Buying A3 from USA

[vlada]

Hi,

I'm going to get the A3. Since the price in EU (Czech Republic) is very high, I plan to get it from USA. The price is around €500 fro the 60GB model here.

I've seen it for $400, which is about €270. I expect to pay another €30 for shipping, but I still get it much cheaper. I have an AC adapter, or I can get a new one quite cheap, that won't be a problem. Otherwise I expect the unit will be the same.

So I'm asking you. Do you know any good store in USA which ships worldwide, is reliable and cheap? I've seen the A3 only on JetAudio, which doesn't ship worldwide. I believe other stores might have it even cheaper then the official one.

If you see any good deal on the A3, please let me know.

[dr.morton]

Do not forget custom fees!

You will need a very good ac adapter for the A3. I got my A2 from the US a s well and bought myself an ac adapter for it which does not work with the A3 (the PMP is rebooting constantly when using it). The A3 ac adapter has an output of 3.0A! There are not many ac adapter offering this together with a 5V output.
You could charge it via USB but this will be taking much longer then the already over 5 hours it takes with the original ac adapter.

[GurjBahia]

Thought about buying it from the USA too, but after considering some people have reported hardware problems, decided the A3 is not safe enough to buy without local warranty support. From the UK if there are problems we would have to pay to have the unit shipped to/from Korea for service (if bought from USA). Bought from AdvancedMP3Players in the end.

Even allowing for possible postage to Korea it would be cheaper, but the hastle factor would outweight the saving.

Posting to/from the USA may be cheaper if you have friends/family there to get it serviced.

A3 is a great product, worth the money!

[vlada]

For the AC adapter something like this (http://www.datapoint.cz/produkt/d-link-external-ac-power-supply-adapter-5v-/-3a/) should work. 400 CZK is about 20 USD.

I was also thinking about asking somebody to bring me the A3 from USA. If I had somebody who could hand carry the device, I could save posting, incoming tax and VAT. Then the only added price would be the USD 20 for AC adapter.

With my monthly income slightly above $1000 (which is not bad in my country) spending $800 for a portable player is quite a lot. Even if it is a great player.

[Cyril]

Hi ! For the 200 € savings I am wondering as well to buy it in the US... [yes]

1) Right to underline that custom fees may apply...so we need a friend in the US to bring it to us in Europe... [help]

2) I believed the AC Adaptator to be 110 V / 240 V so compatible in Europe...so I understand I was wrong... [confused]

3) I am not sure, but I believe that the DVB-T (TV) option has not been desactivated in the US versions. Because I buy it for TV as well ! [unsure]

4) Warranty is a good point. Not clear if Cowon repair center in Europe would repair an A3 bought in US. In the worst case, just to be shipped to the US (and back).

So finally it still seems to be worthing the 200 € saving ! No ?
In fact it is easier: "to buy it in the US, or too expensive to buy it in Europe (rather to buy an Archos with 160 Gb) !"

Btw, I have seen it at the same price everywhere: Amazon, B&H...

[vlada]

I'm not sure about AC adapter. I might be 110-240V, I don't know.

The DVB-T is an addon module. You have to buy it separately.

[vlada]

I was now also looking at Q5W. It is alos only available through JetAudio. It looks to me like if Cowon is protecting their European prices by only selling to US customers for the American price.

But I just found B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/536133-REG/Cowon_A3_60SL_A3_60GB_Personal_Media.html) and they seem to ship worldwide. They calculated shipping to Czech Republic to be $50. So I pay $400 for the device, $50 for shipping. Then I have to pay tax 5% and 19% VAT. So the final price would be 400*1.05*1.19 + 50 = $550. Still much cheaper then buying here, but $150 more then if somebody would bring me one from USA personally. I think I'll try to find somebody to do it for me...

[Mr. Black]

I was now also looking at Q5W. It is alos only available through JetAudio. It looks to me like if Cowon is protecting their European prices by only selling to US customers for the American price.

But I just found B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/536133-REG/Cowon_A3_60SL_A3_60GB_Personal_Media.html) and they seem to ship worldwide. They calculated shipping to Czech Republic to be $50. So I pay $400 for the device, $50 for shipping. Then I have to pay tax 5% and 19% VAT. So the final price would be 400*1.05*1.19 + 50 = $550. Still much cheaper then buying here, but $150 more then if somebody would bring me one from USA personally. I think I'll try to find somebody to do it for me...


Would you have to pay tax/customs duties? or is that only if your unit gets stopped in customs? Not sure how the system in Czech works, but in Ireland you only pay customs duties if your package is held by customs, however lots of things get through.... I'm not sure what the customs rate is but the last 3 things that I had stopped cost ~150-200 €uro and I was charged about €36... which for me was worth the risk because I still save a heap of cash, just less than I could have saved [laugh]

[bootlegapparel]

same in Australia, you shouldn't get charged for customs really, it's a sealed unit.

about the AC adapter does europe have screwy power outlets? it's just a 2 pin plug isn't it what's the big deal?