indian customs and see what happens. You'll get a letter from customs (in their own sweet time) to come down and collect a parcel from their holding points. Once you go there you'll go through the normal bribing process us Indians are so accustomed to. End result: total money paid + trouble = not worth the savings.
> 
> Nemesis - they do scan baggage. The wise *** at you know where airport identified a Johnny Walker Blue label bottle just from the profile on x-ray. Amazing!
> 
> Keith



Well that makes India Customs people very efficient becos you can get away with underquoting and misdeclaration elsewhere but not here. And of course they would demand bribe when they catch you in the act. Why call others thieves when u are resorting to cheating by declaring $700 watches as $20 Beads and gifts? In fact it is pointless to misdeclare and underquote the contents of the parcels. Most (in fact all) components of computers and related goods have almost NIL duty if brought by post. If the customs declaration is correct, there is no way they can ask for a bribe. When brought as baggage, of course u can bring as much as u wish upto a total value of Rs.25000 over which u have to pay a duty of 35.7% on the excess value. Please refer to customs websites like *www.geocities.com/indiancustoms for details.


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## Keith Sebastian (Apr 26, 2005)

Hulo said:
			
		

> Keith Sebastian said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



_"when u are resorting to cheating by declaring $700 watches as $20 Beads and gifts?"_ - That wasn't me. It was between the person I bought the stuff from and Australian customs.

_"When brought as baggage, of course u can bring as much as u wish upto a total value of Rs.25000 over which u have to pay a duty of 35.7% on the excess value. Please refer to customs websites like *www.geocities.com/indiancustoms for details"_ - These figures are hypothetical and easily manipulated by customs. Obviously you have no experience whatsoever regarding these matters. Try explaining to a customs officer that the camera you have may be worth $600 in India but you got a great Christmas deal for $350. Just try. Try it after a 14 hour flight and 1/2 hr wait at the baggage carousel at Mumbai Crap-thapathi airport. Try it after you've discovered that one of your bags has been slit open by baggage handlers (no wonder the baggage took 1/2 hr to arrive) 

The one thing that everybody seems to be good at here is talking morality.


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## godzi_85 (Apr 26, 2005)

ya man dealing with customs is a lot more horrible than going to the BMC and complaing them about bad roads  ... the best option is to ask someone who knows the customs inside out and who knows who to dealwith the trecherous custom officers to get stuff
but then how many of us know such people???


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## Hulo (Apr 26, 2005)

Keith Sebastian said:
			
		

> Hulo said:
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## abhinav (Apr 29, 2005)

no idea


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## avi_avadhut (Jun 16, 2005)

*Need help guys*

Hi guys, 

enjoying days in Japan here. 

I am planning something.... 

while coming back in september i will take good machine from here or Singapore. 

i think japan is not cheap but i guess singapore is. 

can you guys please let me know if i buy something from japan will it be cheaper than india. 

i want 

Good Asus mobo (939) 
Good proc - 3200+ (939) - i dont know much about types of AMD proc. 
good PCIe Card - 6600GT / 6680 GT - depends on budget 
Good storage space than speed - 160 / 250 GB 
Sony / Liteon - DVD - dual layer. 
most probably Altec Lancing - 2.1 / 5.1 - depends on budget. 
I POD - 30 GB 
i already have 1 GB DDR - 400 MHz so i can use it as Dual chanel. 
Good cooler for proc + graphic card also. 
any more suggesion plzzzzzz. 

how much all should cost in singapore ( and india ) 






please update me about duty / custome / any other tax applicable if i buy something in japan / singapore.



is there someone who can help me out.


is there any site which will help me out.


Thanks in advance guys.............


avi


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## Nemesis (Jun 16, 2005)

All I can say is that Japan should be fairly cheap but watch out for Japanese manuals 

Also, you have quite an extensive list there so I guess you will have to pay customs duty on them unless you want to evade the customs (risky) or if you have contacts


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## AlienTech (Jun 18, 2005)

I am with Keith Sebastian on this. IF someone is bringing a FEW items then its okay... I had like 10 cards that I bought in clearence for $5 each and they wanted rs 5000 each duty for it, I tried to tell them these are OLD stuff, out dated and it is just for my hobby not really worth anything to regular people but they thought I was trying to smuggle gold into the country. They xrayed the baggage. I said keep the cards but they said they will hold it until I leave and I need to pick it up on the way back paying more in storage fees.. Except I left by different airport.... cause I got mauled by people outside trying to take me to the bus which took me to the other airport. Man its a scarey place! Inside and out! Dont know why they dont secure the bloddy place and let all the beggars into the airport unlike any other place in the world.

I had sent by mail 2 manuals for a cam corder and the remote and some home movie cd's.. customs duty over rs 5000.... I told my dad you are crazy to go pay for it! And I thought the postage of $40 was outrageous for it and cost more than the stuff..

Now you can bring in pre made CD's/DVD's and its no problem... I had a bag full of DVD's and they did not even look at it even though they saw it, was protecting the PC CARDS in the same bag. Game machines no prob either... Laptops are not prob... Printers no prob...

So it depends on things.. IF they dont understand it, its like SPREAD EM TERRORIST!!!


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## AlienTech (Jun 18, 2005)

>>can you guys please let me know if i buy something from japan will it be cheaper than india. <<

The biggest reason to buy stuff in india itself! SERVICE!! If something goes bad you have the option of yelling at someone. Some foreign stuff will just work properly with no problems. But IF you have problems you are also out of luck. So even if the quality is bad and cost more, better to buy locally....


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## Keith Sebastian (Jun 18, 2005)

*Re: Need help guys*



			
				avi_avadhut said:
			
		

> can you guys please let me know if i buy something from japan will it be cheaper than india.



That's something YOU should be telling US. You're the one with first hand access to Jap prices. 

-Keith


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## jatinkompelli (Jun 18, 2005)

Hi
 well my friend told me that when someone i.e ur friend,relatives etc, is bringing stuffs from outside india then ask them to break the seal of the packet.  
  So if they ask you then u can tell that it is a used one.  
 I think it works.


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## Keith Sebastian (Jun 18, 2005)

jatinkompelli said:
			
		

> Hi
> well my friend told me that when someone i.e ur friend,relatives etc, is bringing stuffs from outside india then ask them to break the seal of the packet.
> So if they ask you then u can tell that it is a used one.
> I think it works.



NO IT DOESN'T. You need to have a reciept that shows the date of purchase was atleast 6 months prior (or is it 4 months). 

-Keith


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## supersaiyan (Jun 19, 2005)

i am going to singapore in a few days. i am going to buy a new rig there. i wanna ask that when i bring it back will the customs charge nething. if they do should i bring individual parts or the whole assembled comp so as to save custom duty.


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## imjimmy (Jun 20, 2005)

The limit is 25 K so if you bring the componenents seperately- there is no duty for sure. And the custome officers will not harrass you without reason.
Distribute ure stuff among people..e.g friends..

However the thing to consider is the Warranty especially for the processor and the motherboard.

Do companies like Intel,AMD,ASUS etc offer international warranties on their stuff?  That shd be important , i guess otherwise it's a risk..


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## godzi_85 (Jun 20, 2005)

hmm i think no customs are applicable on laptops, and a complete assembled computer... (nto sure about the computer though).... correct me if i`m wrong..

i wanna know...
one of my uncle`s friend`s lives in US.. and if i tell him to send stuff to me.. what would be the cheapest way to send stuff??
please let me know..


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## rohanbee (Jun 21, 2005)

Cheapest way to send stuff is by hand through someone. Rest it will be very expensive.
Laptops have NO customs duty. !! period.
I just brought mine in. They took one look and let me through.
Unfortunately the same is not for computer components or a full rig. You might get into trouble. Its not worth it. I've seen singapore prices............the difference is not substantial.


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## supersaiyan (Jun 21, 2005)

but atleast i will save some money in singapore.


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## imjimmy (Jun 21, 2005)

> Unfortunately the same is not for computer components or a full rig. You might get into trouble. Its not worth it. I've seen singapore prices............the difference is not substantial.



Even if he gets the rig - he won't be in trouble with the customs since the limit is 25000. And obviously if the value is more - he can redistribute  some parts to someone else.

The real talking point is the warranty. As i said before i am not sure if Intel, AMD and ASUS offer international warranties or not.


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