Importing from the USA to Australia

Aussies have been in the fortunate, if not rare position, of being able to cash in on cheap US imports for past couple of years, but that all looks like it is about to end.

With US economic situation showing distinct signs of a turn around, the Australian economy is showing the exact opposite, putting pressure on our dollar and seeing it start to slide.

For anyone following the dollar at the moment, you will know that the outlook doesn't seem to be that great. Small bounces are expected, but the general trend seems to be heading in one direction .... DOWN!

Where will it flatten out, not sure anyone can predict that with any real certainty, however most seem to agree it will end up in the low 80 cent mark sooner or later.

So, moral of the story ..... if you do import from the US, may well be time to stock up As much as I have my fingers crossed it will come back up and become stable, the chances are it will be mostly down hill from here!

Unfortunately, I think you're completely correct.

Looks like I'll have to be selective in what I get from the US. Either that or consider forming a buying group to share in the cost of a shipping container.

Problem is not many in my area that order from the US......or import!

Not sure if this will be of any help in saving on shipping costs, but the shipper we work with to move our orders is looking at offering boxed options. So that would be something like 1x1 metre, 2x1 metre sized boxes and so on. The idea being, you get a set price to ship per box, no matter what or how much you can fit in the box, you just pay for the box itself.

Shipping would be from LA to Sydney and I have no idea on pricing yet as it's just an idea that they have floated past us for our opinion on the option.

If you wanted any help in shipping from the US into Sydney at all, even without the boxes, just give me a shout out. I'll happily pass you on to Shane, our shipping agent in Sydney, and he should be able to find cost effective space for you in a load without too many issues.

Sounds great. Would especially be interested finding some space in a load later on down the track (just bought a whole bunch of stock).

Would I need to organise some way of getting the goods from Sydney to Hobart, or would Shane also be able to help me with that?

Getting the load on to Hobart could have some issues, but the best thing to do is just PM me when you are getting a shipment ready and I'll pass on Shane's details and then you guys can see if you can work out a deal that keeps you both happy.

Shane had containers leaving around every 3 weeks from Huntington Beach in LA, but would need some decent advance warning to make sure he could book the space for you.

Cheers

Thanks fudjj, will definitely be in content when I'm planning to get something together for those details.

Cheers