jbgude
Active Member
Rajat,If you owna Blu-ray player the chances are the DVDs will be automatically played as " region free" or in other words most Blu ray players will play DVDs from any region.
Amazon.com vs. Amazon.co.uk
- Thread starter just4kix
- Start date
Rajat,If you owna Blu-ray player the chances are the DVDs will be automatically played as " region free" or in other words most Blu ray players will play DVDs from any region.
manzb
Active Member
Oh it's not like that, atleast not the ones from Sony. I got my Sony BD player unlocked using a remote hack. You may please refer to the AVSforum to know the huge range of BDs which are not region free for DVD as well. But the best part is almost all of them can be made region free with the help of a remote (either the stock ones or an universal remote).
just4kix
Well-Known Member
Have received customs duty deposit refund for each and every order from Amazon.com. 
hyeah: :clapping:
Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2
hyeah: :clapping:Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2
just4kix
Well-Known Member
UK is more expensive now. Pound is almost 90 rupees
What is your source of information? My information says it is around 84-85. Banks charge 3.5% surcharge on forex txns over and above.
manzb
Active Member
No, the current GBP is 82.5. Add approx 4.5% extra including bank charge and service tax etc. Makes it landed 86 or so. Refunds are processed at 82.5 (no bank charge on that).
just4kix
Well-Known Member
Banks charge 3.5% - at least ICICI, HDFC, Axis. But this is a uniform charge on all forex transactions.
manzb
Active Member
Kix, you are right with 3.5%, which is the bank/ VISA charge, on top of it you need to pay 12.36% on the 3.5% charge, thus total outgo is equal to 4.78%. So exchange rate plus 4.78% is what bank charges you (based on the Stanchart calculation)
Bank FX Selling rate = Interbank FX Rate + Banks Margin(about 1 to 2 %) (Lower rates for negotiated large transactions)
Credit Card charge: Bank FX Selling rate + 3.5 % transaction charge + Service Tax on transaction charge(about 12% of 3.5 %).
Hope this enlightens in some way.
Credit Card charge: Bank FX Selling rate + 3.5 % transaction charge + Service Tax on transaction charge(about 12% of 3.5 %).
Hope this enlightens in some way.
gurujee
Active Member
Got some BDs from Uk . Despatched on 2sept and reached me today 6th. Just in 4 days that too without any customs fees. Wonderful.
Even flipkart/amazon.in takes 4 days to deliver within country.
Even flipkart/amazon.in takes 4 days to deliver within country.
It was your lucky day! I too had my share of this luck until one day I was asked to pay 42% custom duty!
raj29shenoy
Member
Guys, one small question:
I am following every step mentioned by just4kix to order from amazon.co.uk site. After entering credit card details and when you are in the reviewing order page, it asks to choose the currency: Rupees or Pounds. Which one should I choose? When I choose INR, amazon applies its own currency conversion rates (which I felt is higher than the current market rate). If I choose GBP it shows the rate in Pounds. In which case the bank charges 3.5% extra? Thanks.
I am following every step mentioned by just4kix to order from amazon.co.uk site. After entering credit card details and when you are in the reviewing order page, it asks to choose the currency: Rupees or Pounds. Which one should I choose? When I choose INR, amazon applies its own currency conversion rates (which I felt is higher than the current market rate). If I choose GBP it shows the rate in Pounds. In which case the bank charges 3.5% extra? Thanks.
I think this has been answered earlier as well, just go with the option which is cheaper at the time of ordering. Most of the times I have seen is that the banks normally revise rates everyday (treasury card rates) but Amazon might be revising their rates may be on a fortnightly or monthly (not sure) keeping in mind the fluctuating currency conversion. So its better to go with the GBP/USD rather than going with the INR on Amazon sites, you might actually end up saving some money with the conversion even with the 3.5% that the bank charges for conversion.
prakash_ajp
Member
I usually opt out of Amazon's currency conversion as the conversion rate I use is usually higher than what I see on xe.com. But then you should also consider that your bank (of CC) will also charge around 3 to 4% as service charges. IN the end, it might not be much different.
gurujee
Active Member
I used to use the currency conversion and i was paying more. 2 days back I ordered using the amazon app which i absent mindedly did, and didnot see any conversion at the time of check out,and guess what I paid exactly the same rate for that day. NEVER use amazon currency conversion thing.
Yes Amazon being an online site does not have to frequently change the conversion rate as the banks do (its there main business). Hence to safeguard the currency fluctuations all the online merchant sites have a buffer rate to take care of sudden ups/drops in the currencies. So its always a good choice to go with the bank conversion rather than the merchant conversion.
raj29shenoy
Member
While reading terms and conditions of the credit cards, I came to know that, banks first convert GBP to more globally accepted currency USD and then from USD to Rupee conversion is done. What is not clear to me is that will the bank apply 3.5% conversion charges for both the conversions or not.
Also, learnt that Visa/Mastercard charge their own 1-2% additionally.
But you mean to say that, the conversion done by the merchant is still expensive than these all charges included?
I am planning to order Bond 50 Blu-Ray collection and Back to the Future Trilogy which costs around 80 GBP in total. That's why I am trying to figure out the cheapest alternative, since these small things become large when product cost involved is more.
Also, learnt that Visa/Mastercard charge their own 1-2% additionally.
But you mean to say that, the conversion done by the merchant is still expensive than these all charges included?
I am planning to order Bond 50 Blu-Ray collection and Back to the Future Trilogy which costs around 80 GBP in total. That's why I am trying to figure out the cheapest alternative, since these small things become large when product cost involved is more.
I do not think most of the banks in India do the conversion to the more prominent USD from the purchase currency as the GBP is also prominent currency. This might be true for the currencies that the CC company may not be having in their supported currencies, but that too they do that only for the settlement part. Not sure about the Visa/MasterCard charges as I believe these charges are in built into your Visa or MasterCard given by the CC company.
raj29shenoy
Member
These links give good insight:
Using your credit card overseas? Understand your charges! | Bankbazaar.com
VISA exchange rate calculator
Using the visa converter tool, I did a quick calculation and as you mentioned, the conversion done by Amazon is still on the higher side. Hence it should not be opted.
Using your credit card overseas? Understand your charges! | Bankbazaar.com
VISA exchange rate calculator
Using the visa converter tool, I did a quick calculation and as you mentioned, the conversion done by Amazon is still on the higher side. Hence it should not be opted.
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raj29shenoy
Member
@ manniraj: Since you are located in Bangalore, may be you can answer this: How's is your experience of customs duty on Blu-rays from UK? Have you been charged so far? My package cost comes around 80 GBP. Should I split into to two to avoid customs duty?
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