Anyone has any experience with shipping scopes from US?

[VinSnr]

Vinsnr, doesn't shipping insurance cover the cost of the item even if the seller doesn't warranty it?

chrisyeo

Yes it does, but you have to pay extra for insurance.

[harlequin2902]

Sam, don't airlines have large 'fragile' stickers so that they don't throw things like mirrors, vases and telescopes around in their cargo hold? I've seen them before. Should'nt the Firstscope come out alive then with just a need for collimation?

If you are very convinced on getting something from Adorama, then the best is to have a good talk with the guys at Adorama first and ask them about their previous shipments to Singapore and their international shipment policies if you intend to let them ship to you direct. It'll also be better to let Adorama handle everything for you rather than asking your friend to do it for you himelf. At least if anything happens, Adorama will still be accountable to you since they shipped to you direct.

[IceAngel]

if u wan ur friend to help you or dun wan the extra shippment fees.. why not tell your friend hand-carry the optic tube for you then all the other parts use the original box and check them in?? tat's more easier and "safer" coz the most expensive is the optic tube.. hehe.. just my comment... dunno can that work coz i havent ship anything from USA before except one of my comic.. :oops:

[dew]

Maybe Eu-wen can share his experience of bringing in his ETX?

hi there, how did you know i got an ETX? anyway, for me, i got some friends staying in the US so i sent my ETX to them and they helped me ship it out via UPS. lesson i learnt from that is that the cost of a telescope from the US is almost literally just half the price you pay. nontheless, it was still alot cheaper than buying locally..
the scope arrived ok, no dents or scratches and the box carrying it didnt look bruised either.. the scopes collimation seemed to be ok too..
anyway if your worried about it and wanna ask more specific questions, you can e-mail me at dingeuwen@hotmail.com if you want..


eu-wen

[chrisyeo]

Hi Eu-wen,

I met you the last CSN at Dempsey when your "friends who brought it in" were there. That's how I know.

I hadn't known that they sent it to you via UPS. I was under the impression that they hand carried it.

Thanks for the info anyway.


Now I'm wondering if anyone has tried surface shipping of telescopes before..


Thanks, Sam, for your help. Adorama doesn't seem to be getting back to me on my emails. I'm giving them one more day before I bug them again.

[Airconvent]

Hi Eu-wen,

I met you the last CSN at Dempsey when your "friends who brought it in" were there. That's how I know.

I hadn't known that they sent it to you via UPS. I was under the impression that they hand carried it.

Thanks for the info anyway.


Now I'm wondering if anyone has tried surface shipping of telescopes before..


Thanks, Sam, for your help. Adorama doesn't seem to be getting back to me on my emails. I'm giving them one more day before I bug them again.

Hi Chris,
As I have told you earlier, you should have asked Vincent Jr but now its not possible as he is currently undergoing BMT!:-)
He imported the ETX90RA without much fuss and was recommending it on singastro during Mars watch. He has since sold the ETX ...
Adorama will ship to you but they take longer to reply and they expect you to PAY IN FULL before they will ship the product. They reject all credit cards from asians unless you are a regular verified customer. I know as I dealt with them before. They accepted my order, then cancelled it the next day citing the do not accept asian credit cards and insisted I send the full sum first.

[chrisyeo]

shucks. Adorama just told me that they only use "1 kind of shipping".

*shrug*

[harlequin2902]

shucks. Adorama just told me that they only use "1 kind of shipping".

*shrug*

Other than payment method as Richard stated above, another problem with some US based dealers (as you just found out) is that some of them will *only* go by their regular courier (e.g UPS) because those guys will just drop by their place to pick up the item and settle everything from there on their behalf.

If you have to send payment in advance to Adorama, then I think they will request that you send it by Telegraphic Transfer or something (International Bank Draft seems to take a pretty long time to clear).
If that's the case, then you'll have to bear additional transaction costs for both sides because the US bank will charge Adorama a fee for receiving the transfer and the Singapore bank will charge you for sending the transfer. And as a standard practice in the industry, the dealer will ask the customer to bear their part of the transaction cost (usually US$20). As a general guide, the transaction fees over at our Singapore side is usually S$50 (this includes S$20 telex charges + the handling commission) for transfers of US$100.

So even though an upfront price tag from a US dealer may seem attractive, it's not always so easy to get something over - depending on the source, and not forgetting all the other costs that will be brought into the picture due to disputes over payment methods etc...I admit it is not easy for us to beat US prices, but at least we are able to get stuff over hassle free for our customers

[dew]

Hi Eu-wen,

I met you the last CSN at Dempsey when your "friends who brought it in" were there. That's how I know.

I hadn't known that they sent it to you via UPS. I was under the impression that they hand carried it.

Thanks for the info anyway.


Now I'm wondering if anyone has tried surface shipping of telescopes before..


Thanks, Sam, for your help. Adorama doesn't seem to be getting back to me on my emails. I'm giving them one more day before I bug them again.

oh were you the guy with the binoculars? so you decided to get a scope now? thats fantastic.. as i'm sure you've already found out, shipping from the US is super stressful and the UPS and fedex prices just make your eyes pop out..
if you dont mind, i would suggest you hang around the forum for awhile.. every-so-quite-often a good deal on a second hand scope comes up.. then you just must hurry up grab.. haha.. i should know, saw and missed so many of them just after i ordered my scope.. sigh..


eu-wen

[chrisyeo]

haha, 2nd hand scope? don't remind me..

By the time I read that vin jr's etx90 was up for sale on my email, it had already been sold!