Ordering online from International websites

L

lambiebeatty

Registered User
Hi,

We are about to make the big move to HK in about a month's time. I've neard how expensive books are and I was wondering if I could easily order from Amazon.com in the US? Does HK have big import taxes? I was never charged duty at the post office when I ordered from Amazon US in the UK but I was in Australia. Same goes for Victoria's Secret.

Also, is wine expensive in HK? Can you order cases from international websites and pay delivery?

Cheers,

Natalie
 
amazon is simple. albeit bit expensive in shipping if you compare what you pay in the US, but books can still sometimes prove cheaper than what you pay for them here in HK. Plus you can't beat the selection at amazon. geobaby / shop-in-hk has a similar service for books, but again not nearly the selection as amazon.

there are no "import" duties or customs duties on items into HK. It's a duty-free port (unless i suppose you're importing to sell retail, then that could be another issue)

i think the trouble you'll find is that many US websites jsut don't ship internationally. then you'll have to send your items to a friend/relative in the US who'll forward tehm on to you in HK. That still soemtimes works, as often times you can get free shipping deals (within the continental US)

HTHs
Rebecca

(if your child goes to a school that orders from one of the US school book clubs, like scholastic or troll, then you'll get books at an incredible bargain --- even with the exchange rate, etc, you still sometimes only pay HK$7 or HK$10 for a well-known paperback.)
 
RebeccaMB said:
Plus you can't beat the selection at amazon. geobaby / shop-in-hk has a similar service for books, but again not nearly the selection as amazon.
Click to expand...


We order our books from the same Disti as Amazon and thus have access to thousands of different titles. However, we can't list them all on ShopinHK.Com. Just pop me an email if you're looking for something specific and we'll source it for you. We orders books every Monday and Wed from the US and the shipment arrives in HK in a week.

HTH
 
Last edited:
Rani,
I never knew that!! Good to know!! I'll be sure to order thru you next time (support local business and all :-} )
R
 
Why are books so much more expensive in Hong Kong? We end up buying from Amazon and picking it up in the US on the next trip. (Unless it is something we have to have now or is a local book.)
 
Sleuth - retail rent and freight. Also, a lot of the books sold in HK are UK editions, to exchange rates also affect the landed cost.

One thing, folks have consistently told us that our prices for "next week" delivery in HK are comparable to Amazon (and we use the same logistics as them) and cheaper than HK retailers for sure.
 
>> Victoria's Secret

Clothing falls under restricted categories -- almost as well regulated as guns and bullets.
 
Thanks so much for all your answers everyone! Rani... I'm new to all this... what do you mean by 'restricted categories? Do you mean a tax implication? All of this is investigations for personal use not for retail if it makes any difference. Cheers, Natalie
 
Hi- My Mum has had clothes ordered from Victoria Secret online delieverd to HK and as far as I know she never paid any taxes on it. It was for her personal use, not retail.
 
Clothing is under a quota system and most manufacturers do not allow exports back to HK. You'll find most online US retailers, Gap, Old Navy, Gymboree do not ship to HK, even if its for personal use.
 
i order regularly (ok maybe 2-3x/yr) from LLBean and Lands End. Never had any problems. I've also ordered mat.clothes from motherhood.com and motherwear nursing; again no problems. I do remember years ago having a "sticker" on one of my shipments asking me to "claim with custums" (or something similar). I just phoned them, argued everythign was purely for personal use and never heard back from them. some US companies will ship to HK, but will charge you an "extra handling fee" for international shipment OR you have to phone them directy for (credit card / mailing address) approval.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top