SHIPPING, IMPORT DUTIES, COUPONS & PRICE DROPS

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As more and more people turn to online shopping in a bid to combat rising fuel costs we'd like to make sure that each of our customers gets the very best bang for their buck and fully understands how our system works.

We're all feeling the stress of soaring fuel prices. For most of us jumping into the car and heading out to grab a few supplies is now a thing of the past. We all have to think first and plan our trips whether they be long or short. We have to make every drop of precious fuel count.

Save your fuel for getting out there - use the internet to buy gear - You'll be miles ahead

The feedback that we're getting from our merchants is that Australians are now among the world's biggest online purchasers of outdoor equipment. This is due to a number of factors including:

Rising fuel costs
No import duties & taxes for orders under $1000
Highly competitive pricing
Wider product range & bigger choice of brands
Secure, cost effective international shipping
Live gear experts on hand at merchant's sites to answer questions in real time.

Work out what it costs in fuel, parking, toll fees and wear 'n tear to drive to your usual gear shop then factor in your time. Plus, you won't know until you get there if the gear you want is in stock. If they haven't got it, then you'll have three choices; either do the run all over again on your next day off, settle for an alternative product that was not your first choice, or jump back in the car, burn up more fuel and hope that another gear shop somewhere on the other side of town has what you're looking for. - There is a better way.

When you buy your gear online you make savings in a number of ways:

Shipping

This is an area that can be a bit daunting to the first time buyer. At first glance the shipping cost on a particular item (depending on the merchant) might seem a little high. Fear not my friends, all is not as it seems.

Some merchants charge a higher base shipping price (international) but you'll notice that as you add products to your shopping cart the shipping cost, depending on weight, may hardly move at all. In other words, it might be a bit expensive if you only want one item but it can work out really cheap if you are buying several pieces of equipment at once. Other merchants work differently with the international shipping price for one item being lower.

Also bear in mind that some merchants may offer extra facilities like tracking and insurance. This may influence shipping costs. If two or more of our merchants are offering the same product compare both at the checkout to see who can get the gear to your door the cheapest and what you are getting for your shipping dollars.

From our experience, buying one item, say a pair of trekking boots or a sleeping bag for example, at the highest shipping price will often still end up being considerably cheaper than if you bought it locally at RRP and that's without factoring in your local pickup expenses.

We are currently in negotiations with some of our merchants to get a better international shipping deal for our non-US visitors. We are also working closely with one of our merchants to provide a 'true' international product feed. That means that the feed will only contain products and brands that can be shipped outside of the US. That should save our non-US customers a lot of frustration at the checkout! The international feed will run along side the current system which will remain in place for our US customers. In other words, we will have both a US store and an international store all on the one site. We'll keep you up to date as developments come to hand.

Recent development

We have just introduced our new ISF store (international shipping friendly)
Read how it will benefit our non-US visitors >

Coupons and price drops

These are where the real deals are! You can save some serious money with these puppies.

Make sure you hit the 'coupons & recent price drops' link. There are often coupon codes that you can redeem at the checkout to get anything from 5% to a whopping 50% off that already low price. These are automatically updated by our merchants via their data feeds almost on a daily basis so be sure to check them regularly. Our 'recent price drop' links are similar but they'll generally take you to specific items that are on sale.

Then there's our 50%, 60% & 70% OFF SALES in the navbar. These are always worth a look as they are where some of our discontinued lines end up. It's a bargain hunter's paradise at times.

Pool your order with friends

If you only need one or two items yourself, why not team up with a few friends or members of your club. This is a great way to share shipping costs and benefit from coupons, price drops and hot deals. It's a good idea to sign up for our newsletter that way you'll be kept up to date with our latest offers.

Customs & import taxes

Some countries do charge things like VAT and various import taxes. Our non-Australian customers will need to check with their local government departments to see if these apply.

With regards to Australian laws when buying over the internet import duties and tax are NOT applicable for shipments totaling $1000 or less. Shipping costs are not included in the $1000 limit. The same items bought from your local gear shop have GST and import costs built into the price.

Australian Customs Service - When buying over the internet

In summery

A coupon's value at the checkout can at times absorb the entire equivalent of your shipping costs and more.
Shipping costs can be greatly reduced if you are buying several items at once.
Australian Internet shoppers are NOT required to pay import duties or tax if the total of their order comes to $1000 or less.
Some of our merchants offer a lower international shipping charge on single items while others are more cost effective if buying several items at once. We are currently in negotiations with some of our merchants to try to get a better international shipping deal for our non-US visitors.

Live gear experts on hand at merchant's sites to answer questions in real time.