Aura HD Anyone bought a Kobo Aura HD using a freight forwarder

Nil Einne · 04-30-2013, 05:52 AM

Hey all,

Since the Kobo Aura HD probably isn't coming to NZ until June and according to the same retailer, (I e-mailed 4, 2 replied only one gave any useful info) it may cost NZ$299 (seems confirmed by this blog post http://www.booksellers.co.nz/book-ne...book-retailers I just found), I'm not sure if there's much point waiting to buy it locally. Perhaps the parallel importers would have a decent deal, but I'm guessing they won't.

So my best bet is perhaps just to order from the US (since there's far more freight forwarder services for there and it's generally easier to avoid origin destination tax issues) and use a freight forwarder (will cost under NZ$20 or so to send it from US to here I expect). There's the risk I'll have to return it and so pay shipping both ways, but even so it'll likely still end up being cheaper then having bought it here. It seems Borders used to ship internationally at least for a while in 2011 and cheaply, but they're gone. These Canadian stores Futureshop (specifically say), Best Buy, Staples and The Source don't seem to ship internationally. Indigo seem to (whether they're supposed to or not for the Kobo I dunno) but they want to charge me C?$40.75 for the shipping and I'm not sure if they will be any better for warranties (I did ask) but in any case, probably not worth it.

Anyway has anyone used a freight forwarder to ship the Kobo Aura HD to them (whether NZ or elsewhere)? I know a lot of people do it for the Kindles given Amazon's second class citizen for the rest of the world policy. I'm particularly wondering if anyone has had any problems getting Kobo to accept their details or credit card because it wasn't a US/Canadian one. I know of the problems people seem to be having even when they are in the US simply because their system appears a bit naff. But even though these may indicate their payment system isn't that flash, I guess given their geotargetting for books, there's a chance this is extended to their Kobo reader system and so it might be fussy about the credit card. Seems I need to put a US billing address, had to do that with the Nexus 4 (in that case I was having it sent to a friend) and managed to get it working, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

P.S. Of course if anyone has another proposal, I'm all ears.

Cheers

Nil Einne · 04-30-2013, 03:47 PM

Well as I somewhat expected, Chapters reply to me was they don't ship the Kobo. I haven't tried to see if their website still lets me, I'm guessing it does but I'll leave it be. It definitely suggests to me there's a fair chance warranty issues won't be any better when using them.

This was in my first message but I move it here since it isn't important. In case people are wondering, the Kobo Glo is ~NZ$198 here and has been since launch from decent stores which isn't great but isn't too bad, about NZ$25 more then the US$129 based on current exchange rates after taking in to account GST which is sort of what you expect. Given the higher price, you'd expect the premium to be a bit more, but over NZ$70 premium is a bridge too far for me, I could understand NZ$249 or even NZ$259 but NZ$299, no way.

And I do want an Aura HD because of the larger screen size and it's usefulness when using large fonts. Also, forgot to mention before but from what I've seen there's a slight chance something stupid will happen with shipping like the Kobo will be shipped from HK to my freight forwarder in the US but oh well such is the life of relying in the vagaries of seller imposed shipping limitations (although I'm a bit surprised they're sending them from HK like that).

HansTWN · 04-30-2013, 08:33 PM

I have used a freight forwarder. The Aura just arrived at the warehouse in the US. Freight charges by TNT to Taiwan are US$ 40.01 including the freight forwarder's service fee for the Aura including the cover.

TongueTied · 05-01-2013, 01:33 AM

You could try Hop Shop Go (hopshopgo dot com). They are a Singaporean outfit with warehouses in the US. I haven't used them myself but my brother bought a chainsaw from the US with them (Yes, he bought a chainsaw online from the US and had it sent to Australia!). I understand they will do repacking and consolidation if you want as well...for a fee. They can also provide a way of paying with a US address for online stores that need a US credit card address as well as a US shipping address.

On another note, I was in Malaysia when the Touch was released and I couldn't get any online retailer to ship to Malaysia since it was only available in Canada and the US at the time, so I got a friend in Toronto to pick one up and ship it to me. Flash forward 1 year, I've arrived in Australia and my KT was acting really weird so I contacted Kobo Support and they did an RMA for my KT. I had to send them a scan of the receipt which clearly said Chapters.Indigo and they gave me an address in Australia to send my KT. So, I don't know if you would necessarily have an issue if there was a need to return your Aura. They may want you to send it to Australia which would be a huge hassle

but at least you wouldn't be sending it all the way back to the US

TongueTied · 05-01-2013, 01:38 AM

I just took a look at Hop Shop Go's prices to NZ. Under 0.5kg Express is $28.80 (presumably USD) and Standard is $24. For up to 1kg it is $33.60 for Express and $28 for Standard. So, how much does a Kobo Aura in its box weigh?

GeoffR · 05-01-2013, 01:54 AM

I haven't bought an Aura, but I have bought other things from the US via NZ Post's Youshop. They have a parcel forwarding centre in Portland, and the price is $12.50 per parcel plus $4.75 per 500g volumetric weight ($NZ), so an Aura should cost $17.25 to ship.

The main problem I would have with buying an ereader this way is that if you have a problem and need a replacement, Kobo will hapilly send you a free replacement but going via a forwarder you will still have to pay the forwarder's postage, even if Kobo send it post free to the forwarding address.

Also I don't think you will be covered by NZ consumer law, which would generally give you a lot more protection than US laws.

HansTWN · 05-01-2013, 01:59 AM

There are a number of companies in the US that do the same thing. I use shipito.com, usunlocked.com also comes recommended. USunlocked also offers a US credit card, but that costs you about 10% on top of the charge.

You can always return items in case there are problems, but unless it is very expensive shipping costs pretty much rule out this option.

For Kobo no such tricks are necessary, just use your credit card number and a valid US address.

Nil Einne · 05-01-2013, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TongueTied

I just took a look at Hop Shop Go's prices to NZ. Under 0.5kg Express is $28.80 (presumably USD) and Standard is $24. For up to 1kg it is $33.60 for Express and $28 for Standard. So, how much does a Kobo Aura in its box weigh?

According to reports in the Aura US thread on this forum https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...211390&page=12, possibly between 1-2 lbs so probably more than 0.5kg but less than 1kg. (Check page 11 onwards and for posts by me and replies to me in that thread.) I didn't expect it to weigh that much but it doesn't really add that much to the cost.

Thanks for the recommendation, there are various freight forwarders I'm aware of and have heard of people here using including one by our own post company mentioned by another poster so looking for one isn't that that big a deal. And yeah some of them do offer to help with credit card issues but usually for a cost.

HansTWN · 05-01-2013, 02:19 AM

The reader + the sleep cover are almost exactly 1 kg.

TongueTied · 05-01-2013, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansTWN

The reader + the sleep cover are almost exactly 1 kg.

Does that include any outer shipping box and packing material? or is that what your's came to for shipping purposes?

latepaul · 05-01-2013, 03:31 AM

I just weighed mine. The Aura+box+paperwork+usb cable+sleep cover+box came to 595g. The only thing not included there is the screen protector cover which I've thrown out - but that can't have been more than a few grams.

HansTWN · 05-01-2013, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TongueTied

Does that include any outer shipping box and packing material? or is that what your's came to for shipping purposes?

That is the chargeable weight including packing used by Fedex and TNT.

Nil Einne · 05-01-2013, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by latepaul

I just weighed mine. The Aura+box+paperwork+usb cable+sleep cover+box came to 595g. The only thing not included there is the screen protector cover which I've thrown out - but that can't have been more than a few grams.

Thanks, very helpful. I'm not particularly interested in the sleep cover or any of the official accessories, seems a bit expensive for what you get, will just wait until I can find something cheaper elsewhere and meanwhile use it coverless, it'll mostly be used around home. But someone found the sleep cover weighted 104g (in the cover thread) so presuming the packaging doesn't weight more (it should weigh less) it may end up being less than 500g. It still weights more then 1lbs, but most companies would charge in grams for shipping to NZ.

This seems a bit lower than others have reported, but from what I've seen most of those reports have been chargeable weight and have included the sleep cover. So if the courier companies are including anything above 500g as 1kg then this isn't surprising. And as stated, if they charge in pounds then it's perhaps always going to end up more than 1lbs so end up being charged at 2lbs. Either way, as said it's not that big a deal, doesn't add that much to the cost whether it's 500g or more than.

ciscopixie · 05-04-2013, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nil Einne

Thanks, very helpful. I'm not particularly interested in the sleep cover or any of the official accessories, seems a bit expensive for what you get, will just wait until I can find something cheaper elsewhere and meanwhile use it coverless, it'll mostly be used around home. But someone found the sleep cover weighted 104g (in the cover thread) so presuming the packaging doesn't weight more (it should weigh less) it may end up being less than 500g. It still weights more then 1lbs, but most companies would charge in grams for shipping to NZ.

This seems a bit lower than others have reported, but from what I've seen most of those reports have been chargeable weight and have included the sleep cover. So if the courier companies are including anything above 500g as 1kg then this isn't surprising. And as stated, if they charge in pounds then it's perhaps always going to end up more than 1lbs so end up being charged at 2lbs. Either way, as said it's not that big a deal, doesn't add that much to the cost whether it's 500g or more than.

Did you end up shipping one from overseas?

I'm also in NZ, and have been browsing various sites. Another site says that the release date for AUS and NZ will be June 2013 (see below)
http://prwire.com.au/pr/36229/kobo-u...aura-hd-reader

So basically curious if you've already shipped one, from where, and how much was it?

I can't help but envy all the Aura owners

so amped to get hold of one!

Nil Einne · 05-07-2013, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ciscopixie

Did you end up shipping one from overseas?

I'm also in NZ, and have been browsing various sites. Another site says that the release date for AUS and NZ will be June 2013 (see below)
http://prwire.com.au/pr/36229/kobo-u...aura-hd-reader

So basically curious if you've already shipped one, from where, and how much was it?

I can't help but envy all the Aura owners

so amped to get hold of one!

No. I wanted to get the Espresso. I spent Wednesday deciding what shipping service to use, eventually found that NZ Post's Youshop is definitely the best in terms of price. Ship2U would be cheaper if you don't use the coupons that seem to be common for Youshop, but their address is in California so get's charged tax unlike the Oregon address for Youshop. (shipito.com could potentially be cheaper if you're willing to risk no insurance and a very slow service using their airmail service.)

Anyway when I was looking on late Thursday (early Thursday in Canada/US) the Espresso was available but for various reasons didn't order. On late Friday (early Friday in US/Canada) when I looked it was out of stock! I've asked on Twitter (check out my posts elsewhere) and they're suggesting it may be back in stock this week so I'm waiting to see.

04-30-2013, 05:52 AM	#1
Nil Einne Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 170976 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: Kobo Aura HD	Anyone bought a Kobo Aura HD using a freight forwarder Hey all, Since the Kobo Aura HD probably isn't coming to NZ until June and according to the same retailer, (I e-mailed 4, 2 replied only one gave any useful info) it may cost NZ$299 (seems confirmed by this blog post http://www.booksellers.co.nz/book-ne...book-retailers I just found), I'm not sure if there's much point waiting to buy it locally. Perhaps the parallel importers would have a decent deal, but I'm guessing they won't. So my best bet is perhaps just to order from the US (since there's far more freight forwarder services for there and it's generally easier to avoid origin destination tax issues) and use a freight forwarder (will cost under NZ$20 or so to send it from US to here I expect). There's the risk I'll have to return it and so pay shipping both ways, but even so it'll likely still end up being cheaper then having bought it here. It seems Borders used to ship internationally at least for a while in 2011 and cheaply, but they're gone. These Canadian stores Futureshop (specifically say), Best Buy, Staples and The Source don't seem to ship internationally. Indigo seem to (whether they're supposed to or not for the Kobo I dunno) but they want to charge me C?$40.75 for the shipping and I'm not sure if they will be any better for warranties (I did ask) but in any case, probably not worth it. Anyway has anyone used a freight forwarder to ship the Kobo Aura HD to them (whether NZ or elsewhere)? I know a lot of people do it for the Kindles given Amazon's second class citizen for the rest of the world policy. I'm particularly wondering if anyone has had any problems getting Kobo to accept their details or credit card because it wasn't a US/Canadian one. I know of the problems people seem to be having even when they are in the US simply because their system appears a bit naff. But even though these may indicate their payment system isn't that flash, I guess given their geotargetting for books, there's a chance this is extended to their Kobo reader system and so it might be fussy about the credit card. Seems I need to put a US billing address, had to do that with the Nexus 4 (in that case I was having it sent to a friend) and managed to get it working, so hopefully that won't be an issue. P.S. Of course if anyone has another proposal, I'm all ears. Cheers Last edited by Nil Einne; 04-30-2013 at 03:42 PM. Reason: Changing place

05-01-2013, 01:54 AM	#6
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	I haven't bought an Aura, but I have bought other things from the US via NZ Post's Youshop. They have a parcel forwarding centre in Portland, and the price is $12.50 per parcel plus $4.75 per 500g volumetric weight ($NZ), so an Aura should cost $17.25 to ship. The main problem I would have with buying an ereader this way is that if you have a problem and need a replacement, Kobo will hapilly send you a free replacement but going via a forwarder you will still have to pay the forwarder's postage, even if Kobo send it post free to the forwarding address. Also I don't think you will be covered by NZ consumer law, which would generally give you a lot more protection than US laws. Last edited by GeoffR; 05-01-2013 at 01:59 AM. Reason: wrong price

05-01-2013, 01:59 AM	#7
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	There are a number of companies in the US that do the same thing. I use shipito.com, usunlocked.com also comes recommended. USunlocked also offers a US credit card, but that costs you about 10% on top of the charge. You can always return items in case there are problems, but unless it is very expensive shipping costs pretty much rule out this option. For Kobo no such tricks are necessary, just use your credit card number and a valid US address. Last edited by HansTWN; 05-01-2013 at 02:01 AM.

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04-30-2013, 03:47 PM	#2
Nil Einne Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 170976 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: Kobo Aura HD	Well as I somewhat expected, Chapters reply to me was they don't ship the Kobo. I haven't tried to see if their website still lets me, I'm guessing it does but I'll leave it be. It definitely suggests to me there's a fair chance warranty issues won't be any better when using them. This was in my first message but I move it here since it isn't important. In case people are wondering, the Kobo Glo is ~NZ$198 here and has been since launch from decent stores which isn't great but isn't too bad, about NZ$25 more then the US$129 based on current exchange rates after taking in to account GST which is sort of what you expect. Given the higher price, you'd expect the premium to be a bit more, but over NZ$70 premium is a bridge too far for me, I could understand NZ$249 or even NZ$259 but NZ$299, no way. And I do want an Aura HD because of the larger screen size and it's usefulness when using large fonts. Also, forgot to mention before but from what I've seen there's a slight chance something stupid will happen with shipping like the Kobo will be shipped from HK to my freight forwarder in the US but oh well such is the life of relying in the vagaries of seller imposed shipping limitations (although I'm a bit surprised they're sending them from HK like that).

04-30-2013, 08:33 PM	#3
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	I have used a freight forwarder. The Aura just arrived at the warehouse in the US. Freight charges by TNT to Taiwan are US$ 40.01 including the freight forwarder's service fee for the Aura including the cover.

05-01-2013, 01:33 AM	#4
TongueTied Zealot Posts: 128 Karma: 18512 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Buderim, Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo	You could try Hop Shop Go (hopshopgo dot com). They are a Singaporean outfit with warehouses in the US. I haven't used them myself but my brother bought a chainsaw from the US with them (Yes, he bought a chainsaw online from the US and had it sent to Australia!). I understand they will do repacking and consolidation if you want as well...for a fee. They can also provide a way of paying with a US address for online stores that need a US credit card address as well as a US shipping address. On another note, I was in Malaysia when the Touch was released and I couldn't get any online retailer to ship to Malaysia since it was only available in Canada and the US at the time, so I got a friend in Toronto to pick one up and ship it to me. Flash forward 1 year, I've arrived in Australia and my KT was acting really weird so I contacted Kobo Support and they did an RMA for my KT. I had to send them a scan of the receipt which clearly said Chapters.Indigo and they gave me an address in Australia to send my KT. So, I don't know if you would necessarily have an issue if there was a need to return your Aura. They may want you to send it to Australia which would be a huge hassle but at least you wouldn't be sending it all the way back to the US

05-01-2013, 01:38 AM	#5
TongueTied Zealot Posts: 128 Karma: 18512 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Buderim, Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo	I just took a look at Hop Shop Go's prices to NZ. Under 0.5kg Express is $28.80 (presumably USD) and Standard is $24. For up to 1kg it is $33.60 for Express and $28 for Standard. So, how much does a Kobo Aura in its box weigh?

05-01-2013, 02:19 AM	#9
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	The reader + the sleep cover are almost exactly 1 kg.

05-01-2013, 03:31 AM	#11
latepaul Wizard Posts: 1,270 Karma: 10468300 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: a variety (mostly kindles and kobos)	I just weighed mine. The Aura+box+paperwork+usb cable+sleep cover+box came to 595g. The only thing not included there is the screen protector cover which I've thrown out - but that can't have been more than a few grams.

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