Bought from Amazon, shipped thru Vpost

[Vishu_fbd]

Hi Guys,

I had recently purchased a Mac-mini and wanted to upgrade its RAM and also wanted to buy Magic Trackpad. The prices and the availability in India market made me try out the risky but rewarding options like buying from Amazon US and then getting it shipped to India from various vendors like Vpost, MyUS.com etc.

I opted for Vpost since they had dedicated India shipping options along with tie ups with HDFC/ICICI banks to give discounts on shipment charges.

Hence I ordered 8GB ram for my mac-mini, a magic trackpad and a 16AWG 100ft speaker cable RCA make from Amazon on 24th Nov. The items reached at my pseudo US address which Vpost gave at the time of registration by 1st week of December.

Once it reached vpost, I paid the shipping charges at vpost site (got 40% discount - HDFC :yahoo as part of year end/christmas celebration. I also opted for insurance of items just in case! The shipment was then ready for delivery to me.

The items reached safe and sound to me on 16th Dec and this method just worked seamlessly for me... I couldnt be happier :clapping:

Cheers,
Vishu

 

[charanbee]

What is the difference between RAM prices here and in the US, after you include the shipping charges?
I also have an old Mac mini and am looking to upgrade it

Thanks

 

[audiodelic]

Once it reached I paid the shipping charges at vpost site (got 40% discount - HDFC :yahoo as part of year end/christmas celebration. I also opted for insurance of items just in case!

The items reached safe and sound to me on 16th Dec and this method just worked seamlessly for me... I couldnt be happier :clapping:

Cheers,
Vishu

What if it's a big item and there are customs involved ?

 

[Vishu_fbd]

What is the difference between RAM prices here and in the US, after you include the shipping charges?
I also have an old Mac mini and am looking to upgrade it

Thanks

Well I read somewhere that Corsair launched mac-mini ram in India but those were 1033 MHz and not 1333Mhz as specified in the apple manual. Even though they are said to be compatible I dint feel like investing in them.

In Nehru Place I checked for 4GB price and I was told around 6K for the 2GB pair. The prices varied from dealer to dealer.

I ordered Crucial 8GB RAM for 42USD and it works like a charm on my mini

Shipping charges depends on the weight of the package. Vpost charged me 2168 INR for around 2 pound of package incl the 40% discount and the extra insurance premium. I also ordered 2 other items that are costly here.. refer my original post.

Thanks.
Vishu

 

[Vishu_fbd]

What if it's a big item and there are customs involved ?

From what I have read on various posts and people's experience, the shipping charges would incrementally increase if the package is heavy. If the item value exceed 10000 INR then the customs duty and other import laws become applicable as well and one may have to go personally to custom office if things are taking time to arrive.

Having said that one can import only the items that the import regulations in India allow. The prohibited list is long and items like perfumes, food etc cant be imported this way if you are in individual as far as I am aware.

People have also faced issues when they have tried to import watches or electronics this way but it depends on luck, value of item, area you reside and provider you chose for import.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Vishu

 

[cooltoad]

I got mac mini 2011 for 30.2k(after 1k discount) and corsair 4gb(1333 mhz) for 1250.00 (1333Mhz) both from ebay.in and didnt have to bother with the shipping/customs hassle. and the price is on par with I'nl prices. Guess it depends on the availability of items here. RAM prices dont differ much and not worth the risk of the package getting lost for such a small margin.You can try the route for items not available here.

 

[Vishu_fbd]

I got mac mini 2011 for 30.2k(after 1k discount) and corsair 4gb(1333 mhz) for 1250.00 (1333Mhz) both from ebay.in and didnt have to bother with the shipping/customs hassle. and the price is on par with I'nl prices. Guess it depends on the availability of items here. RAM prices dont differ much and not worth the risk of the package getting lost for such a small margin.You can try the route for items not available here.

Nice to hear that Mac mini ram is available on ebay.in, maybe it wasn't when I looked for SODIMM 1333MHz. The official release from Corsair said the RAM is a spec down version but compatible version which I dint want to buy. Do share the compatible RAM ebay link info for other folks.

Personally I do not buy any items from ebay, prices are quoted higher and the sellers sell grey market stuff. Letsbuy or Flipkart are way better than ebay as per my opinion.

Anyways my effort was not to get just the RAM but also 2 other items (TrackPad & 16 AWG wire for my HT). Both of them were proving costly here and it was worth the effort shipping it since I got everything at half the cost than what official channel prices are, my comparison wasnt with grey market prices for these.

Thanks,
Vishu

 

[cooltoad]

ebay linl for RAM
corsair ram laptop 4gb | eBay

True, many items are higher priced on ebay, but mac mini price on ebay was the lowest, (and we get warranty and bill)but i got the dell u2311h from letsbuy for a lower price than ebay(13.7 after discount whereas the same item was priced higher on ebay). We have the option to search for the lowest price and decide. I also got a logitech k400 wireless keyboard from delta/chennai for 1.9k which is priced at 2.5k online.

I would also like to share my experience with the online site Bitfang. I was looking for Asus 24" monitor priced at 15.2k(lowest price online) and when i inquired about the stock availability before booking , the price was increased to 17.8k on the site. The site replied that the price exhibited online was not updated. This is highly unprofessional and we have to be wary of such things. Ebay in this regard is more reliable.

 

[matbhuvi]

How is the cost of vpost when compared with Amazon Global program?. I understand you can't buy all the items under Amazon Global program. But, there are many useful items there..

 

[cooltoad]

At what price you got the magic trackpad

 

[Vishu_fbd]

At what price you got the magic trackpad

Its 67 USD in Amazon.. I bought it when the price of dollar was around 50.xx or early 51.xx

 

[cooltoad]

Vishu, do you think it is worth the money with good functionalities. I may consider buying it later.

 

[giddavr]

why exactly did u go through the hastle of a third party shipping instead of getting it directly sent to u by amazon global?

 

[rajudhs]

shopandship.com is much cheaper, and been using it for 1 year now
excellent service

life time membership for $5, google search for $5 membership coupons online

its much cheaper than all others.

just use online shipping calculator from all these vendors to compare.

 

[Vishu_fbd]

why exactly did u go through the hastle of a third party shipping instead of getting it directly sent to u by amazon global?

Unfortunately there are set of items that cannot be shipped to India directly for various reasons. In this case since Apple already have an Apple Center in India, direct shipment is not allowed as per legal clauses etc.

 

[Vishu_fbd]

Vishu, do you think it is worth the money with good functionalities. I may consider buying it later.

It is surely a cool thing and a useful one to put your money on.

The reason why I bought it is coz I also would be using my mac mini as a streaming player and it would really shine then as a wireless controller. Even now I use it instead of mouse and also when doing iOS development using xcode.

 

[Vishu_fbd]

shopandship.com is much cheaper, and been using it for 1 year now
excellent service

life time membership for $5, google search for $5 membership coupons online

its much cheaper than all others.

just use online shipping calculator from all these vendors to compare.

So what all items have you manage to ship through them, quantity/price restrictions or suggestions that you want to provide as per your experiences?