Import used cassette decks from eBay

parthabhatta

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Jan 16, 2011
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Location
Barrackpore, India
I need a cassette Deck and thinking to buy one from eBay preferably used, in good condition. I have heard about some restrictions imposed by Government on buying used electronics from overseas. Does it cover decks also?
Somebody with knowledge and experience please help in deciding.
Regards
Partha
 
hi Partha .
i had B& cassate deck. tell me if you are intrested.
Model name is. Beocord 9000.
 

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Yes, your consignment will be confiscated. Unless you have some other means of clearing them by an agent or otherwise it would not be delivered. Also cost involved will be high. This is my personal experience.
 
I need a cassette Deck and thinking to buy one from eBay preferably used, in good condition. I have heard about some restrictions imposed by Government on buying used electronics from overseas. Does it cover decks also?
Somebody with knowledge and experience please help in deciding.
Regards
Partha

Get the decks shipped through the top parcel delivery services like DHL, Fedex.. they will take care of the customs. But, as mentioned by Hari above, be prepared to shell out money for customs duty, Bonded Storage, Handling Fee, IGST, ED CESS, CGST & SGST!
 
I need a cassette Deck and thinking to buy one from eBay preferably used, in good condition. I have heard about some restrictions imposed by Government on buying used electronics from overseas. Does it cover decks also?
Somebody with knowledge and experience please help in deciding.
Regards
Partha

Did you ever get the deck? I am also thinking of getting a deck.
 
I need a cassette Deck and thinking to buy one from eBay preferably used, in good condition. I have heard about some restrictions imposed by Government on buying used electronics from overseas. Does it cover decks also?
Somebody with knowledge and experience please help in deciding.
Regards
Partha

Are you referring to a new development in the rules?

I carried an old, used stereo amp and bookshelves 4 years ago and nobody bothered. I believe the customs dept. is more interested in contraband and luxury goods that will fetch high(er) palm grease duty/penalties; and understandably so.
 
Are you referring to a new development in the rules?

I carried an old, used stereo amp and bookshelves 4 years ago and nobody bothered. I believe the customs dept. is more interested in contraband and luxury goods that will fetch high(er) palm grease duty/penalties; and understandably so.
I think its not an issue if one personally carries them in India but problem starts when they brought in through international couriers after buying from international online sites.
Anyways thanks for the info.
 
You can buy fairly good decks locally. I have recently helped friends get excellent Sansui SC 1110 Deck for a friend of mine. You can contact me on 9447113647 and let me know what type of Deck you are looking for. If I come across any, I can inform you. No commercial interests. This is just to help anyone in the forum
 
This topic keeps resurfacing on these forums: is the Indian govt interested in stopping the import of individual pieces of used audio gear?

Different people have different experiences, I can only comment about mine. I have had 100% success rate getting international shippers to bring in used amps, DVD players, audio CD players, DAC etc to me from abroad. Each time, I've paid Customs, shipping, etc, as per their rules, but Customs has never confiscated anything. Each time, the Customs declaration papers have clearly indicated what the item is, which means there is no question that Customs didn't know what was being brought in.

I've heard that import of used computers into India is prohibited. I've purchased and imported used Thinkpads at least thrice from the US. 100% success rate again.

If indeed there is a rule which prohibits the import of such items, my theory is that it applies to commercial quantities, e.g. for resale. It doesn't apply to individual imports in retail quantities. Just my theory. And my 100% success rate.
 
Same is the case with me, always had good experiences. Infact if the rules are observed, Indian customs is quite efficient. The problem is that the interpretation of the rules varies, causing these challenges. The key words are "import" and "license". When dealing with couriers and customs for these international shipments, it is important to declare that the goods are purchased abroad for personal use and not for commercial reasons. Due to high traffic at ports of landing in India, especially from Chinese manufacturers and sellers, Indian customs don't seem to be bothered about single items, provided it complies with the rules. However hand carrying stuff is always preferable as the items can be cared for.
 
I also purchased several small electronic gadgets online, from Chinese as well as eBay. My experience is, as long as they are shipped normally (not expedited and not through couriers) no custom duty is levied on them. One recent example is, I bought a MC cartridge from Japanese eBay seller @200$, shipped through SAL post and it was not even held up by Customs - which is their normal practice as they hold up any items at least for a couple of days - before clearing the same - leave aside charging duties. Previously also I bought used records from Japanese seller shipped through SAL and they were released the same day without charging any duties. So small items coming by SAL from Japan are not even presented which is my apprehension. My purchases of small class D amplifiers, tabs, mobiles, earphones and other small gadgets (one at a time) varying from 10usd to 200usd from AliExpress, gearbest etc., also were released without duties and the items reached safely to me. But on the contrary, I purchased a phononpreamp from Tisbury Audio UK, at 140gbp (around 200$) which was shipped through courier (Handled by probably DTDC in India) and I was levied a duty of RS.6000.00. Had I purchased it from eBay through normal post I think I could have escaped the duties.
So going by @tcpip experience, I am thinking of taking a plunge and importing an used deck - let.me decide. Thanks to all for their valuable experiences quoted here. More are invited.
Regards
 
Please understand that I've usually paid duty. If your success criteria involves avoiding duty, then I have failed in most cases. Whenever I have used a trans-shipment agency, they have shipped to me via DHL, who have done Customs clearance and have charged me duty at actuals, with a proper hardcopy invoice. They have charged ₹500 as their services fees, and added GST to this ₹500. Plus whatever was the duty, plus the shipping costs.

When getting small items from abroad by direct post, without any trans-shipment agency in between, I have had to pay duty about half the time. Whenever duty was levied, the postman came to my place and left a chit with the Duty amount to be paid. I have gone to the local post office and paid the duty, and released my parcel.

In my book, all these are successes. My aim wasn't to avoid duty or to get the cheapest shipment. My aim was to receive the items safely and reliably. In the case of DHL, my expectation was also to get the package promptly. So, I got 100% success rate for my criteria.
 
The approach I have personally taken is to not mind paying a little extra if the item is in pristine condition. A couple of thousands extra usually gets me stuff that I cannot find in India, in pristine condition. But then, it all comes down to one's personal opinion. The fact is, importing from abroad adds to the net investment and this can be quite an impact, if one does not intend to keep the equipment for long. On the other side, I have found stuff, especially from Germany to be in pristine condition or exactly as advertised as the seller.

Some factors that come to mind especially when buying stuff in India from places like Olx (especially mechanical devices):
  • Indian environments (other than from upper strata homes) are usually dusty and polluted and a lot of users don't have separate dedicated listening spaces (where equipment can be kept away from the maid servant who sweeps or the child who plays).
  • Folk from the older generations usually never threw away stuff, even it was not working and thus, some of these ended up in store rooms, on top of cupboards, etc gathering dust for years. Due to the advent of the possibility of making a few bucks, people bring stuff out, do a clean up and attempt to sell (not just with the intention to get rid of the thing but to profit as much from it)
  • Generally Indian users (especially mass-market product users) don't take special precautions when handling audio gear, like washing hands, etc. I have come across a lot of equipment, with cosmetic issues, just because of careless handling, for example with oily or greasy hands
  • I have noticed that most typical Indian users don't have nimble fingers and are very rough with equipment, especially with mechanical equipment like turntables and tape decks. At the end of the day, these are precision instruments and need to be handled carefully. Also i have noticed, because of the use and throw away approach these days, the younger generation (not the real enthusiast but the average cool dude) is extremely careless with stuff. You'd find keys broken, wires ripped out of plugs, sockets damaged, panels cracked, etc by ruthless use
 
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