Guidelines for buying Emotiva products online

[Spidey]

Dear all,

I would like to put up a short guide of things to consider when buying from Emotiva. I will enumerate these few things :

1) First visit and familiarise yourself with the product line of Emotiva. Do a thorough study of specs of current and sometimes of discontinued and upcoming models also.

2) Become a member of Emotiva Lounge.
Visit : Emotiva Lounge and forum

There are plenty of sections like newbie stuff, FAQ, product specks , user reviews... read these and you will get what you want.

3) Regularly visit this site :
Emonatics : the emotiva fans site

Here you will get all the news of updates product release firmwares etc..

4) Now decide your setup :
-

Two channel stereo setup​

Multi-channel Home theater setup​

5) For 2 channel setup , you can buy :
- CD player , preamplifier, 2ch amplifier like ERC USP and XPA respectively

Remember Emotiva doesnt have integrated , it is all pre-pro all the way.

6) For Multi channel setup you can buy :
- Processor ( similar as AV reciver) ex UMC
Amplifier ex UMA, XPA 2,3,5,7 depending on no of channels

7) Regarding purchase :-

a) you can buy stuff only ONLINE from emotiva ; just visit EMOTIVA.COM. there ARE NO AUTHORIZED DEALERS OR RESELLERS. Those who are selling Emotiva stuff here in India are in for fast buck( you know whom I am talking about).
b) For us ther is International shipping page on emotiva online store.
c) you have to fill a request form with your details and you get a quotation of price of the item and shipping by FEDEX but NOT the customs.
d) you can pay this amount by bank wire transfer or pay pal.
e) after confirmed payment you will receive your product in anywhere between 5-15 days. Most probably FEDEX will do a home delivery and collect the customs fees.

F) Second option is Borderlinx but it is open only to CITI BANK CREDIT CARD owners. Here you have to purchase your US market stuff and it gets delivered to a ware-house in US that is your US address given to you by borderlinx. Then when stuff arrives in warehouse you are intimated and given a quote of shipping INCLUSIVE of taxes and customs. Pay it and your stuff reaches you in less than a week.

8) Warranty of Emotiva : valid in USA; you will have to bear the cost of returning it back. as of now.

9) Other sources of buying Emotiva stuff esp USED :
Emotiva EMporium : the selling place on Emotiva Lounge
visit : Emporium on Emotiva Lounge : buy stuff Used

10) UPGRADE OFFERS FROM EMOTIVA :

If you buy a processor of this generation (second), you will get 40 % off when you buy the next generation processor when it releases. And you dont have to return your old processor you can keep it.

11) Transfer of warranty / Upgrade Voucher :
Allowed when you sell a emotiva to another person

12) Early Flaws in processors firmwares :
Well as the technology is developing you may get some problems in UMC processor and these are corrected by Firmwares released by Emotiva from time to time.

13) Power supply support for Emotiva range :

Indian power adapters settings is accepted by default no need of step down transformer or anything.

14) Accessories on Emotiva Store :
You get very good cables on the store that are good and VFM. Checkout their balanced XLR and HDMI cables which are good.

15) Emofest and SALES from Emotiva :

Periodically Emotiva announces discount sales like last was on 4th of July ( American Independence day).
Next sale is on Thanks Giving day (?Last week of November) that comes just before Christmas.
Emofest is annual get-together and showcase of Emotiva technology.


So, happy and informed shopping and enjoy your audiophile stuff,

thanks

 

[Spidey]

Forgot to add :

When using a Credit card to order on Emotiva online and using Borderlinx for delivery,

your billing and shipping address wont match and your transaction will be declined. For this you would have to request a pay pal invoice from Emotiva and pay offline.

thanks

 

[kapvin]

Forgot to add :

When using a Credit card to order on Emotiva online and using Borderlinx for delivery,

your billing and shipping address wont match and your transaction will be declined. For this you would have to request a pay pal invoice from Emotiva and pay offline.

thanks

good guide, spidey. however on the paypal thing, just fyi, i used my international credit card for both my emotiva purchases. went through without a hiccup!

 

[anm]

what is the exchange rate/ over all cost difference between these two modes of payments?

 

[Spidey]

good guide, spidey. however on the paypal thing, just fyi, i used my international credit card for both my emotiva purchases. went through without a hiccup!

Yeah, first time my payment went through on online order form.

Second time, it got declined twice but the credit card here charged me once and I had to explain to them that the transaction was declined even if they had approved. I had to followup it with them to reverse it.
@anm didnt understand ur question.
thanks

 

[digitalv]

Received a quote for ~Rs.56,000 (Conversion @ Rs.45 to a dollar) for UMC-1 & UPA-5 including shipping via Fedex but non-inclusive of customs duty+taxes.

Any idea how much more I'll have to shell out for duty & taxes if I decide to go this route?

 

[kapvin]

Received a quote for ~Rs.56,000 (Conversion @ Rs.45 to a dollar) for UMC-1 & UPA-5 including shipping via Fedex but non-inclusive of customs duty+taxes.

Any idea how much more I'll have to shell out for duty & taxes if I decide to go this route?

duty is calculated on total shipping cost + original cost of the product. figure on adding another 20-25k for duty.

is this with the "scary deal"?

 

[digitalv]

Yes... This is with the "Scary" or Halloween deal...$100 off on any purchase on buying UMC-1 @ $699

 

[kapvin]

Yes... This is with the "Scary" or Halloween deal...$100 off on any purchase on buying UMC-1 @ $699

so USD 699+399 -100?

if you have a citibank card, borderlinx may still work out cheaper.. so you'l get a pre-pro/power amp at about the cost of a denon 2311

wow that's a steal!

 

[cmsajith]

Is the shipping calculator in Borderlinx shows the correct info?

Following is the cost estimate for UMC-1

Duty $ 15.95 INR 718.91
Taxes $ 101.71 INR 4584.39
Shipping (12.21 kg) $ 98.75 INR 4450.97
Total shipping charges $ 216.41 INR 9754.28
Plus original product value $ 699.00 INR 31506.13
Total cost $ 915.41 INR 41260.42

Duty shows as 718/- only, is it correct?

 

[sud98]

I am buying the same combo of upa 5 plus umc1 at 998 USD. I think if its possible its better to separate the two shipments as the upa 5 will be probably be within the duty limit. As the effective price is 200 usd and even with shipping might come lower than 500 usd.
From a borderlinx perspective the cost is weight based and value based so it should not matter whether you club or separate the shipments.
Let me know if this is correct.

 

[cmsajith]

Anybody has any bad experience with the customs while using borderlinx? One of our forum member was telling me that one of his friend had to shell out some 3K as customs duty to get a product worth 15K and Borderlinx didnt do anything on that.

 

[jitubisht]

Anybody has any bad experience with the customs while using borderlinx? One of our forum member was telling me that one of his friend had to shell out some 3K as customs duty to get a product worth 15K and Borderlinx didnt do anything on that.

Sajith,

I have used the Borderlinx service twice and I wholeheartedly recommend them.

The customs thing is true, the DHL guy that will show up on our door with the shipment will ask for the duties that were paid by DHL for clearance. We simply need to tell him that the duties are paid for.. he will end up calling his office and will find out the duties are paid for.. they will not charge anything.

Infact in the transaction, I got my Arcam A32.. Borderlinx had charged about 5.5K as duties. DHL ended up paying 10K as duties at New Delhi Airport customs. Yet, I had to pay nothing extra.

Please do not hesitate in using Bordelrinx's services. They are just superb.

I would also like to praise their always available chat support. They do appear as dumb sometimes, they do end up answering the answer!

Good luck!

 

[cmsajith]

Sometime back I had a chat with one Borderlinx rep and she was telling me that it is only an estimate and they cannot guarantee whether the charges will be same or not. Also they cannot predict the percent of variation from the estimate. The customs duty will be known once when the shipment is released and to know it before, we need to check with the respective custom office.

With this reply I am a little bit worried in using their service. The plan is to bring 2Nos UMC-1 and 1No UPA-1. ShopYourWorld was quoting ~8K as customs for 1No UMC-1 + taxes\over wt charges (total ~10K)

 

[digitalv]

There is something seriously wrong about the duty calculation displayed by the Borderlinx Total Cost Calculator. See below



Are Indian customs that dumb to pass on a UPA-5 weighing 32KG and costing ~13.5K (product value $299) plus another 10K for shipping for just Rs.475 as customs duty!!! There must be something which we haven't understood yet.

Are taxes (3K) in the above calculation paid locally or in US?

Even small boxes of electronics component samples which I frequently receive gets charged Rs. 1000-1500 as customs duty most of the time even when their declared value is usually zero (since they are free samples) or below $50.

 

[santhosh]

Sometimes it is better not to worry about the breakup of how much is customs, shipping or tax? The way I see it is.... Am I happy that I am getting my product shipped to my doorstep knowing that duties have been paid for - at a reasonable cost and reliable quick delivery? Answer is yes. That is all that I am worried about

Just my two paisa

 

[esanthosh]

There is something seriously wrong about the duty calculation displayed by the Borderlinx Total Cost Calculator.

Are Indian customs that dumb to pass on a UPA-5 weighing 32KG and costing ~13.5K (product value $299) plus another 10K for shipping for just Rs.475 as customs duty!!! There must be something which we haven't understood yet.

Usually, there are variations in the TCO and the actual charges. The actually levied duty and taxes are higher. Besides, there's a fuel surcharge of 17% of the shipping cost, which will be added. The fuel surcharge varies depending on DHL's mood...err...fuel prices: DHL | Fuel Surcharge | English. It is mentioned in the fine print too .

For an item I bought recently, the TCO taxes & duty estimate was 20%, IIRC. The actual (taxes + duty) came to 29%. Actually, that was more than what was quoted by ICCWorld. I tried arguing, but the difference between them is that Borderlinx includes 12.5% VAT on most, if not all products in the "taxes" component. So, their "taxes" part is always more than duty part for most items. I don't know about ICCWorld's break-up which I assume they'll never give. For another product, ICCWorld quoted 40% duties & tax, but Borderlinx got me for 32% duties & tax. So, as long as they can clear the customs, I don't bother about the exact break-ups :indifferent14:.

Borderlinx is safe (so far) and pretty fast at delivery (I get it delivered in 3-4 days once I checkout) and their customer care chat, most times works.

As for excess custom duty, my first shipment through Borderlinx (when they started service) was a disaster. I made the mistake of ordering too many small items being my first ever online order . They were held for about 20 days+ at Chennai customs, I had a terrible time arguing with DHL and finally it got cleared with a Rs. 7,700/- duty on about 10K worth of goods . Borderlinx asked me to pay the duty charged to DHL, get the proof and send it to them for refund. However, I asked DHL to charge to shipper's account and it got to me quick . I got calls from them since there were several episodes like this across India. Once I explained to them how our "customs" work, there's not been a problem since. But that was a long time ago. Haven't had a problem for the last N no. of shipments. In fact, for smaller items, they take less than 24 mins to clear customs instead of 24 days .

 

[jitubisht]

Sometime back I had a chat with one Borderlinx rep and she was telling me that it is only an estimate and they cannot guarantee whether the charges will be same or not. Also they cannot predict the percent of variation from the estimate. The customs duty will be known once when the shipment is released and to know it before, we need to check with the respective custom office.

With this reply I am a little bit worried in using their service. The plan is to bring 2Nos UMC-1 and 1No UPA-1. ShopYourWorld was quoting ~8K as customs for 1No UMC-1 + taxes\over wt charges (total ~10K)

What that rep had mentioned was probably for the 'calculator' on their website. once everything is paid for, nothing extra needs to be paid.. or so i understand.

 

[captrajesh]

you would have to request a pay pal invoice from Emotiva and pay offline.

How do we pay offline. Got to their office & pay?

 

[malvai]

Pay off line, pay online... Its all the same... The vagaries of the customes department take over the moment your package hits India...

There are times when I order 20-25 Lp packages and am not charged a cent... but just 3-4 days ago, my package containing a pair of Cardas RCA to XLR adaptors, 2 pairs of Cardas heavy gauge spades and 2 sets of Cardas heavy gauge bananas... all amounting to USD 200, that's merely Rs 9200/- (@ Rs 46 to a dollar). It being under the non-dutiable limit, i was still charged Rs 3126 as duty. Because, these guys did their own estimation which made the package to be about 11,300 or something. They said that they include the shipping cost as well!!!!
In my case the shipping cost was USD 35.

So, my friends, no one - NOT EVEN BORDERLINX can help you. But i find, whenever I use Borderlinx, these things are avoided. But, owing to our postal customs, I won't be surprised that even Borderlinx is not postal customs -proof!