9.00-16 ND Tyres & the tyranny of distance

[motto (RIP)]

Thanks for your kind offer of assistance Derek but the real problems were all at this end. Wallace Wade were helpful and the only glitch in Texas was that the carrier did not put my contact phone number on the documentation and I was not given a tracking number. This meant I had to be advised by snail mail about the arrival of the shipment in Melbourne two days after the event. Meanwhile I was getting toey and e-mailed WW to try and find out where my tyres were.
The biggest anomaly seems to be that the $1,000 cut off point for the Goods and Services Tax is on the PURCHASE PRICE ONLY. However, if the purchase price exceeds that figure you are then required to pay the 10% Tax ON THE TOTAL COST OF THE SHIPMENT and this includes the cost of freight. Customs also take the opportunity to slug you with processing fees and other statutory charges and Quarantine get in on the act as well.
I didn't ask a direct question about this but that seems to be how it works.
David

[jack neville]

Dave,

Your tyres from WW were new I assume. I have brought three shipments of 1100 x 18 tyres in in the past twelve months from the States. As they were second hand I needed and got an Import Permit to import used tyres on rims. All they needed was a declaration from the sender that they had been washed and were inflated and sealed on the rims. The tyres were 'as new' condition. Sure there were associated costs but I used Brocks Autos in Lilydale to freight them and they handled the AQIS inspections at their end. It was a very easy and hassle free operation. The Permit is valid for two years so I am looking to bring in some others, 900x20, 1100x20 and some more 1100x18. Brocks bring in about three 40 foot containers a week of various auto stuff and I have used them a few times now.

Jack

[motto (RIP)]

Yes Jack, the tyres were new. I'm pretty sure that the first Quarantine officer I spoke to was not going to call for an inspection but when I returned with the required paperwork completed, I got a bloke who said the tyres may contain water and therefore possibly mosquito larvae and so had to be inspected. Although the inspection only took a few minutes, the earliest appointment I could get was the following day.
I considered bringing in the tyres by surface freight and was quoted $60 ea by Cheetah. I would also have had the cost of getting them from Texas to where the containers are packed. Going by previous experience with other items, I figured that I could get the tyres by air for less than double that cost and have them in days instead of weeks. The total cost per tyre would have been comparable to the cheapest price I could get here and I would have had American tyres.
As it was, the airport charges at this end added almost another $100 per tyre. The only consolation is that they were still cheaper than Vintage Tyres could do them for and they didn't have them on hand anyway.
You learn as you go and I am posting all this so as others can make informed choices.
David