HELP Postage of Biotest Products

Just to chip in here because I have a similar problem in Spain.

I have done the ordering before and had it resent. It cost me $35 to have it posted by USPS and took six weeks to get here. That was bearable. When it arrived (6 jugs of Grow!) customs stopped it because they said (a) it was too much for personal use and (b) it was pharmaceutical. I work in import-export so it was a trivial matter to pay the duty/tax and certify it was only for me (took a signed letter) and they released it. Compared to buying from Biotest UK, I saved $175. That’s not a typo.

Everything Steely has said above is true. However - while customs officially should inspect everything and require paperwork all the time, they do not stop everything. Just like you can fly internationally and not be stopped by customs and have your bag searched, parcels may get through without stoppage.

In general, person-to-person small packages will experience less (not no) problems. Also, the more innocuous the product, the possibly easier it is to justify or get. I would imagine that I can justify Grow! a lot more easily than Carbolin 19 - one looks like a drug and I’m trying to explain to non-knowledgeable people what it does. The other says “Chocolate Powder”.

I’ve also had good experience when flying simply checking the box as luggage and walking through customs. I wasn’t stopped. If I was, I didn’t think that a few jars of protein powder would be a problem but always, always run the risk of hassle.

Companies which import must do everything legally and bear the cost on a daily basis. Think of how often they receive deliveries. You on the other hand can probably do the same about 2-4 times a year, making it worth the hassle to try and clear customs yourself. However, if the quantities get too big and you can’t justify personal use, you’ll end up paying more than the company that did everything right first time. That’s the game.

I’m looking to V-Diet next year before summer so I’m already calculating how to get my stash of Grow! in before I start. If anyone comes up with anything good, I’d love to know.

The FTA with the USA means no duty is payable on imports from that country. I’m not sure about GST as I’m still debating this with my mate who reckons there should be no GST on all of the food items.

Cheers

Trying to clear something with Australian Customs is a lot harder than most other countries. They are pretty strict especially when it comes to imported food items. You need the proper documents etc. It’s not sufficient to declare your goods ‘for personal use’ (even though this method can bypass the screening process sometimes).

Cheers

[quote]swerven wrote:

[/quote]

I checked out that company and all their prices are in US dollars. To ship 10kg to Australia, I was quoted at $122.50US = $165AUS. Plus you must pay membership fees per month or year. Then you may have other miscellaneous charges the freight company may charge you on top of freight. Then hopefully you cross your fingers and everyhting gets cleared by Customs. IMO too expensive and risky.

Cheers

Still, say you were ordering 10kg of Surge. its AU$165 for the shipping, and 10 x US$21= AU$286.

For a grand total of AU$451, you would have 10 tubs of Surge.

Compared to buying 10 tubs from the australia store, which would come to AU$649.50. Shipping is free on an order this big,

Thats about a 30% saving.

Out of that saving, you would have to take the membership cost of myus and all other fees, but its still not too bad.

Where it gets to be brilliant is when buying the supplements like Carbolin, Spike and other (not so heavy) products. This is where the massive savings come in, and if I ever wanted to try these supps, this is how i’d do it.

Dave

ps: feel free to check my calculations, as i’m sweetly retarded when it comes to maths…

Where it doesn’t get brilliant is when your supplements gets stopped by Customs or Quarantine to be checked. I found out the hard way many years ago with my first ever shipment of protein powder from overseas.

I was naive and thought you could just import food supplements from overseas pretty easy. Then I had to clear the goods myself. Lucky for me I said the ‘right’ things otherwise my shipment would have been destroyed. I’m a lot wiser now as I know the basic rules and requirements of importing, plus many of the charges relating to shipping and clearing.

$US122 for 10kg = $US12 per kg which is roughly 4 times the price www.myus.com probably get it for (based on the air freight rates that were quoted to me). Then you will understand why I said they were expensive even though getting it delivered via myus.com is still cheaper than buying from a local store.

Cheers

Oh, i’m not saying we are getting a good deal through myus, but its better than from other sources!

Just out of curiosity, what did you say to get your stuff cleared through customs? I just assumed that because it was already available to this country, they would just put the name into some sort of database, and there would be few issues with us getting it through. Did you order in bulk? Is there a difference between ordering for “personal” amounts, or what customs thinks is for distribution…

Dave

More info here:

http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/bringmed/persimp.htm#question

[quote]Davechode wrote:
I just assumed that because it was already available to this country, they would just put the name into some sort of database, and there would be few issues with us getting it through.[/quote]

That’s what I thought too. It doesn’t work that way unfortunately. The problem arises when you must declare your goods i.e what are they, their description etc?.

Now if you classify them as ‘dietery supplements’ according to the TGA website, you can order a 3 month supply for personal use.

Now if you classify them as ‘food’, then it becomes more complicated. You have to find out exactly what category to put them into and depending on what you write down will determine if AQIS (quarantine) wants to have a look at it and that it complies with their rules.

As you can tell, it depends on what you classify the goods as, that determines clearance etc (this is where a customs broker may be needed). Get it wrong and you will have a black mark against your name.

[quote]Davechode wrote:
Just out of curiosity, what did you say to get your stuff cleared through customs?
[/quote]

I spun some bs plus I pleaded ignorance (since my agents classified the goods incorrectly at the time) and the rest was luck I suppose:)

[quote]MookJong wrote:
More info here:

http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/bringmed/persimp.htm#question[/quote]

Also look at AQIS website - http://www.daff.gov.au/content/output.cfm?ObjectID=3E48F86-AA1A-11A1-B6300060B0AA00014

Hi gselos

I agree, I generally would not recommend ordering bulky items in from overseas - even though it can work out cheaper than buying locally. If you search around enough in OZ you can get quality protein pretty cheap anyway.

On smaller or lighter items it can definitely be worthwhile (large savings). However, like all things, if you do your homework, and are prepared, then the chances of you not getting stuff in or getting confiscated - will be minimised.

Generally speaking, if you are bringing in supps for personal use, less than 3 months worth (according the the label) with ingredients that are not on the banned list you will be OK - simple. I have had a few things confiscated over the years - most I managed to get back - but even counting those supps I lost I am still miles ahead bringing in supps from O/S.

Cheers

[quote]gselos wrote:
swerven wrote:

I checked out that company and all their prices are in US dollars. To ship 10kg to Australia, I was quoted at $122.50US = $165AUS. Plus you must pay membership fees per month or year. Then you may have other miscellaneous charges the freight company may charge you on top of freight. Then hopefully you cross your fingers and everyhting gets cleared by Customs. IMO too expensive and risky.

Cheers

[/quote]

How do you determine what is good protein powder? Is it the taste or the way it mixes? Or something else?

cheers

Dave

Hi guys,

I just read this thread and you guys seem to know how it works.

Just remember to do your homework before ordering stuff from overseas. Yes - the TGA web site is good source of information.

If you get nailed by Customs, it is always not sufficient to tell that you simply ‘didn’t know’ that it was prohibited.

Yes - if it’s food, quarantine is involved. Drugs, it is Customs.

For eg. you ordered Nutrex - Lipo 6. Chances are, it will be seized by Customs because of this ingredient called ‘yohimbine,’ which is prohibited under the Customs PI (prohibited imports) regulations. If my memory serves me right I think it is under schedule 8.

Bottom line, do your homework first. Customs investigators can nail you even if you plead ignorance. Do not be unlawful because you want to save money. Sometimes, ordering cheaper stuff from overseas can be more expensive because of the hassle.

And yes - ACS is pretty strict.

Thanks guys.

[quote]Davechode wrote:
How do you determine what is good protein powder? Is it the taste or the way it mixes? Or something else?

[/quote]

Yes it’s the taste, the way it mixes and whether your stomach likes it or not (i.e do you get bloated after taking it). You could also add in the type of proteins used that will determine the quality. For example whey protein concentrates (WPC) are the cheapest of all whey proteins.

As for the way protein powder mixes, Low-Carb Grow! mixes well with a spoon and cold milk (Designer Whey was the same many years ago). The cheaper protein powders will clump up and not disperse as well as the expensive powders (i.e they do not achieve a uniform solution…a bit like undissolved sugar/creatine settling down the bottom of water)

Cheers

Yeah, the way it mixes has been my benchmark, but I was just wondering if there was another, more accurate measure. No matter.

Now all I have to do is make friends with a trustworthy american, and i’ll be set!

Dave

Just thought I’d chime in with something perhaps ‘slightly’ off topic - I’m selling the last of my HOT-ROX (in Australia), PM me for details if you’re interested. Cheers.

[quote]odium wrote:
Same here for Singapore…

7 bottles of Low-Carb Grow! and 1 box of bars… USD74…

That’s like USD10 extra per bottle just for shipping!

Oh well… I guess it’s worth the money.

Still beats buying from GNC, and they still sell the ‘older’ version of Low-Carb Grow!..[/quote]

you live in singapore? how long did the shipment take? you ordered anything other than Grow!? did the custom give you any trouble?