Agilent's "Australia" tax - any way around it? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: peter_mcc
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2011, 10:44:59 am
content: hiI'm in Sydney, Australia and looking to buy an Agilent DSOX3014A scope and two multimeters. I've spoken with the local "channel partner" Trio Smartcal and they wouldn't budge from the list prices. That's a bit annoying since the Western Australia distributor is almost $200 cheaper on their website for the scope.My major gripe is with Australian pricing in general - the scope is $A3650 RRP here vs $US3380 in the USA. The Aussie price is ex-GST so that isn't it.For the multimeters it's worse because in the USA they have a cashback offer running which isn't valid in Oz - making a U1272A $US270 vs $A450 or a U1252B $310 vs $445.I'm aware that other countries may have it "worse" - please accept my condolences in advance.Does anyone know a way to order Agilent stuff from the USA and still get the cashback/scope trade in offer? If I manage to arrange something is the warranty valid internationally?peter

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2011, 11:43:55 am
content: Best way is of course get a friend or relation buy it for you in the US.Otherwise contact Carolina atwww.priceusa.com.au. She uses agents to buy in the USA, and you buy from her, so her agents should be able to apply for the cashback.If she says she can do it, she can do it.Richard.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2011, 01:09:28 am
content: Quote from: amspire on October 26, 2011, 11:43:55 amWould the warranty and support be valid though?I wouldn't like to buy a $3.5K+ scope without a warranty.I spoke to Charles at TrioSmartCal and he said Peter can contact him direct and they might be able to work out a bundle deal, free delivery, free or discounted accessories etc.He pointed out that TrioSmartCal are a "full service" distributor, not just a stockist, so that doesn't come for free. i.e. if you have a problem you can drop it by the cal lab and they can check it out for you, sales engineers that can come to your place etc.Is the WA dealer an official rep, or a grey market dealer? In which case if the scope has a problem it has to back to the US.Email Charles direct: charles.holtom AT triosmartcal.com.auDave.

author: metalphreak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2011, 03:03:55 am
content: Measurement Innovation are the authorised reseller for WA and NT. Trio Smartcal handles the rest of the country.The 5% difference between them doesn't make it worthwhile buying from across the country, especially when you miss out on local support.

author: peter_mcc
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2011, 11:27:28 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 27, 2011, 01:09:28 amNeither would I - which is why I was wondering how international the warranty was.Quote from: EEVblog on October 27, 2011, 01:09:28 amDone! I've dealt with Charles a few years ago when they were still selling LeCroy scopes - I thought he'd moved on from Trio, glad to hear he hasn't.Thankspeter

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 13, 2011, 06:47:14 am
content: You think AU$ tax is high on Agilent? I just got prices in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) from the local distributor. (We have 4.7% import duty only and no sales tax)US RETAIL Price + 25% - so your DSOX-3014 would cost me US$4.220,-And add to that... 5-6 weeks delivery...GW Instek though is A LOT cheaper here than the rest of the world - so now im leaning in that direction. Their documentation is actually really good. If the scope is I do not know.But for for less than $2000 i can get the GDS-3254 4 channel "250mhz" scope.Scratch that - distributor does not want to sell for the price advertised on his website.Where as for Agilent - I can only get a DSOX-2012 and stay around the $2000 mark. ($2765.12)But the UAE has become like that. UNI-T products here are also crazy expensive!!- About $500 for the UT81 scope *G*So I guess for 25% i can buy in the US and have shipped over. Does anyone know if Agilent PSU is 90-240volt? Their specs does not list voltages for that part....... I go to the US often enough to get it serviced there if anything fails.

author: peter_mcc
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2011, 10:23:55 pm
content: Quote from: kaz911 on November 13, 2011, 06:47:14 amIf it makes you feel any better the leadtime in Australia is quoted as 4-6 weeks and mine will take 4.Shipping is a killer when trying to get it from somewhere else. The other killer is trying to take advantage of the 15% trade in discount they are offering - you have to give them a 50MHz+ scope. Not sure how you arrange that if you're getting it overseas.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 14, 2011, 10:46:52 pm
content: Buy a broken scope on Ebay and have it shipped directly to the local Agilent distributor?

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2011, 03:19:37 am
content: Quote from: peter_mcc on November 14, 2011, 10:23:55 pmMy UAE Agilent distributor is not offering the 15% trade-in. He has gracefully offered a 3% discount.... I have responded with a matrix showing the prices without discounts offered in UK, Germany, Denmark and US to show him he is 12-25% more expensive than the MOST expensive of the above. I might post it here later since it covers 4 x 2000 series and 4 x 3000 series models.I think it is okay for a distributor to charge a bit extra - but only if they actually STOCK the products. If they don't the price should not be that much different. Then they are box shifting. Now i'm just waiting for a quote from the US and then I'll find out if I go Agilent or someone else. But I refuse to pay 25% extra to a distributor with ZERO service (It is the same guys who does the onsite service on my 6 HP 24" monitors - and they are useless)

author: daedalus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2011, 06:50:27 pm
content: Hi,I have had similar problems buying kit here in UK. One option that i have used in the past is to pay a few dollars for a US drop shipping address. This means you can buy in US with the offer. When it comes to warranty thats only in the US, so your risk would be the postage back to your dropshipper to forward should it break. In my case the difference was worth it.